Is it still impossible to move to the front office?

22 June 2010

1 minute read

Is it still impossible to move to the front office?

The financial crisis destroyed the career aspirations of many back and middle-office employees with their eyes on the ultimate prize - breaking into a money-making, client-facing role.

But as skill shortages start to plague the front office again, is hope returning for those wanting to escape their boring operational jobs?

Are you now applying for front-office positions, and if so, how are banks responding? Are you more likely to succeed if you're looking to move internally?

Is there an age limit beyond which everyone is essential stuck in their job silo?

And how important are qualifications in your fight to make the front office? Does tacking on an MBA or CFA to your CV give you a real chance, or is it more about your personality than your education?

Are you aggressive enough to be a revenue generator, or are you better off using your degree in the back office? Let us know your thoughts below.

AUTHOReFinancialCareers Singapore

Insider Comment

Ed
Educated
29 September 2011
How is discriminating on educational background not meritocratic?
Generally if you went to a better university, equates to being better.
Reply
TT
TT
21 February 2011
Well most business leaders have good education, at least a Masters, but that doesn't mean a good education will you lead to C-class. Err hmm ?
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Ba
Banker
22 July 2010
I started as a IT consultant made good money with a global IT consulting firm . Changed my career, moved to bank working on strategy then FO Sales trading. I also worked for a while as a product controller and Back office process consultant
I have a Eng , MBA and a Masters. I spent abt 150 - 180 K on my education all in . Some ppl will say it is foolish. but i made many times over in less then 24 months. Each of my degrees was good enough for me to make career out of , but the zeal to challenge my self, kept me going and rewarded me.
I find too many ppl just doing simple graduation or diploma and banking and finance wanting earth moon and Sky.
I must say education is the KEY. If you have a reputed degree Probably a good MBA or strong Masters, it will take you a long way. If you see any top leadership of big banks , these guys have good education at least a masters and multi-faceted experience.
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mo
monyet
19 July 2010
&& "When did banks ever say they practice "meritocracy" ?"
You are joking, right? Or have you never applied through a company's website where there is a part that says "they don't discriminate based on....."?
Nope, i'm not joking - indeed, banks say they don't discriminate based on gender, age, etcetc - that's not meritocracy , that's being politically correct. ...if you look carefully, there's nothing there that mentions they anything about 1. where the applicant studied 2. who his/her folks are.
ergo - where you studied and who you know are important in FO jobs. then again it's nothing which we don't already know. the easiest path to getting a FO job in my opinion is to attend a top target university in the US/ UK ( ivies, MIT/stanford/chicago etc, oxbridge/lse).
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ex
ex-DB banker
13 July 2010
at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how u get into the FO. As long as you can break into FO all's well, if not too bad
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