BB- Retail Credit Underwriting vs Backoffice Project Management

I am in my late twenties. I hold a BBA and a MBA from a regional business school. Believe it or not, I do not wish to work in a FO role (explained below). I came across two opportunities, and need to make a decision fairly quickly and would like to get a nudge in either direction. Most folks I know are outside of the realm of finance, and thus can't help me in regards to career progression.

Retail Credit Underwriting: Non-exempt with the ability to earn overtime (obviously not guaranteed). 10% bonus. Career progression would be Underwriter => Underwriting Supervisor => Center Manager (which the latter would not likely to happen for some time, if ever). There is job security, and with opportunities to work from home after a few more years of experience. Although it did pay well, I felt like it was a dead end career (as a newbie, I worked with people who have been doing it for 10+ years and are still in the same role). I've worked as an Underwriter for a couple of years and moved to the same BB IB's BO role as an Analyst.
Pros: Overtime potential. Job security. Potential to work from home.
Cons: Likely a dead end career.

Backoffice Project Associate: Exempt, no overtime potential. 10% bonus. Career progression would be Associate => AVP (1-3 years from now) => VP (Project Manager, 3-5 years from now). I worked with this team in the past and have nothing but great things to say about management. I feel like upper management is prepping me to take on the Project Manager role in a few years. I know BO roles take a lot of flack on WSO as far as exit opportunities, however Project Management (especially technology) seems to transition well in other teams and industries beyond banking.
Pros: Gain skills that transitions to other industries and personal pursuits. Ability to move up the ladder.
Cons: Work-life balance may not be as great.

Where do I see myself in 10 years? Maybe neither. I do not particularly enjoy either role. I only work to bootstrap several ventures that I manage in my free-time, and hope one of them will take off in a few years. This is one of the primary reasons why I am not seeking a FO role as it would not afford me with the work-life balance that I have now. My true passion lies in the work I'm doing outside of banking, and work simply allows me to fund them. However, if they all fail (which is also likely), I want to have some career path. For what it's worth, both jobs pay the same (except one has overtime potential) and allows me to live very comfortably.

With knowing my future plans, which route would you take?

4 Comments
 

I know very little about these jobs.

I would not want to be a project manager without coding experience or having built the system. But that's just me. I feel like there could be some risks with a culture gap between you and the tech culture. But again, I don't know, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

If your goal is to have income outside of work Im not sure dead-end job matters. Have you considered commercial underwriting or a life insurance company tho? Might be more interesting.

 
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