Should I quit my back office job?
Currently at a boutique doing back office. Job duties includes office mgmt, IT, corporate accounting, account recon/banking, and several other back office functions. Started full-time at $35k no bonus last spring. Got a bump up to $40k at the start of this year, no bonus. In a high COL area so I commute 75-90 minutes each way. This was all after interning full-time for 3-4 months.
Starting to wonder if at this point its worth it to stay? I want to spend more time looking/networking to get into front office. Went to a "semi-target" with a mediocre GPA but a good network where I'm at.
Trying to get into Development or Acquisitions, a position where i can get deal experience. Movement to front office seems impossible at my firm, or comes up very rarely. I can elaborate more on that if needed.
If a front office offer becomes live, should I just act on it? Would there be any time I'd be better off to keep looking?
a few things that i would suggest:
my situation: went to shitty undergraduate school. 2 years doing back office jobs at several BBs. did not do MBA. moved to investment banking. did private equity and now back in investment banking. my contact list is now 5,000+. it started with 10 people. recently interviewed for MBA at INSEAD; they said i am overqualified. i think i rather go to Wharton or Columbia. lol.
BO and FO was mainly taking unpaid internship, doing freelance work (i.e. analyst exchange program now call New York School of Finance) , working a corporate finance consultant at a consumer retail startup. Pitch was 1) i already did the internship, 2) i already took your basic modeling course and here is work that i produced, 3) i know i can be a better analyst cuz i actually know how the real company work (i was pitching for IBD/ER for consumer retail sector).
Was in IB. Then, did Corporate Strategy at a big regional bank owned by a family. Lateral into that family's family office unit. Then going back in as a secondment officer into an investment bank that they invested in. Right now doing a bit of merchant banking - 1) i do coverage (capital market and M&A) and 2) principal investing for the same family office in the deals that they like from the deal flow that i see by being at that investment bank.