compliance at BB, hidden gem??....thoughts? experiences?
I had a interesting conversation with a friend of mine was telling me about his job at a BB in compliance. A division I never thought about because I categorized it in my head with back office, however now I feel like its in a class of its own, perhaps alongside the treasury division.
He's an associate earning about 150k, with steady increases every year, also he tells me the lifestyle/work life balance is great, he says he gets a good balance between exposure within all divisions of the company as well as external exposure since there is regulatory affairs.
....the most surprising thing he mentioned, was the amount of respect that people within the firm give their division, when interacting with other divisions, people treat them like they are part of executive team which is overseeing the firm...driving the "big picture", the big boys who work upstairs, almost like corp.strategy. Often times only interacting with the most senior MD's/partners in each revenue producing division. Their work involves government, legal affairs, and int'l relations/political affairs (like what is going on in Greece right now).
....originally I thought that this division was like opps or technology, they simply did their job and people treated them like admins, support staff. ...but in compliance (maybe treasury too), its almost the opposite relationship, everyone in revenue producing divisions (ib/st/wm) are simply the "workers" that help to bring cash in, and treasury/compliance/strategy/executive team are the ones who are the conductors/captains of the ship.
I understand its not IB/S&T. I know its not IB salary. But is this a hidden gem on wall street for interesting work while earning a respectable salary, and having the ability to leave work in time for your dinner reservations?
In addition, I'm curious to know what potential opportunities people might have in compliance, are you stuck in there for life? Any potential opportunities to move into other divisions of the company or perhaps a corp. strategy role at a regular company?
Anyone has thoughts or experiences regarding compliance (or perhaps treasury since they seem to work under the same umbrella)??
No
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I like how you spent 20 minutes writing all that out. Good one.
ahaha, rev producers are "workers" ahaha what ship is this you talk about
I'm curious how you think you're supposed to "treat someone" like admins or support staff?
hahahahahahahah
People generally are nice to compliance because they are the hall monitors of the securities industry. Movies rarely reflect real life, but go watch Boiler Room and see how they feel about compliance. I think the feeling is pretty relevant.
I think you answered your own question right there. Why would you want to "move into other divisions of the company" if you are already the captain?
A quick look at your post history paints a pretty clear picture in terms of your situation. You feel like you've struck out with IB so now you're looking into other options. That's great. But you have to come to terms with your situation and decision. Stop trying to convince others to agree with you that banking isn't worth the hours, that the lifestyle isn't great, that PE is too racist for you, or that compliance is actually better than front office. Your thinly veiled attempts at "reflection" are pretty transparent. Unless you come to terms with things, this insecurity will continue to haunt you.
You are all so incredibly true-to-form finance detritus ... no wonder we're in our current mess. Pfft. No need to treat the questioner this way, I've seen other, classier treatments you should follow. I'm a republican but I hope Obama takes your bonuses down the crapper, sizzlechest.
Yeah. Alright.
it's true that oftentime back-office people, to the extent that they interact with front office people, interact with the most senior people. that being said, don't go thinking that this is a "hidden gem". the senior people sure as shit don't care what back office has to think about any of their businesses--they just want to know what the financials are (or whatever other data request they have).
"captains of the ship"??? give me a break. the work back office does is mind numbing. sounds like the guy you spoke to was just trying to sell you on why his job doesn't suck. trust me, it sucks a lot. and as for respect -- in general, in most large corporations, people always treat people in other divisions with "respect". treating someone respectfully is not actually the same thing as respecting them.
and treasury and compliance are completely different by the way.
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/moved-from-ibd-compliance-next-st…
And
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/lateral-blacklisted-at-bank
You can ask this guy exactly what he thinks of compliance. If you really just care about making a comfortable living (100-200k~) which is a lot more than average joes make, and have some free personal time to yourself, then maybe it is for you. But it's not just the money, it's also personal sense of achievement, job satisfaction, doing work that's somewhat stimulating. Of course, banking doesn't always have that either... can also come with humiliation, thankless work and a side of mind fucking, but when you are staffed on something good, and you pay attention, you can learn a lot. And besides the obvious money/exit ops/prestige, that's another reason why everyone goes for it.
I'm curious why you don't just consider S&T if you're having second thoughts about banking lifestyle and such.
$150k isn't bad. I mean, it's more than what a corporate lawyer at DLA Piper makes these days lol
Though for the same money (biglaw pays $160k) I'd rather be a corporate lawyer.
"driving the "big picture", the big boys who work upstairs, almost like corp.strategy. Often times only interacting with the most senior MD's/partners in each revenue producing division. Their work involves government, legal affairs, and int'l relations/political affairs (like what is going on in Greece right now)."
Amazing satire post. Really well played, hilarous. And to think, for a moment I actually thought you were serious.
Wait, really? You are serious? Jesus. Uh, no, the answer is no, not even close, not by a thousand miles. That applies to everything you wrote.
people go into compliance from UG because they want to get into law school later
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