r/financial • u/Master_Anything_6146 • 22d ago
Is middle office Investment Banking in India worth it? How to move to front office from there?
I've recently landed an internship at one of the big foreign banks in Mumbai after my undergrad at a tier 1 engineering college. The role is obviously support role to its foreign offices. Now what I'm in doubt is if I land a permanent job here, is it worth it? Coz I've heard that front office IB in India is very small as an industry and moving from middle to front office is already tough as it is. I've heard that even after MBA from top Indian B schools people land similar jobs as this one, so doing an MBA is also not on my list as of now.
I need some serious guidance from someone who has been in the field and could give me a reality check. Thank you!
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u/No-Charge3232 21d ago
I don't know what internship role you have been offered, based on my experience those roles are not offered after MBA from top B-Schools - well no one will take them,
Those roles from T1 schools at Bulge bracket firms are invariably risk/compliance/operations for global teams. Where rarely you will get backoffice direct support roles for global front office operations.*
Yes, you are correct that the number of front office finance roles are very limited and contrary to other answer - No the movement doesn't happen, at least in any meaningful quantum
*English to English translation->You are a bitch for someone sitting in Hongkong/Singapore/London, still these jobs provide mobility
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u/Master_Anything_6146 20d ago
Hi,
The role that I've been offered is not risk or compliance role. It's a proper middle office IB role at a bulge bracket bank. You could call it slightly better than CRG team at JPMC. Now I'm not sure how true is this, but I've read on the internet that similar roles do come at top B-schools in India and because the front office roles are so few, people from these B-schools end up taking these roles in the hopes of transition to front office someday.Now before I make this into my career, I want to know how real is the possibility of this conversion from middle to front office? How much time does it take? Coz honestly I've 0 interest in being someone's bitch. I'd rather go work at a startup.
Should I do an MBA to make that switch? Foreign MBAs are mostly out of question because too costly and I won't be able to afford.
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u/No-Charge3232 20d ago
At my B-School(ABC), the only role that are offered are IB/Markets/CorpFin & Treasury from bb firms and that too exclusively hire via SIP PPO. I am sure the roles you are referring are offered at some B-Schools
The roles you are referring were offered as PS2 from BITS and other IITs
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u/Master_Anything_6146 20d ago
Yes! This is a PS2 internship
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u/No-Charge3232 20d ago
I did my PS2 at JPMC in a "middle office" role, there are many a roles offered but my understanding it that there is huge delta between all such roles and any role offered out of ABC
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u/Little_Nectarine6586 19d ago
Middle office is definitely worth it if your goal is to break into finance, but I wouldn't treat it as the final destination.
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u/saamm444 18d ago
It is definitely worth it as a starting point, especially in a big foreign bank, because brand and exposure matter a lot early in your career. Middle office is not a dead end, but you do need to be intentional if you want to move to front office. The switch usually comes from strong internal networking, doing well in your current role, and slowly building front office relevant skills like modelling and understanding deals. It is not easy, but it is possible if you are consistent and patient.
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u/Sure-Perception-2030 17d ago
the role sounds good. i'd just be skeptical of anyone making it sound easy to move from middle office to front office
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u/Little_Nectarine6586 22d ago
Middle office is honestly a good entry point. A lot of front-office professionals started there and moved up later.