P&L Analyst??!

[tttt77]

Hi.

I have started to work on a major investment bank as a P&L Analyst (middle office) in an European city.

I had just finished my undergraduate degree, took a gap year, and I wanted to have some work experience before diving into a postgraduate degree so I applied for this job and was selected.

The thing is that my ambition is to be a trader/PM at a hedge fund.

What should my steps be to ensure that I can accomplish that ambition?

Is it possible to use this middle office role to get into a 1st year Analyst position or is it a bad thing that my first job is not in the front office?

Is it a bad starting point or can I really learn a lot about the industry from this job?

I would love some help and tips.

Thanks

[ohai]

If you are just working here before some postgraduate degree, the nature of that degree is the most important factor.

From what I have seen, some small minority of operations at hedge funds get promoted to front office. It is easier to make this transition at small hedge fund firms compared to banks. You must be the best operations person there though. Bank middle office directly to hedge fund front office will not happen; best case is you become a middle office at the hedge fund first.

I don’t know how to define “bad” starting point. Obviously, it’s better if you worked in the front office to begin with, but that’s what you have, so you have to work with it.

What steps to do? Be excellent in everything you do and good things might happen.

[pejp]

@ohai

If you are just working here before some postgraduate degree, the nature of that degree is the most important factor.

From what I have seen, some small minority of operations at hedge funds get promoted to front office. It is easier to make this transition at small hedge fund firms compared to banks. You must be the best operations person there though. Bank middle office directly to hedge fund front office will not happen; best case is you become a middle office at the hedge fund first.

I don’t know how to define “bad” starting point. Obviously, it’s better if you worked in the front office to begin with, but that’s what you have, so you have to work with it.

What steps to do? Be excellent in everything you do and good things might happen.

or be the son/daughter of someone important. I worked for a very well known hedge fund for 12 years and the amount of nepotism in the industry was insane.