bank of america middle office

after a bunch of interviews and such i have been left with a strange assortment of offers, but at least its something. i have an offer to work for a commodity trading firm that deals with physicals. I also have an offer to work at a startup hedge-fund on the trading side. Lastly I have an offer with Bank of America middle office. I want to be a trader, but everyone around me says go with bank of america since its bigger. If i go to bank of america what is the best middle office position i could go into so that i can have a chance of switching to trading or sales?

22 Comments
 

stay on the FO if you can, even if its for a smaller firm. MO at a BB can be a deadend. It's possible to move from MO-FO (i've done it) but very, very difficult, especially recently.

 

sometimes people need to start looking at their offer letters without the name of the firm... they would make SUCH smarter choices.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

I have thought about everything you guys have said, however i still feel like no one has answered my question. I am not saying BAML is the best choice, but I want to know what my best options within middle office are. Which desk is the most stimulating/fun or the easiest to move to S&T from.

 

I don't know, I don't work in MO. This is Wall Street oasis, not main street oasis. Although working at BAML middle office may give the illusion of working on Wall Street, and yes many people will be fooled as they don't know the difference, doesn't mean you are on wall st.

 

who said anything about wall street? what are u talking about. i honestly think u need help because your response suggests in more ways than one that you are delusional and catatonic, not to mention completely incapable of contributing to this discussion. I don't care what you have to say or what your opinions on wall street are. I unlike you am not trying to impress anyone by working on wall street. I think I would be a great trader and therefore am trying to find a way into that profession. While studying at arguably the best school in the country, I have been really busy and have had a lot of fun. I made some mistakes too. My grades have suffered as a result and am now trying to make up for that. With the exception of my GPA, I am extremely well qualified. The person who interviewed me told me I was one of the more amazing and articulate people he had ever met. He told me that I should be in sales and trading, given my personality and track record of ambition and success. In 20 years I promise you I will be happy with myself and my life and my career. In 20 years you will probably still be trying to impress girls with ur title and ur wallet size. Good luck with your life man, and please try to be more considerate and respectful of others and mindful of your words.

 
Apollowho said anything about wall street? what are u talking about. i honestly think u need help because your response suggests in more ways than one that you are delusional and catatonic, not to mention completely incapable of contributing to this discussion. I don't care what you have to say or what your opinions on wall street are. I unlike you am not trying to impress anyone by working on wall street. I think I would be a great trader and therefore am trying to find a way into that profession. While studying at arguably the best school in the country, I have been really busy and have had a lot of fun. I made some mistakes too. My grades have suffered as a result and am now trying to make up for that. With the exception of my GPA, I am extremely well qualified. The person who interviewed me told me I was one of the more amazing and articulate people he had ever met. He told me that I should be in sales and trading, given my personality and track record of ambition and success. In 20 years I promise you I will be happy with myself and my life and my career. In 20 years you will probably still be trying to impress girls with ur title and ur wallet size. Good luck with your life man, and please try to be more considerate and respectful of others and mindful of your words.

chill.the.fuck.out.

if you cant deal with peoples responses, make your own decisions.

 
Apollowho said anything about wall street? what are u talking about. i honestly think u need help because your response suggests in more ways than one that you are delusional and catatonic, not to mention completely incapable of contributing to this discussion. I don't care what you have to say or what your opinions on wall street are. I unlike you am not trying to impress anyone by working on wall street. I think I would be a great trader and therefore am trying to find a way into that profession. While studying at arguably the best school in the country, I have been really busy and have had a lot of fun. I made some mistakes too. My grades have suffered as a result and am now trying to make up for that. With the exception of my GPA, I am extremely well qualified. The person who interviewed me told me I was one of the more amazing and articulate people he had ever met. He told me that I should be in sales and trading, given my personality and track record of ambition and success. In 20 years I promise you I will be happy with myself and my life and my career. In 20 years you will probably still be trying to impress girls with ur title and ur wallet size. Good luck with your life man, and please try to be more considerate and respectful of others and mindful of your words.

Sweet melt dude, if you can't handle some friendly fodder from an anonymous online community how do you expect to fare when you get a job in S&T?

 

I am a very chill person, but his response had absolutely nothing to do with my question. If a stranger asked me where to find a Starbucks... I wouldnt tell him I hated starbucks and that their coffee is crap. I might think that, but there is no reason that I should make him feel bad about himself when he is just asking me for help.

 

I am not one to burn bridges, however sometimes it is worth it to let someone know they are out of line. If you read my question and look at your responses you will see why I went off. I have worked in a professional setting before, and have had to deal with offensive people in the past. On this forum however, I have nothing to lose by being fair and blunt.

 

to answer ur question, join a team: 1. with the most exposure/interaction with traders.. so one where you sit on the desk and help out.
2. which products interest you and are within your ability (e.g. exotics/structured products might be too quant'ish)

feel free to PM me, I know quite a bit about this.

 
Best Response

Stop worrying about the bank and more about the experience (there is a reason job announcements have years of experience listed on them not which bank) . If you really want trading, do it unless they are going to pay you crap(gotta pay the bills). It would suck to do a job somewhere for two years waiting to get the opportunity then end up with the same job you turned down two years ago.

Also, Ray Finkle is a dick who is probably getting his a** handed to him everyday buy his manger and is about to see his time as an analyst coming to an end. Nobody likes dicks and they usually end looking for a job followed by a bad rep. Most of the time they spend their post Wall Street live talking about how they were smarting than everyone they worked with, no one knew their value and people hated them because they were so great.

Does this sound familiar Ray?

 

My advice would be to always focus on the role first, then the company. The jump from small firm to big firm is WAY easier than the jump from MO to FO. You will have to fight hard to move tiers, but to change roles at two different firms... way easier.

And sorry but I have to do this... "He told me that I should be in sales and trading, given my personality and track record of ambition and success. "

Given your personality? You haven't shown us much of that here... Just sayin'

 

This is easy. I would take the start-up hedge fund since it is on the trading side. I don't care if your getting coffee and looking over trade accuracy with a calculator.

Please don't make me talk to you like an asshole...
 

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