Let's make a distinction between front, middle and back office. Front office earns revenue and profit. The middle office directly supports the front office. They're directly supporting the people who are interfacing with the clients. Not all risk compliance and technology jobs in banks are in the middle office. If they're situated miles away from the trading floor, front office people and don't involve any real interaction with traders, M&A, bankers or salespeople, they probably fall into the back office category. People in the middle office have risen in stature as banks stop focusing on making revenues at all costs and start thinking about the risks they're taking in order to earn those revenues. In a complex transaction, the middle office will come in and help structure the trade. They'll also work to ensure the procedures are in place to allow the trade to be settled. So let's think about the back office. The back office in an investment bank refers to the functions that are behind the scenes. They don't work directly with front office but support central systems. They work in human resources making sure bankers get paid or hired or fired. They work in technology making sure central systems are running correctly. They work in central compliance, monitoring employees conversations and making sure they're not trading forbidden securities on their own accounts. Goldman Sachs has renamed all functions in the middle and back office the federation, so the distinction of front, middle and back is being reduced. Back office jobs such as those in settlements may not be an exciting line of work as the day-to-day activities can be repetitive. In many organizations, computers are now doing back office jobs. Many back office employees yearn for a transfer to the front office. Although popular wisdom has it that the back office work as an intern may get you access to front office roles, this may not always be the case. If you're from the back office, you may not be considered by banks for front office jobs as they see you as someone with little experience because you've only done non-finance work such as after trade documentation. They'd rather recruit graduates from front office with more experience. Moving from back office to the front office depends on quite a few factors. According to askivy.net, your chances are bright if you're a fresh graduate with a year of experience and a shining academic record. If you've been in the back office for two or three years, you can practically be goodbye to your hopes since your skills would've become more and more irrelevant to the front office. If you have a CPA, a Certified Public Accountant, CFA, Chartered Financial Analyst, or ACCA, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants qualification, then you stand a chance. Again, if you've been able to network with front office executives or clients, you'll be noticed. If you're a top performer in the back office, if it's company policy to move people from back office to front or if it's a bull market where front office needs more people, then you hold an advantage. Finally, if your effort to move from back to front are not bearing fruit, you could consider going to a top-notch business school for an MBA or masters in finance. An MBA or MSC in finance from lesser known schools may not yield results. All said, it's better to start in the front office in a small firm than a back office in a big firm if you feel the front office should be your destination.