Should I move into boutique Ops?

Hi guys, just was hoping for some advice from the community. I currently work for a data aggregator in executive compensation as a data analyst lead. The pay is okay in terms of what it is, but got offered a job to work in ops at a boutique PE firm, doing data and becoming a "financial/operations analyst". I really want to get into finance, but after hearing mostly horror stories and some diamonds in the rough don't know what to weigh in at. What should I do, is there any way to break into FO because I'm working for a small shop compared to BB. Will I die a slow and painful death? Also will studying for the CFA charter currently will help my options?

4 Comments
 
Best Response

Well CFA won't do much for you unless you're looking to be in investment management of some sort. Even then it's tough because at your point you'll need that career changing milestone. Most people do MBA to try to make that career jump to FO.

Seems like your best path to avoid all the debt of an MBA (assuming you're interested in PE) is to just take an non traditional path and pick up the job at the PE firm and just try to make friends with the associates and ask them questions about what they do and possibly they will show you sometime and the more you learn about the business the more you can possibly help out and integrate yourself into their tasks. I suppose you could then leverage this type of experience into a possible FO role but it would never be BB or elite boutique.

You'd be looking at an interesting path but if you show drive and initiative and work hard then you can break in eventually.

Blue horseshoe loves Anacott Steel
 

Earum aliquam quis corporis rerum fuga enim. Provident porro doloremque qui beatae dignissimos et.

Sed minima minima est aut quaerat sapiente adipisci excepturi. Magni omnis ut quis facilis. Perferendis deserunt nam reiciendis consequatur et maxime nesciunt.

Tempora earum et dolore illo blanditiis. A quae molestiae nisi quos magni voluptatibus qui.

Debitis dolorum et distinctio dolores itaque odit explicabo. Totam non aut amet voluptate. Nihil voluptatem officiis corrupti quibusdam explicabo eum. Quis ut eius qui a et qui aliquam. Eum ab quidem expedita voluptas quo mollitia. Et culpa minima sint voluptatibus soluta veritatis quia necessitatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”