The Analyst Research Training (ART) management in Salt Lake City will tell you nothing other than that you are the "exact same as someone who is hired in New York" or another core Global Investment Research (GIR) office to get you to sign the offer. After starting it will quickly become apparent that the goal of this program is to hire people into the program that are either from non-target schools or who were for one reason or another not a strong enough candidate to be considered for a position in New York and make them all compete for a few positions in New York after you have "proven" that you are capable of performing at a New York level. Your two years of experience will count as only one year of experience in New York (that means it will take you 4 years to become an Associate versus IBD where it take 2 years). You will be held to a higher standard than those that are hired into the New York analyst program as you need to "prove yourself" in order to be considered for a New York position.
Management will state that the goal of the program is to pay analysts approximately 55% of what they pay them in New York since the cost of living is lower, however virtually all program participants will agree that part of the 45% discount is cost of living related and the other part is just the fact that you are considered a lower valued "front office" employee (on a cost of living adjusted basis you are just not getting paid what they do in New York). Even the argument of the discount being cost of living related is contradictory given that analysts that are hired in Houston (where the cost of living is even lower than SLC), get paid the same salary as an analyst in New York. As virtually all program participants are unhappy and regretful of the situation, you will constantly hear the Analyst Research Training (ART) program management in Salt Lake City and other levels of management say things like "you just need to trust the system", "for you to perform at a New York level, I need you to do XYZ for me", and "we are going to have someone from New York speak with program members about making the transition from Salt Lake to New York". Since it is generally accepted that the exit opportunities to the buy-side or corporate are more or less nonexistent from Salt Lake City (which from personal experience, this is more or less true), the goal of virtually all participants is to "make it" to New York. However, transferring to New York is discouraged after so many analyst have transferred to New York and immediately started recruiting for the buy-side.
Since you are remote and your boss and team members don't have to see you face-to-face on a daily basis you will be treated as a second class citizen and anything you do or say will be automatically assumed incorrect or lacking merit because you were not good enough to be in New York. Doing anything to please the senior analyst and be a "team player" is expected, however this is only expected from the junior team members as management is perfectly fine with senior analysts treating junior team members like the second class citizens that they are. Senior analysts know that you have no other options, and that they can expect and demand anything from you regardless of how unreasonable it may be and the Analyst Research Training (ART) program management in Salt Lake City, will do nothing other than agree with them no matter how absurd and ridiculous it may be. There is no right and wrong, there is what a more senior person says and what a more junior person says and the senior person will always win.
Probably the most challenging aspect of the program is that you are working on a daily basis with other program participants who are extremely jaded and distrusting of the firm. The vast majority of program participants will openly say to each other that they regret signing the offer because they feel they were deceived by the firm and management, and virtually everyone is doing anything and everything they can to leave the program, but most are not successful.
