Well from what I have seen, read, and heard, it doesn't really matter as far as the level/rank. You will get the stats such as MP/HP but the actual attributes of Str,Dex,Int etc will be down graded to the Rank of your Job. So class "may" count but Rank # does not really... I myself am in a similar boat as you and hoping SE and the Devs will make some changes with the removal of the "Rank" system and merging it with the PL (Physical Level) system they intend to do.

Hope this may help a little.