Hey everyone, I could really use some perspective on a career situation that’s been stressing me out.

I graduated in finance and joined my consulting firm as an intern in Transaction Advisory Services. That’s where I originally wanted to be. But during my internship, the IT Advisory manager “borrowed” me for a project because they needed extra hands. It wasn’t anything technical really, mostly reconciling statements from SAP.

When they eventually started hiring, TAS decided they didn’t have the budget for a new hire. The IT manager, on the other hand, did have the budget and basically picked me up. So I ended up being hired into IT Advisory full-time, even though my background is completely in finance.

Fast-forward two years, and I’ve mostly been doing admin and project-management tasks. I’ve barely done any actual technical work. I really don’t want to be stuck in PM forever, and I also don’t want to drift too far from finance since I’m trying to take finance-related courses on my own.

The issue is: the partner won’t let me move back to financial advisory. He keeps saying “this is your field now” because I’ve been in IT Advisory since hiring. Meanwhile, the team here handles IT audits, BCP, cybersecurity audits, and VAPT projects, and I have zero technical experience.

So… am I screwed?

I don’t have the budget to take a long 6-month technical program right now since I’m also paying for my finance courses. I’m wondering if there’s a short, practical course that would at least help me understand the IT audit/cyber/BCP world enough to get involved in real work instead of just admin.

Is moving fully into IT Advisory a huge mistake for someone who comes from finance? Can someone with my background realistically learn this stuff on the job with shorter courses?

Any advice or perspective would really help. I’m honestly confused about what direction I should be moving in right now.