Let's think about actually working in the middle and back office. In the front office, long hours, over 80 hours a week is not uncommon, and high pressure work, big deals to be made in quick time burn out professionals. If your priority is a good work-life balance, then a back office job might suit you better. It's regular timings that close at six or 7:00 p.m. You may even be able to work from home, as many companies are trying to make their back office work remotely to save on office rental expenses. Banks are using this as an incentive to attract talent. It's not too bad in the middle office, either. Many middle office professionals work a maximum 50 to 60 hours a week and make a very decent living. Some find risk management the best middle office role in banks, where the middle office is considered as good as the front office. Let's think about some pros and cons. Front office jobs may be more glamorous and may pay more, but they're challenging roles that come with long hours, high pressure and less stability. Middle office is not without pressure, however. Professionals have to convince the front office to stay within risk limits while enabling it to make the most out of lucrative deals. This means tough negotiations with heavy responsibilities. Back office support roles are non-revenue generating and non-client facing with many disadvantages. They have lower pay and bonus compared with analysts and difficulty shifting to the front office. They have to build up with repetitive work, that is maybe true for analysts and associates too, and endure lack of respect from colleagues in other divisions. But from a long-term perspective, a back office role may work very well indeed. Among the advantages are more spare time, more chances of promotion, because back office personnel may be less competitive than front office personnel, and better pay later as a director or a managing director in a support role. Among the pros of the back office at bulge bracket banks are the international dynamic that these organizations maintain as they coordinate their operations across cities. Admin services keep bank functioning smoothly. Tech people ensure that communication links are certain loss. HR recruits the best possible candidates, and marketing builds the firm's brand and image.