Theoretical question: Assuming opportunity cost was equal, would you rather have an MBA ranked between 15 and 30 or the CFA? Meaning, if you could wake up tomorrow magically with either MBA or CFA after your name, which would you choose and why?
I would choose the CFA. Just because a big part of the MBA is networking, so the letters may be useless. If you have the CFA, you already have the industry experience, so job prospects will be better.
http://www.analystforum.com/121304.shtml Not to be a d!ck, but I found this real helpful. I’m going for both personally.
So do you think an employer that you had no alumni connection to would be more willing to hire you as Storko, CFA or Storko, MBA (from Virginia, Yale, Cornell, etc). I’m trying to get a handle on how valuable the CFA actually is. I think personally, I would rather have DirtyZ, Yale MBA than DirtyZ, CFA. However, I think industry is important to. If I wanted to be in ibanking I would definitely go with the MBA. If I wanted to be running money for a mutual fund, I’d say CFA.
ditchdigger, I’ve actually seen this. I’m with you in that I’m going to do the CFA+MBA. I’m halfway done (finished CFA), but still have a lot of ground to travel. More so than personal preference or “actual” opportunity cost, what I’m trying to get at is this: If HR monkey #75897ba249 has two resumes in front of him, one with CFA and one with MBA, which one does he keep? Personally I’d equate the value of the CFA to an MBA ranked between 20 and 40 in terms of the value to ones career and the opportunities that the CFA provides. However, this is debatable, and hence I’m trying to see what others think.
I’d take the MBA. A top 30 MBA opens up more doors and hopefully shows that you have at least decent soft skills - presentation skills, management skills, etc. I’m am going to do both though. I’ve passed level 1 and will be applying to MBA programs this fall. Taking the GMAT on Monday!
DirtyZ take this with a grain of salt. Some positions only take candidates from top MBA programs. The reason is it reflects nicely on the firm to the clients. The firm also has a website directory to maintain and it looks nicer to see HBS Alum, than Completed the CFA Program (client scratches their head wondering wtf that is?). Depending on the company, an HR Dilbert is going to screen resumes based on the manager’s criteria. In most cases I see job listings with CFA or MBA required. However my location may not be as demanding as say NYC. I have seen members on the board who are charterholders explain that they have been denied offers because they don’t have their MBA. The competition of the job market, my low opportunity costs, and my enjoyment with learning is what is driving me to do both. Right now I work in back office and want to improve my resume for a better job. Best of luck to you. I’m retaking the GMAT as I got a 580 on Monday. While that will get my in my safety school, my top choice would need mid 600 to be a sure thing.
ditchdigger, are you applying this year to bschool? If so, you could study for 8 weeks, take the GMAT again in early November and still have time to get good essays out to 3-5 schools. In 8 weeks, you could probably increase your score to the mid-600’s for sure. Good luck.
I have both MBA and CFA, though my MBA school is in top 5. I’d say if you can, go after both. If you have to choose on, go with CFA. My top school MBA got me into a good firm. But it’s really the CFA that elevated my status, job responsibility and pay. Besides, if you put CFA after your name, it’s cool. MBA? Tacky…
i think it depends where your undergrad is from.
I am doing just that. I am starting a prep course this month and will retake the GMAT November 3rd. Letters of rec are done, I have my transcripts, essays and an improved GMAT score is all that is left. Let’s hope I can still pass Level 1 in Dec as I barely failed in June.
I’m doing both as well - passed level 2, and I’m first year in top 20 MBA program part-time. For me, I’d go with MBA just because I think for a lot of jobs MBA can help you get into the door better than CFA. Although I’m sure this isn’t always the case. MBA does offer a lot of business skills as well, so depending on your background that can be pretty useful.
There is this thread on AF about the undergrad of AFers. As far as i remember correctly (too lazy to search for the thread right now), majority had BBA in Finance. So i am wondering - isn’t BBA enough for what MBA offers - presentation skills, management skills, interpersonal skills, knowledge of business then on top of it, one can chose CFA straight away to get the finance-specific knowledge. Won’t MBA be very much of a repitition of what BBA taught?
I have an MBA and if you can, pursue both. It won’t give you the technical skills though can open opportunities for networking.