I am in my mid 30’s, located in Canada. My background is 5 years in consulting (inst. IM tech) and then 7 years in energy trading, trading relatively niche products, in spec and hedge books, at a couple large energy companies. I have strong market knowledge and would love to do corporate development, but those jobs are few and far between. Anyhow, my company laid off the majority of the floor a couple years ago. I am now working as a market and pricing analyst for a very large Canadian company, not in energy. I have direct contact with the EVP level, etc. My current pay is quite good for the hours and stress, and there is not much competition to climb the ladder.
I have a chance to join one of Canada’s largest institutional investment managers (government pension) in a middle office role. The company does not have too many employees and I see quite a few front office positions posted throughout the year which is a good sign. If I was to make the move, my goal would be to move into a FO role with this firm.
I am wondering if someone here has direct knowledge of how easy, or even possible, such a move is, factoring in my age. I have two bachelor degrees, and lots of research, trade strategy, and portfolio management experience, but for energy companies. I have not started the CFA, which I realize will have to be priority number one should I make such a career change. Is this even a good idea, or just stay put and enjoy what I have? One big red flag is that I would be essentially tied to this one company, with the hopes of getting into a front office decision making role. With my age, it bothers me that I might not exactly be who they are looking for when it comes time to fill a junior analyst position even if I have a foot in the door.
Thank you in advance for any advice.