Hi all, First off, this is my first post and just wanted to add that i am loving what this forum offers to people in need of assistance and advice. In saying that, i just wanted some input (anything is appreciated!!). I am currently studying for lvl 2 after passing in lvl 1 in dec. I work for a defense contractor, mainly in the accounting field (seems more like bookkeeping to me). I basically maintain the cash balances for the company, am in charge of AP/AR, and do whatever work is handed down to me by management. I wanted to get into the field of finance/investments and was wondering if any of you guys had an advice/input/anything. Ive heard its a lot easier getting an MBA and getting recruited. I have no investment job experience and my only finance experience is CFA and a bachelors in finance. I really want to start with an investment analyst program, so i can ease my way into investments but those are so hard to come by and they only recruit a couple people a year. Also, i know almost no one in this field, so networking would be really tough for me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me break into the field i want to be in!!
Go to your local CFA society events. Get out there, meet people & sell yourself buddy. Be the ball.
Why investment management and not any other field in finance? Why not be a floor trader on the NYSE? What kind of investment management are you interested in? What makes investment management seem so interesting to you? Equities, bonds, hedge funds, mutual funds, commodity futures? Why finance? Would you choose a low level associate position over an offer to do management consulting for McKinsey and Company? Why should someone hire you and not some new MBA graduate? Are you special in some way and if so, how are you special? You should be able to answer these confidently before anyone gives you a chance. Good luck in your new endeavor.
Hello Mister Walrus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why not be a floor trader on the NYSE? This could quite possibly be the worst piece of advice since someone suggested the captain of the Titanic become the skipper for a large cruise line.
If it is bad advice, he should be educated enough to determine that. You can’t just blindly enter a new field with zero knowledge. Not only will you get owned, but you might be doing it for the wrong reasons.
hi gregory, there are a few of us that share our investment ideas on here. what are your thoughts?
FrankArabia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hi gregory, > > there are a few of us that share our investment > ideas on here. > > what are your thoughts? can you specify? what i think about investments in general? why i want to get into investments?
Does anyone know of any rotating analyst programs that are good out there? i.e. six months in fixed income, six months in derivatives, and so on… if there is nothing like that out there, are there any similar programs?
gregoryk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Does anyone know of any rotating analyst programs > that are good out there? i.e. six months in fixed > income, six months in derivatives, and so on… > > if there is nothing like that out there, are there > any similar programs? I think some of the big banks have programs like this. It is very hard to get into these programs. I believe either JP Morgan or GS has some sort of program like this.
philip.platt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > gregoryk Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Does anyone know of any rotating analyst > programs > > that are good out there? i.e. six months in > fixed > > income, six months in derivatives, and so on… > > > > if there is nothing like that out there, are > there > > any similar programs? > > > I think some of the big banks have programs like > this. It is very hard to get into these programs. > I believe either JP Morgan or GS has some sort of > program like this. actually, now that I think about it - my friend got into a JP Morgan program like this after passing L1 and started working as an Equity Analyst. He was an '05 graduate and passed L1 in '06, L2 in '07, L3 in '09. He switched companies after passing L3.
You have to get in line. Best bet imo would be to become a portfolio accountant at a large asset manager. Work your @ss off harder then anyone else there. Be nice to everyone you meet and pass every level of the CFA on the first try. Learn as much about the market/product you want to work with. Sooner or later you MIGHT get a shot.
gregoryk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ive heard > its a lot easier getting an MBA and getting > recruited. Don’t believe what you hear. Don’t hear what you want to believe.
im literally aiming to just get my feet wet… im an 08 graduate and have been working but the work i have been doing does not account for the cfa so it really seems like im wasting my time. i am really considering going to grad school and this work exp. would help for the app but it would be even better if i got this work exp to account for both the cfa and the grad school. any thoughts?
do you have any investment ideas? stock picks or anything of that nature?
sorry frank… i do not.
I’d also keep in mind there are other ways to make a perfectly good living.
sorry duplicate post
gregoryk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sorry frank… i do not. Are you looking for more of an operations role then? If so this will probably be easier to get.
pgh.ndt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > gregoryk Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > sorry frank… i do not. > > Are you looking for more of an operations role > then? If so this will probably be easier to get. What job description entails an operations role?
What is so special about “finance” that you want to be in this field without knowing anything about it?