u/Royal_mistress6182

Long-time lurker, first time posting. Could use some outside perspective since I'm too close to this to think straight anymore.

Background: 5+ years in IT Audit at a large bank, have my CISA, and just finished a master's in Data Science. Built some Python automation for audit testing along the way (access reviews, vulnerability analysis) and used data analytics to improve testing coverage.

The situation: I got a verbal offer for a Senior IT Auditor role at another big bank — $135k base (up from my current $115k, which I've maxed out where I am), plus $20k bonus. Solid comp bump, but it's still... audit. Same lane I'm already in.

I turned it down.

Why: I've realized I want to move into GRC/Tech Risk instead of staying in pure audit — more governance/control-design focused work, less "test after the fact." I also happened to land an interview for a Technology Risk & Control role (same company, different team) that's much more aligned with where I want to go. That interview is in a few days. If I get it, great — it's the direction I actually want, even at potentially lower comp than the audit offer. If I don't get it, I'm back to square one with nothing, since I already declined the audit offer and I'd already maxed out my salary at my current job anyway.

My reasoning for turning down the sure thing:

• I'm bored and under-managed in my current role — no real projects, minimal oversight
• The audit offer didn't feel like it was worth leaving for if it was just more of the same
• I said to myself if I'm staying in audit, I need a bigger jump (like 20%+ on base) to make it worth it; if I'm moving into GRC, I'd take less because the direction matters more to me

Where I'm second-guessing myself: Did I just torch a solid, real offer for a maybe? Is "I want to do something different" a good enough reason to walk away from a locked-in $20k raise? Or is this exactly the kind of calculated risk people are supposed to take early-ish in their career when they can afford it?

Would love to hear from anyone who's made a similar jump (or regretted not making one). What would you have done?

Long-time lurker, first time posting. Could use some outside perspective since I'm too close to this to think straight anymore.

Background: 5+ years in IT Audit at a large bank, have my CISA, and just finished a master's in Data Science. Built some Python automation for audit testing along the way (access reviews, vulnerability analysis) and used data analytics to improve testing coverage.

The situation: I got a verbal offer for a Senior IT Auditor role at another big bank — $135k base (up from my current $115k, which I've maxed out where I am), plus $20k bonus. Solid comp bump, but it's still... audit. Same lane I'm already in.

I turned it down.

Why: I've realized I want to move into GRC/Tech Risk instead of staying in pure audit — more governance/control-design focused work, less "test after the fact." I also happened to land an interview for a Technology Risk & Control role (same company, different team) that's much more aligned with where I want to go. That interview is in a few days. If I get it, great — it's the direction I actually want, even at potentially lower comp than the audit offer. If I don't get it, I'm back to square one with nothing, since I already declined the audit offer and I'd already maxed out my salary at my current job anyway.

My reasoning for turning down the sure thing:

• I'm bored and under-managed in my current role — no real projects, minimal oversight
• The audit offer didn't feel like it was worth leaving for if it was just more of the same
• I said to myself if I'm staying in audit, I need a bigger jump (like 20%+ on base) to make it worth it; if I'm moving into GRC, I'd take less because the direction matters more to me

Where I'm second-guessing myself: Did I just torch a solid, real offer for a maybe? Is "I want to do something different" a good enough reason to walk away from a locked-in $20k raise? Or is this exactly the kind of calculated risk people are supposed to take early-ish in their career when they can afford it?

Would love to hear from anyone who's made a similar jump (or regretted not making one). What would you have done?

Hi everyone,

I’m a 27F looking for some career advice because I’m at a point where I’m not sure if a part-time MBA is the right next step or if I’m just trying to solve the wrong problem.

A little background:

• Graduated in 2021 with a double major in Applied Mathematics & Statistics and Economics.
• During internship recruiting, I landed at a French investment bank because they wanted someone to do business analysis, automation, and data analysis within their audit department. My internship was basically as a data analyst supporting audit—not actually performing audits.
• I received a full-time offer and accepted because I genuinely liked the work.

However, when I started full time, the department needed more auditors, so I was moved into Operations Audit instead. It wasn't what I signed up for, and I honestly didn't enjoy it. I considered leaving, but I was only about a year into my career, the pay was solid, and I figured I should stick it out.

At the same time, I knew I wanted to keep developing my technical skills, so I completed a part-time Master's in Data Science while working full time.

Before I could seriously look elsewhere, an opportunity opened up within the company's IT Audit team. It seemed like a much better fit because it involved technology, data analytics, automation, and coding, so I accepted. I've now been in IT Audit for almost two years (and have about five years of audit experience overall), and I also recently earned my CISA.

The problem is... I still feel like I'm not using my full potential.

I enjoy solving problems, working with data, building automations, and understanding how businesses operate. But my day-to-day work still feels very compliance/control-focused. I don't feel like I'm creating products, influencing business decisions, or using my technical background as much as I'd like.

Another thing I've realized is that I feel behind when it comes to business knowledge. I can learn things on Google, of course, but I feel like I lack the intuition that people in strategy, product, consulting, or business-facing roles seem to have. Sometimes I'll be in meetings and realize there are concepts or business discussions that others seem to naturally understand.

Long term, I'd like to move into something that's:

• More business-facing
• Still technical (or at least analytical)
• Uses my quantitative background
• Pays better than audit

I've been wondering if a part-time MBA (probably NYU Stern since I'm in the NYC area) would help bridge that gap and make it easier to transition into roles like product management, strategy, fintech, consulting, or something similar.

My concern is whether I'm using an MBA as a way to "escape" audit when maybe I should just network more, gain different experience, or self-study business topics instead.

So I guess my questions are:

• Does an MBA sound like the right move given my background?
• Or am I trying to use an MBA to fix a problem that experience alone would solve?
• If you were in my shoes, what roles would you target that combine IT audit experience, a data science master's, quantitative background, and a CISA?
• Has anyone here made a similar transition out of audit without an MBA?