5 Benefits to Being in the Back Office
I worked in the back office at an AM for 2 years before leaving for greener pastures. Now my job did suck, but there were a few benefits to the situation that I was in and that I’m sure a lot of you are in right now.
1. Free time at the office – The back office is a pretty easy and mindless job. A few hours of efficient work a day should be enough to free up the rest of your time to work on something else. I personally taught myself to code, but you can also learn to read 10-Ks, price options, weave baskets, etc. If you look at the job as a study hall, you’ll feel a lot better about yourself at the end of the day.
2. Very easy to stand out/add value – I felt like someone who didn’t make the Varsity team. It sucked, but I could score 20 a game on JV because the competition was piss poor.
In my first week, I noticed about 100 manual processes that could be automated with simple Excel macros. I started making a couple for my team and before long other teams were seeking out my help. I was lucky to have a cool boss who let me freelance.
My first couple were retardedly simple, but over time I learned to code better and wrote some semi-complex stuff. Outside of macros, there are still plenty of stupid processes that can be improved. The key is finding some one (in my case it was my boss’s boss) who is ambitious but too stupid to leave ops. He will take credit for your ideas, but everyone will know they were yours because he is too dumb to come up with anything on his own.
3. Easy to network – I dealt with a fair number of FO people. Since dealing with ops is on the same level with taking lunch orders and there were only interns around during the summer, I usually dealt with guys around my age. They liked dealing with me because I was semi-competent at my job, and they were stressed out from getting shit on by higher ups all day. Some were assholes, but some appreciated having someone they could talk to. By the time I left, I had a few guys who said they would vouch for me if I applied for a new position.
4. Companies outside the industry don’t realize how shitty ops is – This is a huge one, and I would recommend everyone in Ops give serious thought to applying to another industry. I got offers from a top consulting firm and a tech firm, and both were impressed by the company name on my resume, not realizing I was one step above a janitor. This also allows you to embellish what your actual role is.
5. Free time outside of work and a stress-free life – At the very least, you should be tan, in good shape and in a good mood. Don’t underestimate how much this can help when you network and have interviews.
Being in Ops sucks, but you’re still better off than 90% of people your age. If you’re set on being a MD/PE partner/HF PM/billionaire by 30, you’re probably SOL. But the good news is Social Security is fucked up and the retirement age will probably be 90 by the time we get there, so you still have a ton of time to reach whatever your goals are.
Well done. Good looks on #4... I don't know if too many Ops bros have thought of that. All of these are good points actually.
Sometimes I think about the back office and I truly appreciate what they do... just sayin'.
+1
I actually haven't considered that aspect either. Getting that brand name can mean a lot.
Nice post. I was about to have a summer internship interview with a BB bank for a BO position in Glasgow, but i am all the way in Toronto, Canada. I had to decline the interview because they wanted me to go to Glasgow for the last round with only minimal reimbursement.
But man having that BB name on my resume (like you said) would have been awesome.
And you are right people outside the banking industry are stunned just by the name of the company and pay less attention to actual duties!
BTW where are you now?
Took the job at the tech firm.
GOOD LOOKS help a lottttt in networking. Imagine you are the company rep talking to an overweight guy/girl who is sweating because of the excess weight when compared to a healthy and fit guy/girl. Truly makes a huge difference!
+1
Props for #4. Never thought of it that way. Sure, the banks (and possibly top b-schools) will crap on you for being in OPS. But other industries who couldn't tell the difference between IBD and OPS might be more generous especially if you have Goldman on your resume. Its just a matter of phrasing your role to look big.
Is this really true? I know of a couple of people who went from a BO job at a BB to a top public target b-schools. Also, when I was an undergrad, many of the professors would thumb their noses at international boutiques while praising those who got BO jobs at BBs.
I just hung out on WSO the whole time.
Good points. #1 and 2 feed into #3. With all the free time, you can really learn a lot about the business. Then during interviews outside the industry you can sound like a boss. The process improvement thing is also huge because it usually leads to a direct benefit - "Implemented excel macro to save 30 minutes each day". If you are writing a BO resume, it's normally filled with responsibilities - "Cleared exceptions for X product. Resolved trade discrepancies."
Side story related to number 4
I used to bang this Italian girl back in university, and somehow got back in touch with her shortly after graduation. We hung out a few times while I was trying to bang her and one night we got to the subject of our jobs. I decided to not lie to her and tell her my job and stuff (Not IB) and she was just shacking her head. I asked her what was up and she couldn't believe how little I was making compared to her friend. I grilled her on the friend, and she gave me enough details about him to know that he graduated with me and his name. I did some research the next few days on the guy and found out he did Back Office at an AM. I also found out he was banging her the whole time.
I was very upset at my failure to close this time, but my anger was misdirected. Should I be angry at the dude for lying hard about his actual role/pay, or should I be mad at myself for not enhancing my own role/pay in an effort to get back in her panties?
Be mad at yourself for talking about work when you're trying to get laid.
Um, it was bound to come up considering we were both recent grads who were in the same residence floor 4 years before. I'm pretty sure I didn't bring it up.
LOL
Good post.
Honestly, this is a great post. I feel as though anyone on this board who bashes the Back or Middle Office doesn't know how lucky they are relative to the rest of the population. FYI I work in FO at a BB.
Nice post. You seem like someone who knows how to party.
Wow, truly a quality post. Pretty sure every ops guy can relate to this in every way, while there were the typical humorous jabs at ops (which I love) your post is really spot on.
+1 if I had any credits left
Ops Analyst guys at Tech companies (many of them ex-Bankers/Consultants) make quite a bit of money with a very nice, very jealousy-inducing lifestyle. I also imagine these roles wouldn't be off-limits, as OP mentioned.
I'd look into those. I'm sure there are other examples.
Great post!
I feel like this can be applied to all corp. fin. gigs.
4 Is so true! LOL!
However, there are some famous people who started out BO. Soros started as a bookkeeper. Weill started his career as a runner. Rockefeller also started his career as a bookkeeper.
i really think those days are over. look at lewie ranieri from liars poker, straight back office to becoming the creator of mortgage backed securities. heck, he didnt even graduate college! shit was just not as structured as it is today, before the ivy league hard on.
I don't think this is necessarily true. Ranierie, Soros, Weill etc. were definitely not typical stories of their eras either, and I'm sure they faced pretty long odds trying to succeed. I'm sure there are a few future rock star fund managers who are currently just kids working BO jobs, but have that kind of drive.
How far does #4 really expand into finding jobs outside finance? I get that the average joe doesnt know the difference between FO and BO but do people hiring for lucrative industry jobs really get confused?
I interviewed with a top consulting firm and had multiple people look at my resume and say "Wow, Firm X is a great company." Now, the word "Ops" was nowhere on my resume, but I did bring it up when I went into detail about my current job.
Agreed on 4. AM Bo was the worst thing I've ever experienced. Scum bags without degrees and wasted ambitions
Number 1 is keeping from going crazy with the free time here. I feel better coming into work knowing I am improving myself and learning new skills. I did teach myself a bit of coding but unfortunately every process I deal with has been simplified by macros already.
Having said that, anyone in Ops keep your head up and continue to be learning something useful - it will keep you going.
wow..+1...ladies n gentlemen we have the unlikeliest candidature for the post of the season!!!
Great post. Spot on
Thank you for reminding everyone the context. A refreshing post.
Way to sell yourself short and rationalize it. You develop next to zero practical skills and will always to regarded as the BO. Get out before you have to drop 200k on biz school.
"Way to sell yourself short and rationalize it. You develop next to zero practical skills and will always to regarded as the BO. Get out before you have to drop 200k on biz school."
Why are you assuming that I will/want to do Ops/BO? I have no plans on doing BO work come full-time.
Haha funny and helpful post. I don't think OP was rationalizing BO, but looking at the brighter side of things. Also, he shows you how to leverage it to the FO or wherever you'd like to go, and it seems that he's been successful at that. Instead, some comments here are telling him to just move onto the FO. Thanks captain obvous, but it's easier said than done.
+1
Great post! :D
Worked in the backoffice, and agree with every point.
Originally started in ops and am heading to am M7 school this fall. There is always hope!
4 gives me some hope.
I an interning in the Ops department at a BB this summer, and I hope I can use the BB brand name to get a better FT job at a non-financial firm next year. (Another good thing about BB Ops, at least a summer gig is the ridiculous amount they will pay me to do nothing for 10 weeks!)
More than agree! Got the same experience for a year. Talked with FO, MO and other peripheral activities linked to FO. Got good responsibilities and so on... People working in BO don't have leprosy and there are still good opportunities for ambitious people there. Great insights in the industry even if I don't see me doing all this administrative stuff again.
For point#4 what top management consulting do you think dont know about Ops? Something like MBB or Big 4? I was just hoping for some examples(Tier 2 or 1 consulting)
4 is soooo true... 99% of people in the US see Goldman on your resume and think $$$, the media has made it seem to the general population that everyone at BBs is making money hand over fist and is outrageously talented. Taking advantage of this phenomenon seems like a good move to me.
I work at a regional MM in IBD and most people don't think anything of it, but alot of my friends would def be super impressed by a GS Ops business card.
I've seen the same thing, I know someone I went to high school with who is going to MS in ops, everyone was swooning and he was making it sound amazing. For some reason I didn't say holla back office.
I'm going to be a Ops monkey soon, and I will try to take full advantage of the brand name. I don't think will work on NYC girls though, they're too clever to be fooled by random Back Office monkeys.
Hopefully someday, I can lateral into a better position in a different industry.
Do they give junior BO people biz cards? Serious question.
Yes, they do.
Stanvalchek, great post! Fellow Operations veteran here and I think you're doing everything right.
May I make one more suggestion to current Ops monkeys? Pursue an advanced degree in your spare time. Something totally unrelated to business or finance; something you really enjoy and that can be your backup plan if the finance industry ever crashes and you lose your job, or (God forbid) you ever botch something so totally that you become unemployable in the field.
I got my master's degree in a field that has only the most tenuous of relations to business. . You should be doing this too: take advantage of all those hours that you're not wasting on overtime! If you don't want to formally enter any grad programs, try brushing up on foreign languages every day. Your boss will thank you when you have to call up some company in Russia to get some information and he hears you ask for it in Russian! (Who says Ops requires no intelligence?)
I too developed all kinds of macros and automated processes. We were talking about it in the last "I'm in Ops; ask me anything" thread and one person suggested using it to get my boss to thin headcount and give me credit. I disagree. By making your co-workers' lives easier, you're gaining yourself the kind of goodwill that money cannot buy. "Hey, Stan, I'm using your little magic Excel button again!" should be music to your ears.
Keep on making your job and life easier and keep on networking. The worst that can happen is that you stay where you are -- and, IB careers aside, there are many worse spots to be in in life than in Operations.
good post
I agree wholeheartedly with #4..also in an AM BO. At least I think its BO
I really love the Wire reference names...but man Stan Valcheck is an asshole.
Fabulous post! Thanks, OP!! SB'ed
Agree with everything here. Amazing how much a little ambition can make you stand out. SB+1
Thanks for the benefits, these are really helpful. I was really looking for information like this. Even one of my friend suggested that we will get many benefits and advice through IT staffing mobile app, i.e: Happy Minds IT staffing app.
Are there ANY benefits at all to Back Door Office Work? Can someone go Ops --> Front Office? (Originally Posted: 12/26/2010)
So I'm a sophomore college student but I think through some connections I may be able to obtain a back door analyst position at a BB. Obviously I'm not gonna complain getting paid $20+/hr at a sophomore college level, but eventually want an analyst position in the front office.
If any, are there ANY other benefits other than the ones I mentioned to getting this back office position? I know a friend who did back office work his soph year, and they allowed him to do Finance the next summer if he wanted to (middle office).
ANY chance I can do the same? Except go from back --> front? The back door position I'll prob get will be doing IT or Operations
Thanks
yes, shows commitment to the industry to anyone looking at your resume - will help you get a better job after your junior year
If your only a sophomore then getting an internships in he BO is fine and will put you ahead of some/most of your peers. It's when you do BO junior summer or for FT that you will run into problems. Work hard, get a good recommendation, and look to network with people in FO and you should have no problems getting interviews at the firm.
Working in the BO will forever taint you. You will probably have no chance of networking with FO (unless you get very lucky).
not true at all.
i started in a front office role then took a back office role in another city.. was back in front office in a year
take it, you can network pretty easily within a BB. You will probably be friends with interns in FO and will probably go out to places with them, and chances are you will meet FO ppl on a social basis.
I did BB operations sophomore summer ---> Credit Risk BB ----> FT offers for FO,MO,BO
Remember the guy is only a sophomore - back office job is a terrific experience for someone that young. Next summer the guy will have a chance to go through a normal on campus internship recruiting process - this experience will stand out on his resume and he will be in the running to get a "normal" Wall Street internship
did BB Technology Frosh Summer -> BB FO Trading HK Sophomore Summer -> BB FO Structuring NY Junior Summer -> Pre MBA Quantitative Research at large investment manager FT
As you can see, at the internship level, mobility is pretty good across the street. I went from tech to trading to structuring to buyside research.
It is definitely very possible to move from BO internship to a FO internship (not quite true for FT). I had interviews for almost every BB in both HK and NY during my sophomore year due to my BO internship frosh year, your work experience will be better than everyone who didnt have a FO internship in the past before they apply for that coveted FO internship junior year, and there wont be too many of them.
Little bit more about my situation: -I go to a top 50 school but it's a non-target; our school pretty much disregards finance majors and companies like MS and JPMorgan come to recruit, but only for BO -If all goes wrong (no FO) I'll prob settle for Big 4, a point of area where my school is strong in (Accounting)
JoshMostel: I don't necessarily agree with you but if you were me (a sophomore) what internship should I try to strive for?
Have you considered transferring to a target? Take the best internship you can get.
Whoever tells you that you cant transfer over is extremely ignorant and probably upset they didn't end up where they wanted to. There are tons of way to leverage your self to move to front office. You can easily create contacts within the bank if you worked there then if you didn't and there are other options such as MBA, CFA etc
Keep the dream alive.
anyways, I may have interviews for other places liike Northrop Grumman, Big 4, and other BB's with BO positions so I guess I'll start a new post with updates when the time comes thanks all for the help...
Worked in BO sophomore summer then did mobility for IB at the same bank successfully for my upcoming summer internship.
Locked down banking without ever being asked a single technical question. I'd say taking BO sophomore year is chill if you know you can network well. I've definitely seen more people fail at mobility than succeed.
Any experience is good experience sophomore summer. Is it as good as MO/FO, no. Is it better than nothing, yes -- maybe.
Back Office Over Errythang (Originally Posted: 10/26/2014)
What's up monkeys. Real quick, I just want to say that it sucks that everyone up in here hates on ops and acts like it isn't big time. To quote Boosie Bad Azz I know that I'm the nipples on the titty and the motor in the Hemi and it's all good when it set it off.
Yo, I went to a semi-target, get at me. Got dece grades, did whatever and now I'm holding it down in the back office. Hours aren't that bad only Mon-Fri 8-6/6:30. Make 63k live in nyc w my boys. When I go out and do it big and give a biddy the old b-card I know she's feeling my swag. For all she knows I'm an analyst at one of the biggest banks in the entire universe and a catch.
I can always go a top B school and make bank but for right now why stress? Yall are probably dreading tomorrow morning but I know it's all gonna be solid. Yeah I have more "successful" friends and whatever but I'm still livin the dream. While they sold out I'm souled out.
Back office over errythang.
Cringed (srs)
Preach brother do what you love.
Why cringe homie? Sorry my life is just so chill and makes you jelly. Gotta be more sensitive to yall peanut butters.
Back office is out chea. We doin it big then.
Ops in j tree styling all over yall. Ops in the hamptons and at Atlantis. Deal wit it dawg.
But in all seriousness I really want to do more with my life. Do you guys know any way into the FO or is bschool the only feasible route?
God I loved this comment
What a let down.
Well this troll was a letdown.
I'll be honest. When I was younger I made a lot of bad decisions thus my appreciation for boosie, c-murder, coldrank, dutch, and webbie becomes if not more rational at least more understandable.
I was able to overcome my own retardation somewhat. I think humor is the best way to communicate serious truths. I really am happy with some things. I have a nice apartment with some friends, make solid money, and in all actuality, when macking on a girl dropping the analyst at __ line is helpful.
I guess I'm looking for motivation. Right now I have everything someone could reasonably want. Why is the struggle to improve myself worth it? Why is the front office worth it? When I have kids will my priorities change??
I guess I'm just trying to find out what the benefits of FO/HF/PE is when it honestly seems I can have a nice little life here.
I want a life.. moving to back office (Originally Posted: 09/29/2009)
Please tell me this is not a dumb idea
You'll have free time to yourself, but you'll be bored to tears in back office and be miserable at work. Maybe try and find a different industry all together. Or some other sector within finance that is not so demanding but still inherently interesting - pwm maybe, corp fin within fortune 500/1000?
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