Placed in ECM as a first year analyst and not loving it
Hi guys,
I am a first year ECM analyst with a BB firm in Asia. I was placed in this team 3 months ago when I joined the firm and now I'm hating what I'm doing everyday.
I was actually a SA with the same firm last year and I worked for both ECM and Corporate Derivatives back then. I loved what I did with Corporate Derivatives because I studied maths in school and I could use a lot of my knowledge in derivatives when I worked for the team. My colleagues in derivatives team also loved me because they can see I'm analytic and smarter than average. So when I was offered a full-time job, I took it for granted that I will be placed in derivatives, as the offer did not specify which team I would be in due to ongoing cost-cutting in the firm. 3 months ago when I finished my training, I was officially told I will be working with ECM instead of derivatives because of headcount reasons.
I guess ECM is not the worst team to be in but I just don't feel it's for me. Working in ECM is a lot less intellectually stimulating as I would like. What I do as a junior everyday is just recycling pitch books, doing market updates, running credentials, writing case studies, preparing internal memos, etc. Because I have worked with this team before, soon I feel like there is not much that interests me anymore at this stage, but I still have to do the boring and repetitive work as the most junior guy in the team. Sometimes a VP from derivatives team will try to loop me in some of his projects but it's hard for me to get deeply involved because after all I don't work for his team and cannot commit enough time for the project. I have talked to different managers about my situation but it doesn't look like I will get a solution from them anytime soon.
So I wonder what I can do about it. My original career plan was to learn as much as I can from the derivatives team and ultimately switch to a relevant role in a HF or a corporate. Sorry I haven't done enough research on what kind of relevant roles are out there but I believe there will be some. But if I'm stuck with ECM, I probably can work to VP level someday but I don't see myself enjoying the work nor will I be able to use my analytic skills which is my biggest strengths to stand out from my peers.
I came up with several solutions but none of them looks perfect:
1) Finish my first year in ECM and try again to switch to derivatives in the company (Problem: still have headcount limit)
2) Finish my first year in ECM and try to switch to another company (Problem: high risk in current job market and may be downgraded to first year)
3) Finish analyst program in ECM and go to BSchool then switch to derivatives or something else ( Problem: I will waste 3 years in ECM and BSchool is a huge investment which not really helps me as I'm already in finance)
So here I am looking for advice from you guys who are more experienced and know the industry better than I do. What could I possibly do under the circumstance? What should I plan for the next few years to reach my career goal? Are there any other career options I could consider which need ECM knowledge but essentially more analytic?
Thanks in advance.
i'd really recommend to stick it out for at least another year lateraling will be easier then
Neque sed expedita molestiae dolorum explicabo quia odio. Ut ipsum sint sit quis ullam et.
Enim expedita sapiente expedita ab velit sequi perferendis. Vitae et ipsum quas voluptas. Molestiae cupiditate qui consequatur. Quibusdam voluptatibus consequuntur natus ullam ducimus. Voluptatem et sint officia porro suscipit quis. Consequatur nihil ullam iusto iure laborum ullam.
Qui laborum tempora ut minima enim vel nihil. Nulla et eveniet fugit qui suscipit reprehenderit et fugit. Totam quos mollitia et sunt.
Aperiam assumenda ratione placeat molestias aperiam. Recusandae non deleniti et reiciendis voluptatem beatae adipisci dolorem. Culpa ut et voluptas ut qui et harum rem. Modi porro dolorem qui quos nesciunt rerum. Non consequatur molestiae et tenetur doloremque quaerat quae qui. Ullam omnis voluptate explicabo et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...