Hi Guys, I am 40 years old, and have been working as an Accountant for 15 YR.s I am currently working as a Fund Accountant, and as a matter of fact, I did like very much the fields of investments, finance and capital markets. I am thinking seriously of making a career change towards any of these areas and to pursue the CFA designation. My onle concen is my age, …is it wise to do so in the age of 40?.. Is it appealing to employers to hire a person who has no experience in any of these areas, and yet in his 40ish ? Many Thanks for honest and sincere opinions…
no
simply put, you’re only change would be to an equity research analyst if you came from industry and covered that same sector as the industry you came from. but since you are an accountant that doesn’t apply. odds are stacked against you, sir.
You might want to look into an IA program at one of the banks in your area …
Well, Bob777, it’s not impossible, but it is difficult to make this change at this age. And we’re not heading forward into the most favorable of environments. The best ways to break in are networking and maybe direct contact with people with your background who have made it into the field. Maybe a google search for asset management firms and CPA experience can uncover some. Once you talk to them, try to see what types of roles your background best prepares you for… then you won’t be changing careers so much as changing roles within a more broadly defined career, and you can make arguments about how your past experience prepares you. CFA exams will help show that you are serious about this change and give people a standard by which they can judge your general knowledge. You’re in for a tough haul, but if you want to do it, it’s worth the effort!
I knew a guy who’s father retired from the NYPD at about your age. After retirement he went to a top 40 MBA program and eventually got a good job in fixed income (retired for a second time about 5 years ago). He did this in the early 80s so the market might have been a little different then.
You’re gonna be fighting an up hill battle for sure, but you’d be helping yourself out a lot by being very specific on what it is you want to do and how your experience can add value… also not being too picky when it comes to employers (i.e. BB firms are not the only ones on the street) may ease the transition. Good luck!
I would imagine, as another poster mentioned, an MBA would be helpful.
Accounting into investments is a tough jump at any age. I’m trying to make the jump – I’m 27, an LIII candidate, and I majored in finance – and I’m finding it extremely difficult. A big time MBA would ease the transition. Four letters: G-M-A-T.
To joemontane, What did you find extremely difficult in what you call “tough jump”…I mean you already a Level 3 candidate ? is it the material … or the job opportunities ? Thanks
joemontana Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Accounting into investments is a tough jump at any > age. I’m trying to make the jump – I’m 27, an > LIII candidate, and I majored in finance – and I’m > finding it extremely difficult. > > A big time MBA would ease the transition. Four > letters: G-M-A-T. If you can be a hall-of-fame quarterback, I’m pretty sure you’re capable of doing nearly anything
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > joemontana Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > > If you can be a hall-of-fame quarterback, I’m > pretty sure you’re capable of doing nearly > anything true, look at roger staubach
Bob777 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To joemontane, > > What did you find extremely difficult in what you > call “tough jump”…I mean you already a Level 3 > candidate ? is it the material … or the job > opportunities ? > > Thanks No, it’s not the material. It’s finding a job in investments. I do Accounts receivables for a large publisher. Aside from passing LI & LII on my first attempts, I graduated with a 3.8 GPA (albeit at a large state school) with a finance major. I also did a hitch in the army before college. I also have a 690 GMAT. Despite this stuff, I’m not even close to the investment field. He**, my job doesn’t even qualify for the charter experience requirement. I’ve applied to several investment firms in the Philly area, and gotten nothing back. In fact, it’s even tough to find any openings. Every time a search “financial analyst” I get budget analyst jobs with line corporations. When I mention to a recruiter that I want to work in investments, they look at me funny. I’ve actually been told: “They’re only looking for Ivy League types.” Right now, I’m resigned to going to Grad School in the fall (the final act of any desperate man). So in short, I’m finding extremely rough right now.
I recently wen to a conference on ER. The panel included several ER MDs and up and they provided some good insight into landed a job in the field. The thing that got me frustrated was that they basically told us that they love to take chances on people without the typical background (i.e., Ivy league, analyst program after undergrad). I’m sitting there thinking that if you love doing it so much how come I never hear of it happening? Never!!! Keep your chin up I think you should be able to break into this field.
>they basically told us that they love to take chances on people without the typical background They probably forgot to add this. “As long as the candidate knows my friend/boss or whoever I want to ask a favor later on”
^ | ding ding ding. its all about networking and who you know.
^ echo what one of the earlier posts said: MBA, GMAT, CFA all helps but all r trumpeed by exeperience. I work in ER covering telecom services. And i do know alot of guys who were senior project managers at some of these telcom services or equipment companies. But they know the technology very well. In the case of a fund accountant i would say chances are pretty slim. Anotehr thing is if you look at the guys covering tech, quite a number of them worked in tech for many years and didnt start ER until 30-40 yo.
this thread is depressing
TJR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I recently wen to a conference on ER. The panel > included several ER MDs and up and they provided > some good insight into landed a job in the field. > The thing that got me frustrated was that they > basically told us that they love to take chances > on people without the typical background (i.e., > Ivy league, analyst program after undergrad). I’m > sitting there thinking that if you love doing it > so much how come I never hear of it happening? > Never!!! > > Keep your chin up I think you should be able to > break into this field. Sorry - was this a conference on how to break into ER? If so, those guys were being paid to boost the hopes of a bunch of ER hopefuls. To the OP - I agree with those who recommended the MBA, provided you could get into a decent school. If not, feel free to try to network your way in, but the outlook is not favorable. I’m not trying to be depressing - just realistic.
Not realy, the conference was titled, “future of ER” or something like that. I would say more than half of the people in the audiance had positions in the field already. After it was opened up for questions people started asking about getting in the door. The speakers did mention that it would be difficult (not as difficult as you would imagine from reading this board) and that if you hit a wall you should work in the field for 2-3 years and then try. One of the speakers actually mentioned that he started off doing internal audit.