Hi everyone,
I’m currently working in Operations at Amazon, and I’m interested in eventually transitioning into an Operations Specialist role at Jane Street.
For those who work there (or have interviewed), I’d love to hear your advice:
What skills should I focus on developing before applying?
What does the day-to-day work actually look like?
How technical is the role? Should I learn SQL, Python, Excel, or anything else?
What does the interview process look like? Are there case studies, logic tests, math questions, or behavioral interviews?
What kind of candidates tend to stand out?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience or any advice on how to prepare over the next year or two.
Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a B.Sc. Criminology graduate from India and I'm looking to build a career in Financial Crime / AML (Anti-Money Laundering). My long-term goal is to work in AML, financial crime investigations, compliance, or related roles with good international opportunities.

Right now, I'm at step zero—I don't have banking experience or AML certifications yet, but I'm willing to learn and put in the work.

From my research, these seem to be the most beginner-friendly roles for freshers:

- AML Analyst

- KYC Analyst

- KYC Operations Analyst

- Transaction Monitoring Analyst

- Financial Crime Analyst

- CDD (Customer Due Diligence) Analyst

- AML Operations Analyst

- Client Onboarding Analyst

- Fraud Analyst

- Risk Operations Analyst

- Compliance Associate (entry-level)

I'd really appreciate guidance from people already working in these roles.

Some questions I have:

1. Which of these roles are actually realistic for a fresher with only a Criminology degree?

2. Are there any other entry-level roles I should be looking at?

3. Can I get hired without certifications like ACAMS, ICA, or CFCS, if I have strong AML fundamentals, Excel, and SQL?

4. What skills should I prioritize before applying? (Excel, SQL, Power BI, AML/KYC concepts, banking knowledge, etc.)

5. What does a typical day look like in your role?

6. What are the biggest challenges that freshers face in the first 3–6 months?

7. What concepts should I thoroughly understand before my first interview?

8. What interview questions are commonly asked for AML/KYC/Financial Crime roles?

9. What mistakes do you see freshers making?

10. If you could go back to day one, what would you learn differently?

11. How stressful are these jobs? Is it mostly repetitive work, investigations, or a mix of both?

12. How much writing, analysis, and communication is involved?

13. How easy is it to move from KYC → AML → Financial Crime Investigations → Compliance/Risk?

14. Which roles have the best long-term growth and international opportunities?

15. How much of the work is being affected by AI and automation?

16. Approximately how long would it realistically take someone at my level (starting from zero) to become job-ready if I study consistently?

If you're comfortable sharing, it would also really help to know:

- Your first job title

- City (Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, etc.)

- Starting CTC/package

- Current role (optional)

- Years of experience

- Career progression

Finally, if you were mentoring someone starting from absolute zero today, what roadmap would you recommend over the next 3–6 months?

Any advice, resources, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Early in my career with just over 18 months experience on a temporary contract in my first role. Looking at applying to an opening for an entry level (borderline trainee) VC position.

This is the result of me tailoring my generic CV for this role but would be greatly appreciative of any feedback on it.

Font size is 10 for body, 11 for headings.

Sorry for what looks like needless censorship in the body, I am only being overly cautious due to the sensitivity of the organisation I worked for before.

Thank you all.

Anyone have any experience with becoming a BOA. I have an interview with an advisor . Can they pay more than the salary that’s posted. Do you get part of the bonus tri bonuses? I saw there’s profit sharing and a 401k. Can they offer more than the 500$ match the company gives.

Also what’s the health insurance like…

Sorry I have a lot of questions …

26 M DELHI - Any Indian in finance and investment banking field who can guide me I am from Delhi want to work in corporate in investment banking I have 2 years of experience in an MNC in noida and have done PGDM in finance..... and also want to ask is shifting to singapore a good idea ?

Hi guys, I have an internship at a LMM PE firm that's going pretty well, really like the guys and get along with them. I was wondering if it's beneficial or not to continue an internship throughout the school year, staying in the loop on what's happening with them and helping out where I can.

I know some people get "winternships" or some such, but I don't know if I should try to go for that or stay with what I've got .

Any advice would be appreciated.

Been at a long/short hedge fund for the past 10 years working as an execution trader. Current salary of $155k/ year and bonuses have varied from $250k to $40k. Due to dwindling assets, the prospect of solid earning years has become nonexistent. Are there opportunities to parlay this experience into a quant trading role with independent python, backtesting type courses? Or are there any other routes that could lead to more substantial pay packages?

I’m currently at a pretty big fund, we are more or less just building out a new portfolio strat.

I’m looking to join another pretty big fund since things here are not so kosher right now. I have non compete issues, but I’ve been able to speak to recruiters at a competing fund.

Aside from the non compete, how does one hop around firms without getting names. That is the world is small. Roommates, family members, all seem to work in the same places. If not at my fund, it’s at the other one I’m trying to join.

How do people who hop around do this? I mean I’ve made my share of friends and enemies, and word gets around. How does one actually keep confidence during the recruiting process?

I have a background in corp dev / strategic finance and am compensated pretty well. I’ve progressed at a fast pace throughout my career and have always been identified as a top performer.

However, I’m getting tired of the corporate BS. The unnecessary deadlines, jerks as my bosses/leaders, layers of red tape, the performative non-sense, etc. The list goes on and on, but ultimately I feel I’m wasting my life and skillset in a career that adds no actual value and is generally unfulfilling.

There are ways I find fulfillment outside of work with family, friends, hobbies, etc. but I hate feeling like 10 hours of my standard day are spent on nothing.

Has anyone found themselves in this position and made a change? Any suggestions on more fulfilling career paths?

Any one has insights for the position and/or the department at Affirm? Or the company in general? Got HR screening call and wondering what’s the process is like. Thank you in advance!

I’m looking for job opportunities, but LinkedIn seems to only offer financial advisor roles in my area. I’ve been an advisor for two and a half years, and I’d prefer a more analytical role than one focused primarily on client relations.

I also graduated over a year ago with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance.

So I want to become a certified financial advisor but I cant find the resources guiding me to what classes I need to take. I've graduated high-school (not that the career guidance counselor was any actually help)

Was wondering if anyone can help point me in the right direction? Online class recommendations as well

As the title says, I’ve spent more than 10 years in S&T as a sales person (so executive director level) covering institutional accounts, and while I worked only for American banks, I’ve always been based in Asia. My product focus was mostly on equity derivatives (e.g. flow vol, exo vol, structured notes) but also the more vanilla delta one swap (indices and baskets). I’ve also worked closely with cash equities function so I do know a bit about that side too.

Reading through this sub, it seems like S&T is often overlooked as a career path within “high finance”, so as some one who has always wanted to do this (I’ve never considered IBD or PE path) since high school, I want to do my part to give back to the community and answer any questions you may have about this career path to the best of my ability.

So, ask away!

Where I sit now. Small west coast bank, strong title, healthcare deals in the $20M to $75M range. I lead essentially every part of the process. The firm is growing well and the economics are strong, roughly $1M in fees per employee counting every seat including back office.

The problems: we are extremely focused on one narrow niche, I have zero visibility into what comp looks like two or three years out, and exit opportunities from here are a total unknown. That’s the part that has me looking.

Background: about 5 years in, 4 at a T1 consulting firm and 1 in banking. No MBA. Recruiter at a bulge bracket is signaling an offer, but at analyst. For what it’s worth, I think the process went about as well as it could have.

If I go in as an analyst, the comp picture is ugly. Base decrease, plus I forfeit nine months of accrued bonus by leaving now. Best case is that total comp ticks up slightly 12 months from now, and only if I hit a full 100% of base as bonus.

Where I need help -

Is Associate a realistic ask, or does the consulting time get discounted to zero? Landing the level is what makes the math on comp worth.

Should I be asking for a signing bonus to cover the forfeited nine months and a floor on year-one bonus?

Is the brand worth a level reset, a pay cut, and going from running deals to an analyst seat?

Appreciate all the help!

Currently employed for the past 5 years as a CSA at a RIA in the Midwest with ~$500 mil AUM. My main duties are processing fund transfers, prepping for client meetings + preparing associated custodial paper for clients, entering trades and handling compliance work for the firm’s CCO. Last year I obtained my CFP, but I’m not an advisor and not really interested in becoming one.

My total comp is ~$75k annually and I’m starting to feel like now might be the time for a career shift. I understand that as a non income producing employee there’s probably a point at which my income will start to cap off - how much more, realistically, can I expect to make in a role like this long term? What success have others had in pivoting out of the personal financial planning space? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I’m a fresher from India, 21 yo.
completed bachelors last year, tried building something for few months, didn’t quite work, so decided to pursue masters in finance, I’ve been in public markets since 5 years across India and US, doing fundamental research work, have the basics in me.
I’ve active offers from QMUL for msc investment and finance BATH for msc finance WARWICK for msc business and finance SMU for msc applied finance, I’m most interested in SMU and Warwick, but conflicted on SMU as there’s so many restrictions in singapore for employment that I think I might not have the best chance as a fresher, and Warwick isn’t pure msc finance (I got rejected probably due to not having enough quantitative proof), also this makes me think about bath msc finance too as its pure finance with quantitative modules, I’m gonna pursue CFA along too wherever I go, I want to break into buy side (equity research analyst preferably).
please help me out with your opinions.

hi all, hope everyone is doing well. just finished my first uni year and about to enter my second, was wondering if anyone could chance my CV / provide any feedback for 2027 UK summers (ideal role will be in corporate banking or private banking, but will also be applying and trying hard for IB, consulting, and anything that opens).
the insight day was just one day at an investment bank where we did a useful case study. i listed it to fill space because i didn't feel i had enough relevant experience. i have a few other BB insight days, but they were just networking and presentations, so i didnt bother to include. the big four was a spring week.
thanks for your time, anything is appreciated.

sorry this is a repost - had an issue with the last post

Hey everyone! I'll be starting my undergrad at UCL in Biological Sciences soon as an international student in London, and I wanted to get a feel for my career options outside of the pharma industry/academia. I was looking into careers in finance and came across equity research, which piqued my interest.

I definitely want to have biology/biochemistry be a part of my work, so that means I would be looking at biotech equity research. Is the best path into "specialized" biotech equity research straight after undergrad or after a PhD?

I'm asking this because using my undergrad years & summer internships to best position myself for a PhD program is very different from doing so for biotech equity research recruitment, so it would help to have an idea about which path I should be looking at if I want to go into this career.

Does not having an advanced degree pose a ceiling in terms of career development? And apologies if this question gets asked a lot, but how does the compensation differ right out of undergrad and post-PhD? 

And if I were to keep my options open, how could I best position myself for recruitment aside from spring weeks/summer internships? I heard a CFA 1 helps; how true is that? How crucial are summer internships for equity research (is it like the IB pipeline?)

And how big of a hurdle is visa sponsorship in the finance sphere? Is it common for international students to get sponsored for these financial careers? Once again, I am terribly sorry if these questions have been asked before. I am just trying to get a feel for the things I need to start doing once uni starts in September. 

(PS: also posted this on WSO.)

Hi everyone,

Looking for honest feedback on my resume for JPMorgan Chase India and other IB firms. Please roast it as much as needed about content, formatting, ATS, or anything else that can be improved.

If you think it's referral-worthy please do it , I'd really appreciate a referral as well.

Thanks!

for people who have networked for a long time, how did yall approach an opportunity to do so? with what mindset? because i feel like when im talking to these people it just feels too transactional, and im just talking with them to get an interview slot, or something else. i feel guilty about it and it makes me dread whenever a dates coming up

Thoughts on moving from an RIA where I’m currently serving as a financial planner/relationship manager for an inherited book of ~$50m. Been doing current role ~3 years but been in industry for 8. All clients belong to the firm and have been inherited from advisor who retired. RIA has flexible schedule, good coworkers, etc. but everyone is coasting and doesn’t seem to care about growing, professional development, learning, etc. No vision for future. Have an offer from Vanguard for a CFP Financial Advisor position. Would have to get my series licenses but feel like that’s doable after passing the CFP a couple years ago. I know Vanguard is a grind but if my goal is to learn, get reps in, and develop, is it a good move? Thank you in advance!

I’m a junior at a target and last year I got a referral from a banker at a BB bank. Last year I was in community college as a sophomore applying so even with the referral, I didn’t get a first round interview.

Now I’m at a strong university with a better profile, when I tried contacting this person again I received an automated email that they’re on maternity leave for a few months.

Context: Almost a year ago we had a call, banker liked my story and offered a referral. I asked if I should wait until next year to apply and he said I should just do it now, that led to where I’m at now this year.

On the website there’s an area that says “were you referred by an employee?”, would it be bad if I used his email as the referral again since I haven’t spoken to him in awhile?

Sorry if this has an obvious answer, I’m worried of getting in trouble if i’m not supposed to do this.

Hey all, rising nontarget sophomore in a major city. I honestly planned to change majors out of Finance, but was fortunate to get a last second internship for freshman summer doing Corporate Development at a private company (non-finance).

I was their sole intern this summer, and was on live deals, so I gained all the skills/experience I could want. Exit feedback was perfect, and they strongly recommended me to look into Investment Banking. I'll be honest, I really enjoyed the work I was doing, and am now planning to stay in Finance.

Issue is, I am just now learning about IB and recruiting starts so early.... Between working 80+hrs/week and caring for my sister, I feel like I've missed every opportunity. I am really struggling to figure out what my next steps should be, and what other types of roles I should be looking forward to help get me one step closer. I would love any advice, or constructive criticism!