Operations Exit Opps.

If they ask where you see yourself in 5 years, say doing your boss's job. Interviewing 101. There're plenty of ops jobs across the street, so I guess you could move to a different ops job. Plus there's always the b-school reset button. I'm not sure how many people move from ops to FO, but it doesn't seem all that common. In my entire analyst class of 150 or so, 1 kid did his junior summer in ops and moved to banking.

You will be considered/viewed as a clerical and administrative employee. The longer you stay in operations the harder it will be to break out. Depending on your responsibilities, you may have some basic exposure to the actual business you're supporting and you might learn something if you're lucky.

Here's the truth:

Most people in ops stay in ops, even if they don't want to. Most ops jobs are very manual, very basic, and could be done by someone with a high school degree - and at some firms are.

The ops career path goes a few ways:

1) You work in ops for a few years, learn the back end of the business, go to b-school and make a career shift. 2) You work in a group that deals with products, has exposure to investment management, get lucky, and a front office type takes you on. 3) You work in ops for the next few decades, make a decent but not amazing living, have easier hours, and sit at the bottom of the food chain with no real opportunities to move anywhere but another ops role in another group/firm.

You, like many people who want finance but did not do the requisite work to get the good jobs, want to believe #2 is the most likely outcome for you. It's not, period. Odds are you'll fall into 1 or 3, and 1 is not always a hit because admissions folks know that ops isn't looked upon favorably by FO and it makes you harder to place.

Ops is easier to get into than any other role at a finance firm. So, people think "hey, if I can get into ops I can show them how good I really am and they'll promote me!" It's like backdooring into an Ivy. Some people do it, sure, but most can't and end up staying at Evergreen State.

NE nailed it.

what is the scope of questioning done in an operations interview?? are they going to ask me what the dow is trading at? about interest rates?

also...at a prestigious fund, what is a portfolio analyst's salary?

Nope. They will stick to fit questions and your experience. Why this firm? Why this group? What are your career goals? Why does your experience as whatever make you a good leader? etc.

also..couldn't being stuck in operations be corrected by networking? i have relationships with a lot of people in finance, a fraternity with a huge alumni base in nyc, a cousin at a top recruiting firm in nyc, and a lot of friends in the business...i guess im just a little skeptical of being "typecasted" because as northeastidiot said, high-school grads have the capacity to perform these job functions, and while I didn't go to an ivy league school, I do think i am around that level of intellect

I have been using everything it just I didn't go to an ivy, my gpa wasn't stellar and everyone I have talked to is stressing a bad job market...it also has to do with a lack of certainty in what i want to do...every now and then i also question whether its worth all the hours and then daydream of what else i could do with my life...

what is the bonus based off of...the year's performance?

Ops isn't a platform to get into good finance. That's all you need to know. I worked in ops for a few years at a top firm, I went to an Ivy, had a great GPA, and killed it in my firm. I was still shot down over and over by FO positions. Why? Because I was branded as ops. Now i'm finishing up B-School and still running into the same stuff. I'm just lucky enough to have gotten into a FO summer analyst role at a big fund through massive networking and some good fortune.

If you are a fund manager why hire an ops guy when you can hire a target school person who followed a path similar to you? You'll think of the ops guy as someone who couldn't cut it, isn't smart enough, and isn't going to be as successful as the Columbia Econ major, which happens to be your alma mater, interviewing with you later in the afternoon.

Bonus for ops is generally a small pool assigned to the ops group which is based on overall firm performance. Your own specific bonus is based on how well your boss thought you did.

what if my goal is to get into consulting? or other, more creative type positions than those that require modeling and desire genius level iq's....i don't necessarily know that I want to be in i-banking at 30...its just ive always wanted a career in finance and my opportunities as of now are few and far between.

Wow I'm sold. You pass the smart test.

Network, bust your ass, and hang out with FO guys out of work. Make connections, become their best friends (if you're extroverted enough, FO guys will not shun you if you bring something to the table).

I've heard too many stories about guys going from OPs to FO to not believe that it can be achieved if that is what you desire. I have a feeling that a lot of guys get stuck in OPs because they think they have the drive to put in the work to make it to FO, but really don't. In a sense, they'd already given up before they started trying.

Every time this question gets asked on WSO it starts with a bunch of negative posts saying 'chances are probably not' and then someone swoops in and gives us their personal story about how they made the transition from OPs to FO because they WANTED to.

So it really comes down to how much you want it. Do you want to be in OPs more than 2 years? That's up to you.

I did it. I can name at least 5 of my friends that did it. I can name a dozen others that did it. The problem is that these stories will not make it any easier. The fact is that it's difficult, the odds are still against you, and the people that do it need to be well informed and not fucking oblivious. I'm all for this shit believe me, but some of these misinformed and stubborn asshats need a reality check.

also think luck plays a big part in it as well... whether you get that "chance"

northeastidiot said he/she was from a IVY with good grades but ended up at ops... not trying to be a dick...just saying a good background/experience helps but you can't discount the luck factor

Just fyi, most FO guys don't want to be "networked" by BO guys? What's the incentive for them? So they can hear your sob stories? Or that they want to help you just because you're passionate about finance? At the end of the day, people want to network with people that can offer mutually beneficial relationships. FO - BO networking doesn't work because it's so one sided.

@stoudmelo.....i was all starry eyed when i got an offer for BO at HF 8 months back nd initially it did seem like the best bet for a 22 yr old looking to get into world of high finance...

however those initial few months of excitement and the so called "i work in a HF " feeling will die down as you quickly realize HF BO has nothing whatsoever to do with anything related to finance and even remotely close to the real stuff...

the only reason im sticking by even now is i get ample time to study for my masters nd CFA as after few months as flake correctly pointed out th work seems more of a clerical nature.

if u hv still not joined, network like mad and try getting out while you still can cos the experience here will help you with nothing else AT ALLL!!!

and no matter what others tell you on this....hear it from me.....if ever you are going to move to FO from ops it will be INSPITE OF being in Ops and not because of it.!!