Hi Everyone! While doing FRM, is it possible to get through a job in Risk or do we need to wait till we pass out and then apply accordingly. Also, how difficult is it to get a job in Risk when you actually aren’t in that field. It seems against the norm, but would like to gather some thoughts from you guys. Appreciate the reponses. Donald.
One Catch-22 related to all of these designations (CFA, FRM, CAIA…) is that getting the designation itself doesn’t really help many people break into the field. Here’s why: In order to be awarded (say) the FRM designation, you need to be able to demonstrate that you already have two years’ professional work experience in financial risk management. So if you have the FRM designation, that generally means you have already broken into the field of risk management. If you haven’t yet broken into the field of risk management, then they probably won’t give you the FRM designation. *HOWEVER*, completing the first level of exams for a designation CAN be helpful in breaking in to the field. For example, passing FRM1 will conclusively demonstrate that: 1) You are smart enough to do risk management, and 2) You are interested enough in risk management to study for 200 hours. Many a junior analyst has landed a position by having “Passed CFA Level I” on their resume.
You don’t have to work as a risk manager to qualify for the FRM designation work requirement. You can be a trader or PM whose activity relates to risk such as monitoring and adjusting for risk when implementing trades or analyzing positions. Another example, is a Compliance, Analytics or Performance analyst who is involved in the risk process as it relates to daily activity. I work for a large asset management company. There are over two dozen risk management staff in the company, but less than 10% of them have the FRM certificate. The majority of risk managers have a quant background (engineering, mathematics, statistics, economics) and usually have at least a masters degree. In summary, if you want to work on the risk management field, the FRM can help show that you are serious about the field, but a masters in finance, mathematics or statistics are a must to grow in the field. Good luck!