Do I stay or do I just not show up for work?

Ok, so I started work about a month ago at one of the largest asset mgmt/mutual fund companies in the US. I went through a 5-week training program to be a customer service rep at one of their regional call centers. Duties consist of providing balances for brokerage accounts and getting yelled at by 80-year olds for various reasons. My official title is "Financial Representative" and all through interview and training, upper management was touting how we (20 trainees) were coming in at a great time, that there was tremendous opportunity for professional growth.

The reason why I took this position was due to my thinking that I could eventually move into their equity research group or Capital Markets Group. After five weeks there, I could see through all the BS and figure out that such a gigantic move is near impossible - they did say they knew of people going into Asset Management but only to do sht like compliance - not any of the fun stuff like research/trading. But even that is few and far between. We customer service reps get paid sht and basically get moved into other "higher-up" groups such as servicing private clients. It is ALL customer service from here on out.

I make 35,000 a year doing this. After bonuses it will be around 40,000. I am thinking about just not coming in to work one day because this is not the type of career path I signed up for. Honestly, customer service is about one of the most under-appreciated jobs in the world and I can understand why - you get micro-managed by the MINUTE to see if you are consistently taking call-after-call on a fucking headset. Managers will call you out for not saying "thank you for being a loyal customer of _____" I just don't know what to do..

HELP!

 

It is also proper etiquette to drop an upper-decker in the toilet on the day that you quit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolfpack Buyside strongside
 

..few questions

are u still in school? did u graduate and then take this job? what are your hours like? 9-5 for about $35K + benefits is not that bad, i have friends who make only $52K (all in) working 70+ hours/wk

continue going to work and start networking/interviewing for s&t, research roles. all that matters at your level is how you spin your experience. if you're working at a firm like Fidelity, then its a big name that will get recognized.

i wouldnt quit or act like I'm better than the job until you line something else up

------------ I'm making it up as I go along.
 
Cornelius:
..few questions

are u still in school? did u graduate and then take this job? what are your hours like? 9-5 for about $35K + benefits is not that bad, i have friends who make only $52K (all in) working 70+ hours/wk

continue going to work and start networking/interviewing for s&t, research roles. all that matters at your level is how you spin your experience. if you're working at a firm like Fidelity, then its a big name that will get recognized.

i wouldnt quit or act like I'm better than the job until you line something else up

I couldn't agree more with you Cornelius. Network and go from there. Unless you have someone who will pay your bills I suggest to continue working until you find something better...not exactly a great job market out there.

 

I just graduated and took this job. My hours are 4 days a week working 12:30pm to 11:00pm (get OT for studying on-site for Series 7, so about 45 hours total). To Cornelius, you make some good points. I just feel like I could be doing something better even though the reality is that the economy still sucks and job growth is stagnant. I graduated from a good school (not quite top tier) with a 3.8, multiple honors, etc. I am not better than the job but I can't help but feel like it some days.

 

Unless you feel like working is really going to adversely affect your job search, just show up and get paid and search in the meantime. Coming from someone who was laid off for 6 months last year, $35k may not be ballin' but it's a lot better than nothing. Also, having a job for only two months and then a gap isn't going to look great on a resume. Stick it out, you'll be good.

But regardless, definitely upper deck it on your last day.

 

I'll never understand why the people who hire are not honest about the job. Now look at what happened, your miserable, will quit as soon as you can and they wasted 5 weeks of training on someone who obviously isn't a good fit for the job.

 

You are young and have plenty of time to figure it all out. Since your work day begins so late why not be productive in the mornings (i.e. interview elsewhere, network, study for GMATs, start a business, etc.). Needless to say, having a job is always better than the alternative and you want to show some continuity rather than quitting after 2 months. You may just want to pre-game before work and get wild with some of the customers.

 

if you are up for working 65+ hours per week in order to move into research, a lot of funds offer unpaid part-time internships (20 hours p/week flexible). You could use your Fridays and mornings to cover the intern stuff while using the telemarketer job to pay the bills. Hang in there for a few months and you'll have intern experience and the series requirements done, you will be v. marketable.

 

^ Where can I find one of these 20+ hour internships? I'm also currently working a dead end job, but still need to pay off my debt so quitting is not an option. And I still want to move into finance, but I'm not getting any relevant experience in my current position.

 

personally, you should ask yourself how you ended up here. did the "upper management" really trick you into a job at the call center, or was this your only option for a job? i have a hard time believing that someone believed they could move from a call center to the front office managing funds. the skills aren't transferable, and frankly, there is a large gap in ability between the average call center worker and the average investment analyst.

also, call center employees are expected to be polite. it comes with the job. i wouldn't bitch about it.

 

^ it was the only job available for me at the time. sorry if i sound like an ingrate, but i guess i have high hopes/dreams. i am willing to work hard to achieve those but right now i have to face the fact that i will be doing this until i find something better.

and you're right, research or anything in high finance for the matter requires a high level of analytical skill - something i cannot develop here.

 
krazyk:
^ it was the only job available for me at the time. sorry if i sound like an ingrate, but i guess i have high hopes/dreams. i am willing to work hard to achieve those but right now i have to face the fact that i will be doing this until i find something better.

and you're right, research or anything in high finance for the matter requires a high level of analytical skill - something i cannot develop here.

yeah man, i don't mean to rag on you.

if i were you, i would probably just do the job in the day, and send off job applications during the night. do some sort of unpaid internship on the side to build experience, and possiby consider cfa level 1 (if you can spend the money). the rest of my time would be studying for interviews.

 

1- Keep your job: health insurance is important, take advantage of any 401k matching or other fringe benefits like training, exams, etc.

2- Make sure you find out EXACTLY what your ideal next job would be and then network your butt off.

3- Enjoy life outside work. Go to the gym, eat right, go out with friends. Your job sucks. If you don't have fun out of the office, your personality will die and make you unemployable.

4- If you get another job, leave on good terms. Just be polite and quick. No reason to ever be disrespectful.

********************************* “The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.” - Oscar Wilde
 
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