I wanted to draw from the collective experience on this forum. I have 5 years post uni experience (consultancy, industry), and have only recently started to take my career seriously to be honest. I work in operational risk management, and looking at some of the crazy bonuses one can earn in hedge funds, IB etc was wondering if there is a way to work towards a role that pays like that? Don't think I can afford an MBA so if you guys have any suggestions or could point out routes which I may have missed (or perhaps even big paying opportunities within risk that Im not aware of) would be much appreciated.

So in summary:1) I have been a bit of a waster over the last 5 years2) I work in a job that is not particularly well paid and that is not likely to lead into a well-paying position as it is3) I want to earn lots of money4) I am not prepared to take on any debt by doing an MBA, which just perhaps might just make me competitive5) Can you provide me with a list of short cuts?Come on, if you want any sort of decent answer you should at least try to make yourself appear a bit attractive as a candidate

Joke you seem to be of the belief that there are no short cuts to high paying jobs this is something that I totally disagree with. There are always short cuts, ways to present the work/experience you have in such a manner as to be attractive to an employer offering a large salary and huge bonus potential. Especially in jobs where the bonus is such a huge part of the reward package as you only get this if you perform well. Now I don't know what those are for IB but I will gurantee there are some.

What is the point of an MBA.Unless you can sell yourself well enough to make it work for you.So many people with a standard 2:2 degree, not even honours, are in higher paying jobs than people with a masters and first class degrees.The fact is these people need God not more education haha.

Its a shame Big Brother has finished, would have been ideal for you

Not only do I agree completely with Joke but I also question your judgement OP. It is not an exaggeration to say we aren't far short of angry mobs taking to the streets of the city demanding the banks be fiscally castrated. Vince Cable has not toned down his rhetoric on excessive bonuses in a banking system underwritten by us and rewarding themselves far beyond the mean, while public spending cuts will force many families into insolvency. And here you are, lazily asking for a way to join the party just as the neighbours want the music turned off.Joke he cannot make himself more attractive as a candidate. He should take the time and effort to make himself more tolerable first.A big task.

Lol some of you tend to get your panties in a bunch rather quick. Mars, I question you're sanity, masculinity, and think you take yourself waay too seriously. It was a simple question, if you can't or won't answer it, shut it.

in before the grammar police..* your

The MBA would really open doors. You think you can't afford the MBA, but the MBA schools offer loans for their students. Scholarships are available as well but judging by the "didn't take things seriously before" I'd say those would be out of reach (I think but cannot confirm that Ivy league types and people from developing countries etc. get those scholarships).Furthermore, high level post MBA employers often pay for tuition fees if you get hired.

Anon that's three posts in one thread now. You must be exhausted and have a real sense of achievement.

"It was a simple question"And this is entirely the point - it was simple as in braindead, not simple as in easy. Had it been a question that was well thought out I might have been tempted to answer constructively.Some 'short cuts' might be:1) MBA2) Olympic athlete3) Very rich well connected parentsIn short, MBA is the answer, but that also is no guarantee

I've seen a couple of people drift from uni into IT in an IB, faff around for a couple of years and then move into trainee trader roles. This was based on them having demonstrable intellect and drive, an ability to network and build relationships in the front office and the balls to approach the head trader and ask for a break. If you're not impressive enough where you work to do that now, adding an MBA probably won't help.

"(or perhaps even big paying opportunities within risk that Im not aware of)"op risk is the poor relation. big money comes with scarce skills. if you can get into the quantitative side of OR rather than the squishy controls stuff then maybe you have a route into trading credit/market risk roles. for that you need of course to be mathematically at quant level. some here might say you already come across as a bit of a quant, so good luck...