Operations:beware
Well I was very naive and uninformed throughout the recruiting process about what exactly operations is. I just saw the great name of the company and figured it would look good. Boy was I wrong. I figured "Hey, it can't be as bad as everyone says on WSO", much to my disappointment, it is. The task are very mundane-that is, when I actually have something to do. Granted, I've only been here a few months, but in operations your learn absolutely nothing of value. It grew from liking the easy hours and laid back culture at first, to pure loathing. Please, prospective job monkeys, if an operations job is your only offer, keep looking. Now don't get me wrong, the hours are easy and its very chill with somewhat decent pay. If this is your sort of thing, then it can be great. But for everyone else, it sucks. I'm actually considering repaying my bonus and going to intern for a local mm or boutique investment bank if the opportunity comes up.
Just a heads up to prospective monkeys.




I worked in ops for 5 months
I worked in ops for 5 months before quitting. Worst job ever. I worked with morons and incompetent people. Ops is the kiss of death. Never, ever take an ops position. Do anything else you can.
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The only thing stopping me
The only thing stopping me from just quitting is the repayment of the bonus. I have to work there for a year and then I don't have to worry about it. But your right, it is abysmal. I started a new job search after the first day on the job, and if something comes up It;s worth paying the 10k back to leave.
I've heard of some kids who
I've heard of some kids who do ops for two years at a satellite shop and then make a move to IBD or something in the New York office. I'm sure it's not too common though.
I said it once a while back
I said it once a while back and I will say it again.
People get blinded by the business card. If you are in ops at Morgan Stanley you are not any closer to IBD than if you were in sales at Colgate. Do something with transferable skills and make the jump. Ops is a million miles away from where you really want to be.
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I've never worked in Ops but
I've never worked in Ops but it can't be that bad can it? I mean, every entry-level job is boring. I did a summer in IBD at a Boutique (very boring, fudging around with credit models), 1.5 years in RM (Market Risk) after graduation (interesting for the first few months because of all the complex statistics, after that a mainly review position that got pretty boring), and now in AM- definitely stimulating overall but day-to-day aspects can also be monotonous. I would say Finance is only exciting when you're in the actual decision-making seat- making deals, taking positions, what have you. Otherwise it's like every other job- and the vast majority of Americans don't like their job.
My view is anyone that is in
My view is anyone that is in a job and thinks it has nothing to offer them, most likely isn't capable of doing a job above that particular position anyway.
It is whatever you make it.
I know a girl who was an admin for the trade support desk (operations), parlayed that into a spot on that trade support desk and is now a trader. On another note, I had a temp doing the worst fucking work imaginable on a deal I was staffed on. A million times worse then anything you would have to do in operations. But she was awesome, she did the completely mind numbing shit I asked of her and she had a great attitude the whole time. And she was smart enough to where I could task her with doing other shit she shouldn't have been able to do on paper. Long story short, she had been out of college and looking for a job for quite a while I hit up everyone in my firm trying to help her get hooked up... and she did... in a pretty sick job actually. Meanwhile, what positions was she interviewing for and hoping to get before she was temping for me? Admin and operations jobs.
So it doesn't matter what your expected to do, it matters what you get out of the experience and what you're capable of doing with it. If you're not capable of getting anything out of it, don't blame the position, you're the one that's intellectually impotent.
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Dude, Ops is exactly like The
Dude, Ops is exactly like The Office. You work with people who are dispassionate. Your work means nothing and you have no hopes of doing anything interesting. Salary incrementally increases. No client interaction. No real human interaction. Basically hell on earth.
After 3 weeks I started hard core looking for a new job. After 2 months I was drinking heavily after work and basically just staring at the computer and work and talking to no one. I started missing days while interviewing and my boss called me in the office. He started lecturing me about the job and I told him "do you want me to quit and walk out right now or give you my two weeks". Shocked, he asked why. My reply "this job fucking sucks". After that he left me alone until I quick a month later.
That was probably one of the worst working experiences of my life. Do not do it.
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I'm in the same position,
I'm in the same position, stuck in an Ops job because I thought it would be much easier to get out. Any advice/success stories would be appreciated.
bballman27 wrote: I'm in the
I'm in the same position, stuck in an Ops job because I thought it would be much easier to get out. Any advice/success stories would be appreciated.
I would put the IB dream on hold and look for something more challenging, more interesting, in another field. Look at GE's leadership programs, J&J, etc. Look for something in treasury, credit analysis, Big 4 TAS, Duff & Phelps, something that is more interesting and has related skills or a better brand.
Ops at its core is supporting revenue generating areas. Find a revenue generating job. If it involves financial analysis, client interaction, leadership, etc then those are all skills that can be transferred to banking or an MBA. Find something that sparks your spirit, gives you a meaning and do that.
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Marcus, Trade
Marcus,
Trade support is probably the one field that really allows for upward movement. I think saying if you can't get something out of a job then it is your fault is bullshit. Some kids don't know any better or they take a job with the best intentions. Sometimes these jobs are over sold to people. I was naive and didn't know any better. I explicitly told the interviews what I was looking for and what I expected and they smiled and nodded.
As for being intellectually impotent, that is complete bullshit.
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Thank god for this thread. I
Thank god for this thread. I just spoke with a guy from ops at goldman today and he almost convinced me.
One of the best things to
One of the best things to have happened to me was when my mid office OPS group @ MS was downsized (including me).
the people i worked with had no ambitions.
Marcus-your right on what you
Marcus-your right on what you say. I do not disagree. I am just stating what has been my experience. I continuously ask for work, but there is none. There is no way I can have a chance to stand out or prove my intellect. There is no room for growth and everyone at the office seems content with this. Ops is seriously one of the worst decisions of my life. I'm not complaining(or trying not to), just trying to helps out those that are recruiting right now by letting them know what they are getting into. I have been in contact with a few local firms about other opportunities, so I feel like there is something to look forward to everyday.
so which is better? opps or
so which is better? opps or compliance
Anthony . wrote: I worked in
I worked in ops for 5 months before quitting. Worst job ever. I worked with morons and incompetent people. Ops is the kiss of death. Never, ever take an ops position. Do anything else you can.
Yes, I spent 10 weeks in Ops and was miserable. How those jobs remain in the USA is beyond me. To the OP, it may be miserable, but tough it out or try to move to the client middle office. You are extremely close to the money makers and you can often prove yourself. I met tons of VPs in the BO who had worked in securities and PE/Merchant Banking. They had the opportunity to prove themselves in the FO but elected to move to the BO once they had kids.
I am not cocky, I am confident, and when you tell me I am the best it is a compliment.
-Styles P
Listen, you have to eat and
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eokpar02 wrote: Anthony .
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Yeah Ops sucks, know some
__________________________
if you ain't first, you last
Wow I thought I was one of
So the overwhelming majority
Do what you want not what you can!
Anthony . wrote: That's me,
“I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are.”
- Hicks
bodyo wrote: So the
“I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are.”
- Hicks
I worked in ops for 9 months
WSO Conf - June 29, 2013
Anthony . wrote: @Everyone
fully_amazing wrote: Anthony
Do what you want not what you can!
It's fucking dire!!!!! I'm
Oreos wrote: It's fucking
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Marcus_Halberstram
has anyone considered using
Thanks for the advice Anthony
Keep us posted would love to
Marcus_Halberstram wrote: You
I am an avid reader of this
Just chiming in, about 40% of
"Dude, not trying to be a dick here, but your shop looks like a frontrunner for the cover of Better Boilerrooms & Chophouses or Bucketshop Quarterly."
-Uncle Eddie
Pwned.
Yep Ops is the kiss of death.
Marcus_Halberstram wrote: My
Anthony, I've been following
Thanks for the love.
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Posters like Anthony, I
There really is no regulation
Marcus_Halberstram wrote: My
Anthony . wrote: bballman27