Disadvantage to be at satellite office when moving out of the market?

[Anonymous User]

I did some research on ups and downsides of being at a satellite rather than HQ. I don't think my question has been covered, however. Would potential employers (whether another firm or in-house corps.) in a different market view satellite offices differently, or is it case-by-case?

[jhett]

What type of work you have done matters way more than the satellite/HQ distinction. What you have to look at is whether the satellite can give you enough work of the type you want to do to make you attractive when you make the jump. For example, if you want to do IP lit but the satellite mostly does commercial lit with a little bit of IP lit, you'd be hard pressed to lateral to an IP lit position somewhere else.

[Anonymous User]

What type of work you have done matters way more than the satellite/HQ distinction. What you have to look at is whether the satellite can give you enough work of the type you want to do to make you attractive when you make the jump. For example, if you want to do IP lit but the satellite mostly does commercial lit with a little bit of IP lit, you'd be hard pressed to lateral to an IP lit position somewhere else.

Interesting. I heard there's a difference in the "quality" of work. Not 100% sure, but I assumed this to mean that the work will be smaller in scale, less sophisticated, etc., so there's less to learn about all the ins and outs. Also, clients might not be the big-name companies. But I guess in the end, corp is corp, lit is lit, and IP is IP.

[jhett]

Interesting. I heard there's a difference in the "quality" of work. Not 100% sure, but I assumed this to mean that the work will be smaller in scale, less sophisticated, etc., so there's less to learn about all the ins and outs. Also, clients might not be the big-name companies. But I guess in the end, corp is corp, lit is lit, and IP is IP.

There's an aspect of that too. You should check whether the partners in the satellite have a sizable roster of home-grown clients rather than just servicing work from other offices. If there is a good roster of clients/work in the satellite, then it may be beneficial because you'll probably work more closely with the partners than in HQ (where people can get lost in the shuffle) and get better hands-on experience.