Depressed in Ops
Hello Fellow Monkeys,
I am 3 years out of college stuck in an ops role at a small RIA in the bay area. The job pays well and I feel like is generally secure. However, I am upset because I feel like I am on a dead end career path. Seriously, the longer I stay in Ops the more it feels like I'm drowning in quicksand.
I tried very hard in my spare time to work on my technical skills. I'm strong in Excel (hotkeys, formulas, and VBA) and can write some python for data analysis and visualization. However, I can't get a fucking email back when I apply for more technical research roles. Should I hire a resume writer? I have a close group of friends from HS and college but haven't ever really cold networked. Most of my friends are in tech anyways.
Any advice or personal stories would mean a lot, thanks for reading this.
Hey OP, if it makes you feel any better, I'm in data and would kill for an Ops role right now lol. Care to trade?
I'll spare you the weekly moments of lamenting and feeling bad for yourself and give you the advice everyone else here will you give, that I received as well: you gotta practice networking. You should view it as a skill that just needs to be honed like any other. There's really no other way of getting in somewhere without getting insanely lucky -- but even so, this is still a skill that deserves some amount of attention to developing anyways since you can't rely on luck.
Are you familiar with cold networking strategies? There are a lot of threads for them on WSO, applied to finance roles but the same practices generally apply anywhere you go.
Hi Appley,
Thanks for your reply. I’m not too familiar with cold networking strategies but I’ll read any link or description you provide. Do you think it would be worth it to hire a resume writer? I’ve been recommended by friends for jobs at larger banks but never end up hearing back.
I'm hardly qualified to answer this (since I have shit results with sending out my resume) but I think you should only hire a resume writer once you're COMPLETELY certain about where you'd like to go (career/industry wise I mean). It can be a bit expensive so it's something you really want to just do once and get it done with.
I think there is a super thread on WSO for networking but if you look through the most popular threads/most silver bananas you'll come across a handful of threads on networking. You can start anywhere but it's good to get a feeling of what everyone is saying on networking through them.
Just post your resume on here (delete sensitive/identifying info), I'm sure people will help you out
It’s all about networking in your situation. I was there at one point. You’re never going to be seriously considered unless someone at the table can vouch for you. Honestly, your resume probably won’t even make it past HR to the hiring team unless you’ve networked and the team requests it.
If you can tell a coherent story about why you want to switch and the skills you have built up outside of work, you can impress others enough to give you an entry level shot.
Thanks for your honest feedback. Do you have any advice for navigating the current landscape given COVID?
Do you think that if I pursued an MBA I would still be rejected from good opportunities given my background in operations?
Sorry I don’t have any advice related to COVID. I think we’re all still finding out how to navigate in this environment.
The MBA program you get into is what matters. If you want IB you should look into T25 programs, probably more like T15. If you get into an M7 program it won’t matter if you flipped burgers before going to Colombia (I’m exaggerating but you get the point).
goto indeed.com and setup job search email alerts for roles that interest you. You will see new posts every week...many companies are hiring...maybe not the exact job you want...but there are still hiring needs.
Thank you for your response. I’m not sure I want to take that route, that’s actually how I ended up in my current position.
when you are young, job hopping is not looked down upon...the longer you wait...the worse it will get
you want to get out of this situation, and into a career path that you really want, as soon as possible. don't quit until you have a job lined up elsewhere...but if you want to leave...you must make efforts now. Normally, coffee chats, linkedin stalking and other networking efforts where you meet face to face and build a relationship would be the way to go...but with social distancing...you probably will never meet these people in person, which makes networking hard. Learn how to cold call....use indeed to search for job openings...then use linkedin to get convos at the firms with open jobs with people who seem closely related to the open job...and then try to get a phone convo where you ask for career advice.
Curious about what exactly about Ops you don't like. You say it is a dead end career but is that all that is motivating you or is the job boring / you don't think you are learning enough?
Reflection on these things will make you know which path you want to pursue in life.
It’s boring, repetitive and my coworkers on the investment side don’t give me any respect even the ones I’m friends with outside of work. I personally believe there isn’t much to learn at any operations job past the first 4-6 months.
Can you get fast enough at your job that you work like 3 hours a day and can go home?
taek cfa exams
I’m signed up for level 1 in December. I should have taken it 6/30 before COVID. The more I learn about the CFA the less I really believe it’s my style of investing. I really just view the world as a series of probabilities.
yea who cares just pass it for the resume boost out of ops you don't have to worship the CFAI
not really helpful
cfa is for sure a helpful way to get out of ops. passing level 2 maybe even just level 1 can get you into a credit or risk type of middle office role and then from there opportunities get much better, especially if you were to finish all 3 levels
I got out of the back office primarily by networking. My first job from school was in the back office in a shit location. After a year, I took another back office gig in a Tier 1 city, which I landed by networking internally. After a few months in the new gig, and becoming a CFA L2 candidate, I networked and landed an external interview for a front office job. I’ve been in the front office of that firm for just over 3 years now and was promoted last year to Associate.
Regardless of what happens, just don’t fucking quit.
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