Just wondering. Other than Toronto, doesn’t seem to be a lot of opportunity, and even in TO salaries aren’t that great.
Canadian finance salaries are at least a lot closer to US finance salaries, now that the Canadian dollar is worth US$1 and not US$0.65 I think part of the reason that Canadian CFAs don’t earn as much is simply supply and demand: For some reason, there is something like 3X more charterholders per capita in Canada than in the US. (I don’t know the exact number.) Canadians are crazy for the CFA.
It’s easy to explain. Due to the weather, we are stuck indoors for 6 months a year. If I lived in California, I doubt it I would have pursued the Charter. Studying doesn’t seem so bad when it’s -20 outside.
another reason why its easy to explain. our MBA options in Canada are limited so the CFA v. MBA decision is made for us if we can’t get into Rotman, Ivey or Schulich for an MBA.
What in your opinion is a number that you consider a “fair compensation”? Very subjective!
You could go to the US for an MBA - it’s right across the border.
Another factor that segments the markets for finance professionals in Canada and the U.S. is eligability to work cross-border. Under NAFTA, a Canadian that is a bona fide accountant, economist, engineer, nurse, professor, etc merely needs to find a job in the U.S., and can immediately begin working (using a TN-1 visa status). This is not, however, the case for a Canadian that, say, has worked as a financial analyst on Bay Street for 10 years and has an MBA and a CFA. To work on Wall Street, that Canadian would have to find a U.S. employer willing to sponsor them through the H1-B visa process – which is a several-month process that sometimes involves a lottery – before they could start work in the States.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You could go to the US for an MBA - it’s right > across the border. yeah, for double the price
MattLikesAnalysis Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ohai Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > You could go to the US for an MBA - it’s right > > across the border. > > > yeah, for double the price And still end up unemployed cuz they won’t hire a foreigner, with no work authorization. (I know you get a work visa for 1 year or something like that, but why would a company hire someone who can only work for 1 yr)
You could go back to Canada to work. I’m sure they have heard of Harvard in Canada.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You could go back to Canada to work. I’m sure > they have heard of Harvard in Canada. Then why pay twice as much?
Because there are better schools in the US.
If I can get the same job in Canada as a Rotman graduate, then what’s the point?
Ah, but will you get the same job? That’s the question, isn’t it?
I know a Harvard graduate who is an analyst and works under a Rotman graduate. But, this argument really lacks substance. In addition, I don’t believe in this school, that career path, etc. I totally agree with you. The schools in the US are wayyyy better than their Canadian counterparts.
I wouldn’t say that the Canadian MBAs are much cheaper than a US MBA. The Toronto-Rotman MBA is $75k for Canadians and $94k for internationals. The Ivey-UWO MBA is $64k for Canadians and $74k for internationals. The York-Schulich MBA is $36k for Canadians and $45k for internationals. They all seems pretty expensive considering that a Harvard MBA is $92k for everyone. And especially expensive when you consider that each of these Canadian schools is only *barely* considered to be among the top 50 MBA schools in the world.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ah, but will you get the same job? That’s the > question, isn’t it? Did you even read the title of the thread, we’re talking about CFA compensation in Canada…I think I agree with a lot here that income ‘seems less’ (haven’t looked at any real data otherwise), but that’s what you get with a gluttonous supply of charterholders.
Well, this thread did get side tracked a bit, but I didn’t start it, Mr. Snarky McSnarkySnark. Some guy was saying that CFA is popular in Canada due to a lack of business schools. I said that US schools are open to Canadian applicants. And then it went on from there.
Wendy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wouldn’t say that the Canadian MBAs are much > cheaper than a US MBA. > > The Toronto-Rotman MBA is $75k for Canadians and > $94k for internationals. > The Ivey-UWO MBA is $64k for Canadians and $74k > for internationals. > The York-Schulich MBA is $36k for Canadians and > $45k for internationals. > > They all seems pretty expensive considering that a > Harvard MBA is $92k for everyone. > > And especially expensive when you consider that > each of these Canadian schools is only *barely* > considered to be among the top 50 MBA schools in > the world. i suppose that in a post CAD/USD = $0.80 world, the harvard MBA is a much more competitive option. as early as '03, our dollar was at $0.65, making that harvard tuition really $140k CAD. at $0.80, it was $115k CAD and now its only $90k CAD. i think i’m still coming from a '05 mentality. anyway, i stand by the fact that there are more CFAs in Toronto b/c of limited school options. people want to work and get their MBA and its difficult when there are only two schools within a decent distance from our only true financial hub. going to anything but a top 10 US school (b/c of the extra cost and limited branding of a top 11+ US school in Canada) and a top 3 Canadian school isn’t worth it so we don’t go… also, i’m sure our researcher to IBer ratio is higher in toronto than it is in major US cities due to the fact that plenty of finance MBAs in Canada will be in Alberta, not Toronto (not saying that there are no IBers in Toronto). i’d assume most IBers are in major cities like NY and Chicago in the US…
To get back on topic: I think part of the reason that a CFA doesn’t get you as far in Canada as it does elsewhere is because Canadians are comparitively well educated compared to people of most countries, so generally there’s less of a premium paid in the job market to educated employees. For example, in Canada, a bachelor of arts only qualifies you to be a shoe salesman or a bank teller or well-spoken homeless person. In the US, a bachelor of arts from a decent university makes you pretty well-educated, and is sufficient to lauch an upper-middle-class career. Because Canadians live in a country where the average person has a university degree, they feel more of a need to pile on additional qualifications – to try to differentiate themselves from the educated masses.