After CFA, is shooting for MBA a good idea?

CFA Level III
#1

After CFA, is shooting for MBA a good idea?

I eye a career in AM/IM or wealth management. Currently I work as a financial consultant in a 3rd world country and desperately try to land a job in more or less economically strong and stable country like Qatar and etc. So I was wondering, is MBA a good idea and which one GMAT or GRE would help better in that? Thanks.

#2

Definitely yes! MBA from a good business school will help u, provided u are fond of studying. A good business school will enable you to fulfill your aspirations. But nothing can guarantee success, there is an element luck that everyone needs…

All good schools require GMAT with a score of more than 700

#3

Definitely yes! MBA from a good business school will help u, provided u are fond of studying. A good business school will enable you to fulfill your aspirations. But nothing can guarantee success, there is an element luck that everyone needs…

All good schools require GMAT with a score of more than 700

#4

I’m considering doing the same thing. However, my goal is a bit more specific. I plan on landing a job in AM/PE/IB in London. Which schools should I consider? Exclusively LBS, and Oxbridge?

#5

LBS only, maybe INSEAD but like mentioned above make sure your GMAT>700 or sit GRE

#6

MBA from a well respected school defiantly is a great idea if you wish to advance your managerial career. However, you should think about the costs to do it. It’s a big decision and you can use the money else where like starting your own business.

My plan, in case I pass, to start my own business whether in finance (leverage the CFA), or any other industry. Or I may pursue a Masters Degree as I love teaching. To be decided after August 8!!!

#7

After passed level 3, I still doubt about:

  • Start Training Muay Thai
  • Join to the local fishery society
  • Make another child
  • All of above
#8

Make another child :slight_smile: sounds like they’re manufactured from a factory haha.

Guess if that was the case everyone would be asking for a return!

#9

Once when I pass away, someone will left behind me. Everything else is just temporary.

#10

eerrr no. MBAs cost a ridiculous amount of money. You would have to be sure that you get some ROI. Just saying ‘Definitely Yes’ completely ignores that. IMO, an MBA is a complete waste of time and money if you already work on the buy side as an analyst or portfolio manager and have a CFA.

#11

say u took the cfa exams 5 times. you spent 300 hrs each time. so thats 1500 hrs. lets assume you make 50 buck an hr. thats 75k buddies. :). thats assuming you complete the program in 5 tries. most people actually never complete. I think only 20% of candidate pass all 3 exams. so most of the time people are wasting their time. some food for thought. i know level 3 is prolly the wrong place to think about it. but perhaps the cfa route isnt so cheap. since time is money.

#12

good point re time=money, in fact time>money. So the real question is suppose yoy are underrepresented rare nation and can bring diversity to any B-school? Which school would be most generous for such people with CFA charter? I bet it’s not Wharton but smth lighter. Hey Americans, can u pls guide? Thanks!

#13

I’m an American. The “MBA” is now becoming diluted and simply too easy to get. You can almost just buy one online now and take some pathetic online classes. However, MBA is definitely impressive if from a prestigious institution such as Wharton. I work with a kid who prides his email signature as John Smith, MBA. I laugh every time because I’m like, dude your mba is from university if phoenix online program haha. It’s so sad. Bottomline, it needs to be a top notch school and accredited by the AACSB for example.

#14

The era of Ivy leagues is coming to an end with digital platforms all over the globe…it may hold for another decade tops…

as for me, i was considering the MBA in the begining, but my current role, i am in business support function where i oversee 2 analysts, all activities such as marketing, financial planning, decision analysis, supply chain, corp compliance and strategy deployment for the company come through my dept, which is in fact my MBA I d say… and i don’t need some old phd fart to tell me what coca cola did gazilion years ago versus pepsi … or what Shell is currently doing to position its products …

i am gonna close with the following : there are many MBAs and you may still chose one but there is only one Gold standard - CFA !

#15

Anyone who puts “MBA” after his or her name is the worst, especially from programs where the only requisites to “earn” the degree are $30k and a pulse.

#16

Anyone who puts “MBA” after his or her name is the worst, especially from programs where the only requisites to “earn” the degree are $30k and a pulse.

#17

More often than not, no it’s not worth it. Maybe an MBA makes sense given your specific situation and goals though.

#18

Opt for MBA only if :

  • You like Networking. most of the value you get from an International program is networking and relationship building
  • Sadly, 70-80% of the MBA students do not network
  • If you do from top ten, it will open doors easily but remember after 5 years it doesn’t matter which school you belong to because your success will depend on your capabilities, how you can leverage the alumni network, network of classmates and so on
  • Given your interest in finance, Schools focused on finance should be your choice no matter its ranked 15th.
  • Don’t go by just rankings, as you will find later that B schools also spend lot of energy to manipulate what they should do so that they should be ranked high
  • If you are looking for academic rigor, US B schools are for you
  • If you are looking for qualitative aspects more, more diversity and bla bla - European schools are for you
  • Please don’t get swayed by nice prospectus where they show that candidates are placed in PwC or Mc Kinsey within 3 months and so on. The class gets very competitive. If you chose US B schools and you dont have work permit, you might face some challenges. Same for European business schools. Always check if schools will help you to get work permit if you do MBA program with them
  • Talk to Alumni who have already graduated. You can also attend Open programs but you will get a biased view :slight_smile:
  • Ultimately, you have to decide what´s your objective for doing MBA - International exposure, networking and relationship building, career switch, scale up your career and many more

Hope it helps

Thanks

Saurabh

#19
  • Sadly, 70-80% of the MBA students do not network

where did you get this stat. personally i think thats the only value an mba brings. so best to go to the very best schools to attract the very best people.

#20

People from Canada, any thoughts on Masters in Finance at University of Toronto (Rotman) or York University (Schulich)?