'low level' finance jobs

What is WSO opinion on 'industry' jobs at SME type companies?

For example:
Credit Risk Analyst @ a mortgage firm
Underwriter @ an insurance company (if you consider this a finance job)
Financial Analyst @ a manufacturing firm

The reason I ask is, it seems as if everyone here is hell bent on getting an assosciate position at a i-bank or working as an analyst @ a hedgefund. Is taking a BO position at a small-medium sized enterprise considered 'failure' ?

I do not work in finance neither is my educational background in finance, just a naturally curious person who loves WSO.

 

Look, research what those jobs entail, not what people think of them, and do what makes you happy.

If you have a good time screwing your girlfriend, don't ask her if she wishes you had a bigger pecker or whether she's had better.

 

The real failure is to deliberately choose to be jobless because

1) You think a job title is below your standards 2) You have such a low confidence in your ability to succeed and overcome the odds that you are looking for approvals from complete strangers who live in a virtual world.

Power and Money do not change men; they only unmask them
 
Best Response

I disagree with manufacturing being a low level job. I work at a group fortune 500 HQ. We deal a lot with supply chain and branding, so it is def not low level by any means. A lot of our stuff includes late nights with Hong Kong and Europe, and our analysis is very intense at times. Def a good experience in my opinion... Of course we all want to be the dealmakers and not an analyst for more than a few years, however financial analysis is what it is, whether it is I banking, Retail, Manuf... The models are the same, and you are usually crunching excel in those beginning years anyway...

 

A lot, think about it, you work for a fortune 500 company who does M & A as a part of their core strategy to find more cost effective ways to buy, sell and make a product. You oversee finance and touch on things like sales, planning, analysis and trends. You are able to see a lot of different stuff and are able to connect the many different parts. If you want to make some real money, you could start your own business, or become one of the many VPs of a certain niche. It presents itself well, and the hours vs I banking are incomparable which is nice. 50-60 hours not much more than that, getting paid a decent entry level salary 68k is what i started at with 1 year accounting experience. I would say thats not bad for a suburban town outside of Boston. Not to mention the training we get as opposed to being thrown into the fire.

 

It's not that BO jobs are a failure, it's just that this site is specifically focused for FO jobs. I reckon there are plenty of BO forums out there, like subreddits like r/FPandA for starters. On those sites you'll probs get legit advice for landing respectable industry jobs/ BO jobs like FP&A, corpfin or accounting, and they won't be seen as a failure. Basically, go to the butcher for meat, go to the milkman for milk

 

Veritatis autem error qui perferendis distinctio. Sapiente laudantium accusantium vel iusto quia similique id. Odio ipsam quia ut iste soluta ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”