Hey all, I am from an Engineering Background, currently working as a Process Engineer in a manufacturing firm for last 2 yrs…since last 6 months I am planning to change my career and get into finance…investment banking to be more specific…however, in that 6 months I prepared for L1 exam and took the exam last week. I have a strong quatitative background as I have to use it regularly in my current position and so I am planning to try for Quantitative analyst position to begin with…what do you guys think about it? Are there any other position that I should consider and stand some chance of getting considered for the interview? How should I approach the job search process? Thanks for your help.
Maybe you could aim at landing a job (any job) with a finance firm (any firm) to start with, and work from that position?
I agree. You need to get your foot in the door first… however, you might not just take any finance job at any finance firm, although in this market, you might. Think about where you want to be, plot a course to get there, and think of your first job in finance as a stepping stone. It might take a couple of years of toiling in a not-so-perfect job in order for you to position yourself to get your dream job. Just my $.02 (which with the dollar in the shape that it is in, isn’t worth as much as it once was)
Dingo!, Mehdiochre - Does working for a Consumer portfolio in a Bank (risk management team) count as job in finance ? I know theoretically it can be finance, but we never do anything related to investments.
hey needacfa, i did a switch from being a RF engineer (was working like 3yrs) to corporate finance. even though it was after my MBA, it was a tough one, coz theoritically, i knew nuts about corporate finance. I m glad i landed in a huge conglomerate, the largest listed co in my country’s stock exchange. I went thru a steep learning curve, and i m glad i survived here and my finance knowledge is certainly better than when i started before. The thing is, sometimes u might need to take a paycut as someone with no previous experience in finance industry. but given the willpower, u can catch up very fast…
CFA wont help you for invesment banking. Go for top MBA
Thunder, sometimes you really can’t choose what you’d like the best. Making a transition from one job area to another can be quite difficult since you don’t have the “right” track record and experience, but instead you have a lot of seemingly irrelevant experience from some other field. I honestly just can’t see or picture Needy walk up to some finance firm and say -Hey, I’m a process engineer with a manufacturing firm where I’ve been since I graduated two years ago. I know the market is tough right now, but can you give me an analyst position? I’m really good. It might work, but only if you’re lucky. (I’ve done it twice; accounting --> computer programming --> finance.)
cfaboston28 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > CFA wont help you for invesment banking. Go for > top MBA He’s right on this one. Have you considered this route? If you’re specifically looking to get into quant first, you can consider a Masters in Financial Engineering.
I concur, the best way to get what you want is by going back to school. Try to land a decent internship during your MBA or MFE and hope that the economy is hitting an upswing when you graduate.
If you want to be a Quant analyst I would suggest got for Masters in Finance, Investment Mgt(like in BU) or there are courses in Quantitative and Computational Finance. WIth a Masters and couple of CFA levels you shd get into one of the quant positions. I am assuming you are in US.
It’s a difficult decision as to whether to go back for your MBA or do the charter. I’ve read that if you are looking to move into the IB field an MBA from a top school will help you more than the CFA Charter but if you would like to work in AM then the CFA is the way to go. Honestly if I went back for my MBA in Finance, I don’t see that much of a difference in the material from what the CFA is teaching from what I would learn in the MBA course selection. Also if you worked in the IB field doing M&A I can’t see how having the CFA wouldn’t help you when analyzing a company’s financial statements. I don’t think it’s as clear cut as everyone makes it out to be. IB - MBA, Asset Mgmt - CFA but stats are stats I guess. I work in AM in Compliance but once I’m done with the charter I would like to move into a role where I work on a team with a Portfolio Manager helping to manage client funds, either that or managing the banks funds. I hope the CFA is the right path for me, either way I’m learning so much and having the Letters “CFA” after your name would be a big accomplishment to be seen by anyone in the finance field looking at your resume
MehdiOchre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thunder, sometimes you really can’t choose what > you’d like the best. Making a transition from one > job area to another can be quite difficult since > you don’t have the “right” track record and > experience, but instead you have a lot of > seemingly irrelevant experience from some other > field. > > I honestly just can’t see or picture Needy walk up > to some finance firm and say -Hey, I’m a process > engineer with a manufacturing firm where I’ve been > since I graduated two years ago. I know the market > is tough right now, but can you give me an analyst > position? I’m really good. > > It might work, but only if you’re lucky. (I’ve > done it twice; accounting --> computer programming > --> finance.) MehdiOchre, can you write in more detail how did you manage to switch from computer programming to finance? What obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them?
Hey, what is AM (in the first paragraph)? Is it Asset Management? thanks JP_RL_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It’s a difficult decision as to whether to go back > for your MBA or do the charter. I’ve read that if > you are looking to move into the IB field an MBA > from a top school will help you more than the CFA > Charter but if you would like to work in AM then > the CFA is the way to go. > > Honestly if I went back for my MBA in Finance, I > don’t see that much of a difference in the > material from what the CFA is teaching from what I > would learn in the MBA course selection. Also if > you worked in the IB field doing M&A I can’t see > how having the CFA wouldn’t help you when > analyzing a company’s financial statements. I > don’t think it’s as clear cut as everyone makes it > out to be. IB - MBA, Asset Mgmt - CFA but stats > are stats I guess. > > I work in AM in Compliance but once I’m done with > the charter I would like to move into a role where > I work on a team with a Portfolio Manager helping > to manage client funds, either that or managing > the banks funds. I hope the CFA is the right path > for me, either way I’m learning so much and > having the Letters “CFA” after your name would be > a big accomplishment to be seen by anyone in the > finance field looking at your resume
Not only do you learn a lot from teaching yourself the CFA, it shows your determination and dedication, as results show a low passing rate, and people who have been through it know how difficult it is to be studying every single day for 5 months. So my opinion is that CFA will still help you get into IB, than not having the charter by a mile. And under the circumstances, CFA may be more financially feasible than an MBA (for me anyway). Of course, I am biased, but nothing is impossible!
rockstar Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Not only do you learn a lot from teaching yourself > the CFA, it shows your determination and > dedication, as results show a low passing rate, > and people who have been through it know how > difficult it is to be studying every single day > for 5 months. So my opinion is that CFA will still > help you get into IB, than not having the charter > by a mile. > > And under the circumstances, CFA may be more > financially feasible than an MBA (for me anyway). > Of course, I am biased, but nothing is impossible! The problem with your argument is that most people in investment banking (talking true IBD here, not all the other services that fall under the IB umbrella) don’t have the CFA or understand what it takes to get.
considering that most of the top financial engineering programs were born from Operations management (process engineering), you could be onto something here. The CFA has the potential to direct you to knowledge, but knowledge sitting alone at your desk will not get you a job. If you can swing it, go for a top MFE (Columbia, Princeton, Boston U - Computational Finance Program (not investment management). There are a lot more - but go for a heavy quant program. That will eliminate the risk for an employer that you have a lot of useful knowledge with no way to apply it. You mention IBD, but I suspect you haven’t done a lot of homework on different areas of finance. Your skills will likely have more relevance on the buy side.
FIAnalyst Wrote: > The problem with your argument is that most people > in investment banking (talking true IBD here, not > all the other services that fall under the IB > umbrella) don’t have the CFA or understand what it > takes to get. Hey man I agree with you. Bankers don’t even have the time to work towards a CFA even if they wanted to, so most don’t. But I guess when I say that I am biased, it’s that it’s impossible for me to do an MBA at the moment because I am finishing my last year in Undergrad, and being a CFA candidate (although being a Level II candidate would be better) is a plus when you apply for IB over not having one. I will eventually do an MBA though, after having worked in the field for a few years! I take it then FIAnalyst that you are in FI and you have no intention of being a banker? In your opinion (and others too) why IB or why NOT?
I have acouple of questions relative to this post. I am in my second year of an MBA/MS In Finance (Dual Degree) program at Indiana University. i have a couple of questions. 1. IU is ranked easily in the top 20 schools every year, but would you guys consider that “top pedigree” or does it refer only to ivy league. 2. If you want to get into portfolio management or securities analysis, with hopes of later moving into a hedge fund or something like that, would the CFA be beneficial? I am not clear on what you guys are referring to as IB jobs, or things that just fall under the broader IB umbrella. 3. In what types of jobs would the CFA be most beneficial, versus what types of jobs are the MBA’s most applicable? What about money? Where is the biggest reward?
I think it’s safe to say that a top tier MBA school is regarded as one that everyone knows as reputable. I am Canadian, and haven’t heard about IU before as being one of the bestest of the best, but that may mean that I need to do some more researching. Maybe this will give you SOME answers you are looking for. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/professionaleducation/08/cfa-or-mba.asp?partner=NTU
cfa_newyorker Wrote: > MehdiOchre, can you write in more detail how did > you manage to switch from computer programming to > finance? What obstacles did you face and how did > you overcome them? I worked with accounting and didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have wished, so I added on a part-time Master’s degree (or rather the equivalent since I’m “abroad”). That degree made it possible to land a job as a software developer of financial software merely by chance – hence the programming – and from there on to a job with an asset manager. It’s a combination of acquiring the necessary basic skills (the ABC of finance), a bit of luck by being in the right place at the right time when the firm(s) wanted to hire somebody on short notice, going for smaller firms where they need people who has a broader perspective, networking etc. Let’s just say that I started off in another profession, changed career late and had a bumpy ride to where I’m at. It’s not anything I’d recommend but it shows it’s possible to get out of one track and into another. Trouble is you have to know twice as much to be considered half as good when you don’t have a streamlined CV to show. It’s not always possible to pick and choose what is best for your career, sometimes you have to settle for jumping at those few opportunities that emerge.