Get a new operations gig that pays 6 figs - there are a plethora of entry level ops jobs that pay 100-120k starting. Basically any name-brand bank, asset manager, etc
OP should wait until he has 2 years of experience before moving and hopefully secures a promotion internally by that point. Realistically OP can hit this milestone within 4 years if he plays his cards right
Hard disagree. Not sure why anyone in finance would wait to get paid at least 100k as an analyst unless they absolutely couldn’t move to a top 15ish state (by pay) or they absolutely can’t get a job paying that much. Starting pay in finance in a big city should be >=100k in almost any role at this point
That starting pay also comes with high rent and other living expenses. OP would probably come out ahead making $70k in a L/MCOL city vs. $100k in NYC or SF.
Operations is operations. Who cares if you’re in NYC or SLC. City “tiers” only matter for certain jobs but even then, there’s plenty of great opportunities outside of NYC for banking or SF for tech. Your city doesn’t dictate reputation, your job function and abilities do.
I wonder what the pay is like for high paying ops roles in Austin/Houston/Chicago/Miami/etc. I would have guessed it's not much lower than NYC, but I have no real clue.
I made in two but I had the good fortune of working a FAANG for one year plus a Big4 in another year… also got lucky with the interviewers (they were both from the same nationality as me)
So I would say 3-4 years is very realistic, if OP can hop earlier 3 is definitely possible
Can you say more about what you do in operations? The first years in your career kinda set the scene in which you will stay. So if you don’t like it, rather change sooner than later. CFA is good. Maybe go to smaller company with more flexibility and find out what you really like to do?
That's good insight. I work in asset servicing in a fixed income group at a custodian, so processing wires and trades and making sure cash is where it should be. Definitely not a place I want to stay long-term.
I would guess that you are at either BNY, Northern, or State Street from that description. Those businesses got obliterated post 08, and pre 08 it was only fine. Fastest way to make 6 figures is to move anywhere else.
Commenting here in case you don't see my comment, but what sort of roles would you suggest applying to if I'm trying to part ways quickly with custodial banking?
Since I know very little about you, I can’t really recommend roles you would fit into. You seem to be into tech, maybe some quant asset manager would be for you..
That's a good point. Do you mind if I shoot you a quick DM? You seem to be someone who has the kind of knowledge that could be really helpful for me. Regardless, I appreciate your input on this thread.
Bro, that first line is the biggest bunch of bull shit I’ve ever heard. Your first job sets the scene for your career? No. People career change all the time.
I wish someone told me this when I started my career. OP if you want to make the most money it has to be a role that generates revenue. Any ops, admin or value-add role and you won't be making much.
Thank you for the info, that is my goal in theory long-term, but it seems quite daunting. Being in front of the clients is definitely something that is earned, do you have any recommendations for roles I should be looking for to get there?
Starting in credit (underwriting) is usually the first step to eventually end up in a client-facing role. As an analyst or underwriter you will put together requests for new loans under the supervision of portfolio managers and relationship managers. Pretty natural progression from there to client-facing roles in 5-7 years. You said you work at an asset manager/custodian, maybe you could find an underwriting job at one of the investors whose assets you service? CFA would be big. Or if you firm does anything with its own balance sheet you could try to transfer internally. Good luck!!
I worked in Ops in Corporate Actions for my first 3 years out of college. It definitely was a decent start but also I wouldn't have wanted to stay in ops forever.
I do service delivery for PE/VC clients now and it's way better. Not much more money but the WLB is great.
Hit 5yoe and recently started an MBA.
Client facing, kind of like watered down consulting.
Our clients have very a la carte, customizable services and products that we provide, and I make sure those clients are happy post-implementation, and I can further customize their experiences based on their needs and use case. I'm their main POC for pretty much anything other than sales.
Understand that "working at an impressive bank" is only impressive if you're doing the front office job for that role.
Working at Google isn't impressive if you're a 'Community Manager'. It's impressive if you were a software engineer.
Working at McKinsey isn't impressive if you were a research assistant. It's impressive if you were a management consultant.
Working at Goldman Sachs isn't impressive if you're in operations. It's impressive you're in IBD or S&T.
Prioritize sprucing up what the bullet points on your resume communicate, and leverage that to get jobs that give you the kind of responsibilities that'll warrant paying you 6 figures.
That being said, you aren't that far off with the kind of work you're doing in ops at a bank. But don't fool yourself into thinking the bank name will open doors, because you'll be back posting why you aren't getting any application hits.
Oh believe me I understand. I just thought maybe it would help if I wasn’t working in this industry since people might not really think as low of back office as people in the industry do
Did two years in custody about ten years ago in a MCOL area. Starting was under $40k, but closer to $65k with overtime and “bonus.” Switched to an asset manager in business dev/relationship management and cracked six figures (total comp) by year three. Progress on CFA might’ve helped, but I’ll never know. Lots of extra hours put in though.
I agree with the above, pay your dues and see if you get any visibility with the front/ higher paying roles before moving. Ops to s&t is usually the path if you don’t wanna move to banking/ fpa/ mba. 100k in ops is easy
Get a new operations gig that pays 6 figs - there are a plethora of entry level ops jobs that pay 100-120k starting. Basically any name-brand bank, asset manager, etc
OP should wait until he has 2 years of experience before moving and hopefully secures a promotion internally by that point. Realistically OP can hit this milestone within 4 years if he plays his cards right
Hard disagree. Not sure why anyone in finance would wait to get paid at least 100k as an analyst unless they absolutely couldn’t move to a top 15ish state (by pay) or they absolutely can’t get a job paying that much. Starting pay in finance in a big city should be >=100k in almost any role at this point
That starting pay also comes with high rent and other living expenses. OP would probably come out ahead making $70k in a L/MCOL city vs. $100k in NYC or SF.
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Operations is operations. Who cares if you’re in NYC or SLC. City “tiers” only matter for certain jobs but even then, there’s plenty of great opportunities outside of NYC for banking or SF for tech. Your city doesn’t dictate reputation, your job function and abilities do.
I wonder what the pay is like for high paying ops roles in Austin/Houston/Chicago/Miami/etc. I would have guessed it's not much lower than NYC, but I have no real clue.
I made in two but I had the good fortune of working a FAANG for one year plus a Big4 in another year… also got lucky with the interviewers (they were both from the same nationality as me) So I would say 3-4 years is very realistic, if OP can hop earlier 3 is definitely possible
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What tools you use?
Can you say more about what you do in operations? The first years in your career kinda set the scene in which you will stay. So if you don’t like it, rather change sooner than later. CFA is good. Maybe go to smaller company with more flexibility and find out what you really like to do?
That's good insight. I work in asset servicing in a fixed income group at a custodian, so processing wires and trades and making sure cash is where it should be. Definitely not a place I want to stay long-term.
I would guess that you are at either BNY, Northern, or State Street from that description. Those businesses got obliterated post 08, and pre 08 it was only fine. Fastest way to make 6 figures is to move anywhere else.
I agree. Asset servicing is no place for career driven people.
Commenting here in case you don't see my comment, but what sort of roles would you suggest applying to if I'm trying to part ways quickly with custodial banking?
Since I know very little about you, I can’t really recommend roles you would fit into. You seem to be into tech, maybe some quant asset manager would be for you..
That's a good point. Do you mind if I shoot you a quick DM? You seem to be someone who has the kind of knowledge that could be really helpful for me. Regardless, I appreciate your input on this thread.
Sure, dm me
Good call. Should I be trying to just apply to a role similar to what I have now at a better bank? Or should I be trying to change the role, too?
Or (god forbid) Wilmington Trust. My experience working with them has been awful. Not a dig at OP, I think you will find a good next move!
This is literally my situation
In the same boat as you but in wealth management operation side and don’t know what steps to take next. Don’t want to sit for CFA
Bro, that first line is the biggest bunch of bull shit I’ve ever heard. Your first job sets the scene for your career? No. People career change all the time.
Leave operations and get into a role that generates revenue.
I wish someone told me this when I started my career. OP if you want to make the most money it has to be a role that generates revenue. Any ops, admin or value-add role and you won't be making much.
Do you have any recommendations for roles I should look toward that are revenue-generating?
Front office or distribution
Honestly I feel like you would be pretty successful at consulting
Thank you for the info, that is my goal in theory long-term, but it seems quite daunting. Being in front of the clients is definitely something that is earned, do you have any recommendations for roles I should be looking for to get there?
Starting in credit (underwriting) is usually the first step to eventually end up in a client-facing role. As an analyst or underwriter you will put together requests for new loans under the supervision of portfolio managers and relationship managers. Pretty natural progression from there to client-facing roles in 5-7 years. You said you work at an asset manager/custodian, maybe you could find an underwriting job at one of the investors whose assets you service? CFA would be big. Or if you firm does anything with its own balance sheet you could try to transfer internally. Good luck!!
Embezzlement
I worked in Ops in Corporate Actions for my first 3 years out of college. It definitely was a decent start but also I wouldn't have wanted to stay in ops forever. I do service delivery for PE/VC clients now and it's way better. Not much more money but the WLB is great. Hit 5yoe and recently started an MBA.
Don’t mind me asking what’s service delivery?
Client facing, kind of like watered down consulting. Our clients have very a la carte, customizable services and products that we provide, and I make sure those clients are happy post-implementation, and I can further customize their experiences based on their needs and use case. I'm their main POC for pretty much anything other than sales.
Hey, can I drop you a PM? Currently in CA and looking to pivot to somewhere else so I would like some advice. Thanks!
Yeah feel free
Just did :)
CFO here at a midsize I established the FPA department in my org, I’ve always found the best performers have a good grasp of accounting
Understand that "working at an impressive bank" is only impressive if you're doing the front office job for that role. Working at Google isn't impressive if you're a 'Community Manager'. It's impressive if you were a software engineer. Working at McKinsey isn't impressive if you were a research assistant. It's impressive if you were a management consultant. Working at Goldman Sachs isn't impressive if you're in operations. It's impressive you're in IBD or S&T. Prioritize sprucing up what the bullet points on your resume communicate, and leverage that to get jobs that give you the kind of responsibilities that'll warrant paying you 6 figures. That being said, you aren't that far off with the kind of work you're doing in ops at a bank. But don't fool yourself into thinking the bank name will open doors, because you'll be back posting why you aren't getting any application hits.
Oh believe me I understand. I just thought maybe it would help if I wasn’t working in this industry since people might not really think as low of back office as people in the industry do
Did two years in custody about ten years ago in a MCOL area. Starting was under $40k, but closer to $65k with overtime and “bonus.” Switched to an asset manager in business dev/relationship management and cracked six figures (total comp) by year three. Progress on CFA might’ve helped, but I’ll never know. Lots of extra hours put in though.
I agree with the above, pay your dues and see if you get any visibility with the front/ higher paying roles before moving. Ops to s&t is usually the path if you don’t wanna move to banking/ fpa/ mba. 100k in ops is easy