Am I wrong for panicking about my compliance role?

Completing my masters in lockdown-London gave me time to work, so I started a position with a reputable firm vested primarily in trade and regulatory issues as a way to earn additional experience and money whilst still in grad school.

After finishing my degree, I accepted an offer from one of the larger financial consulting firms. It wasn’t my preferred position - I was/still am more interested in IB positions - but the pickings were slim coming out of the pandemic and I figured the name of the firm could at least carry some weight if I wanted to transition within the industry after gaining some experience.

However, because of my legal background - and maybe past regulatory experience - they put me on their compliance team, which is not at all what I want to do. Having done more research into the industry, it seems hard to transition from that into front office roles - in-house as well as externally. 

Is there anyone who’s managed a similar transition or am I locked into compliance roles from now on? Working in compliance, even as a consultant, seems absolutely terrible but it’d be great to hear from the community as opinions seems to be divided.

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