Currently at a BB in Ops and been here for 2 years. There’s an internal program to move to IBD for which I’ve made great connections and think I have a high probability (but certainly no guarantee) of making it. Process won’t conclude for another 2 months. Meanwhile I’ve received an offer at an asset management firm in Ops at the associate level with a salary that would rival 1st and 2nd year IB analysts - for real, it’s kind of crazy how much they are offering.
No way to put the offer off that long so I need to decide.
What would you do?
Asset management Ops pays a lot better than IBD Ops and you're way closer with FO people.
I guess the decision is if you're super concerned about future earnings and if you're very eager to earn lots of money. If you're okay with a 6-figure job with good work-life balance but little chance of making enormous amounts of money, AM Ops isn't a bad way to go. IBD will (potentially, no guarantee) lead to the big bucks later down the road if you can grind it out.
You’ve hit the nail on the head here. Of course I’m eager to earn lots of money, but also smart enough to recognize the long-term tradeoff. Perhaps some insight into AM long term salary would help. Could I expect 200+ as a VP, or would I need to be closer to a MD/Principal level for that range?
Unfortunately I can't help with exact figures here, especially as AM salaries vary a lot more than IBD depending on location, size/structure of shop, AUM, etc.
200k as VP Ops doesn't sound unreasonable though, don't IBD Ops VPs make like 140k all in?
fortune favors the bold
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This is great insight, thanks so much for sharing! In your time I’m AM Ops do you see folks leaving/getting into quality biz schools? Is that common or the exception?
Do you see any real exit ops outside of what you would see as essentially a move to a similar firm doing similar work?
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Decided since I’ve been studying for interviews anyway... I’ll just run a DCF on myself in both situations
At the end of the day, ops is ops. If you want to do IB, then put everything you can into making this IB program. There will always be an opportunity to move to other ops roles and being shortsighted about making $85-95k now (assuming you were talking analyst base and not bonus) rather than do something that you actually want to do, seems like a no brainer to me.
Offer is 100K+ with 20-30% bonus. Top of the line for Ops, but still I think I agree
Side note - in a similar situation to OP. Don’t get us confused lol
there will always be lateral ops promotions available....go for the FO IBD role...
a few things I forgot to mention last night.
yes there is internal mobility at AM as well. the firm i'm at are keen on it, I think they'd rather move peoples between positions and keep the persons business knowledge than lose them, AMs/Hedge funds are mostly lean. be open with the firm if you want to move to research or trading or something if you take it, at the interview stage say you want it in 1 or 2 years for instance. and a few of the other non-ops guys have top MBAs at my place, but the roles they're in, I've been told are possible to rotate in to from my role... albeit more junior. food for thought before getting up to your eyeballs in debt.
dont be fooled in to thinking the work is sexier in ibd or anywhere else btw. you get paid more but you have to work for it, which you pay for with your life. plugging numbers in to excel and making presentations look pretty isn't a million miles away from ops. the guys I know that have the golden exit ops in PE have hopeless social skills and are terrible with women which i'm guessing is due to the hours.
what's the % chance you'll get IBD? what is it you like about iBD by the way? thats the most important question to ask.
This AM role did not seem keen on hiring someone looking to move internally. Mentioned they were looking for someone who loves Ops and wants to come in and be in this position for the foreseeable future. Nobody loves Ops but nonetheless I don’t see that as a realistic possibility.
I’ve talked to probably 8-10 analysts and associates plus the recruiter, most of which agree I have a great story and I’m a good fit for this program. But I’m still a realist - I estimate ~40-50% of getting in. Probably about as good as anyone in my position could hope for. My reasoning for wanting the move is 3 fold:
1) In general the mindset of complacency in Operations drives me nuts. I want to be around people who are competitive and striving for success and have big goals. There are some of those in Ops but they are the exception rather than the rule.
2) I want to work on things that are important. I have no expectation of coming in and winning over some new client that brings in $1bn, but it can be extremely hard to get excited about initiatives in Ops. The reality is I don’t really care how many cash breaks we have or what our risk associated with them is. But that’s 1/2 of Ops jobs right there.
3) Self Satisfaction and Money - not that I want to show the world, although that’s a nice perk, but I want to prove to myself that I am capable and I’m capable even from a non-traditional background. It would be a big personal win for me.
good stuff... you'll get this IBD role for sure. Let us know when the time comes!
Decision will be made by EOD tomorrow. I’m leaning toward declining the offer. If this position came around another one will too, but I can be pretty damn positive I’ll never have another chance to get to FO
Wait for IBD. Duh. Or transfer to other BB IBD
Same situation. Currently in BB ER with IB chance (external hire but internal reference) and corp banking offer non BB. Latter in top finance city/main finance city and former not. Any advice appreciated
how did you get on? Burner99
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