cfa_toronto_on Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > SeanC, how is the market for Charterholders in > Vancouver as compared to Seattle. > I remember a few years ago lots of ppl were > leaving Van. to go the US. Is that still the case? I really dont know, alot of the people I talk to are pretty keen on moving overseas but they are simply candidates. I think alot of charterholders are just happy to have a job that allows them to qualify under the work experience guidelines. Vancouver is a pretty great place to live so alot of people are willing to take a pay cut relative to the peers in other cities.
SeanC Wrote: > which is why im ursuing a CA designation in > conjunction with a CFA, ill just work in corp > finance at a big four. Doing the same thing. and the fantastic thing is that CICA has changed its requirements to becoming a CA…you can now work at corporate companies and still earn the CA, instead of being stuck at a big4 doing audit for 2 years! CA/CFA all the way
I see the designation as becoming common place. Right when I graduated college 2 1/2 years ago, when I was searching for jobs, very few jobs if any asked for the CFA designation or work toward it. Now after 2 years and after I have passed all levels, every job in investment analysis I see wants you to have it or being working toward it. My firm is small, and there are about 10-14 people who have passed all levels and the majority of those passed on the first try, so it is definitely common place there. It will siimply be a barrier to entry.
Rydex, but there is a thin line between a job that requires the CFA charter and a job that requires progress toward or interest in the CFA charter. Those 2 are vastly different.
kkent, the point remains. too many CFAs. we need to make the CFA 5 levels or something. incorporate risk management and alternative investments.
Frank, the point remains, there may be too many CFA holders in Canada, but as far as I know, I’ve yet to actually meet a holder of the charter at any level. In my area (and probably in the U.S. in general), the CFA charter is by no means commonplace.
There are just about 11000 charterholders in Canada with close to 5500 of them being in Toronto. It’s really hard to say how ‘common’ it is within the industry since I don’t have a general scope of how many positions there are available for people that carry the charter. I believe there are between 76k-80k charterholders worldwide? Compare that to 80k CA’s in Canada alone. They’re still very respected and in high demand, but perhaps thats due to the nature of the profession and industry. Let’s hope the CFA charter can achieve that type of demand in the finance industry.
i don’t think it can.
FrankArabia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i don’t think it can. Based upon what, exactly?
Mez Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > SeanC Wrote: > > which is why im ursuing a CA designation in > > conjunction with a CFA, ill just work in corp > > finance at a big four. > > Doing the same thing. and the fantastic thing is > that CICA has changed its requirements to becoming > a CA…you can now work at corporate companies and > still earn the CA, instead of being stuck at a > big4 doing audit for 2 years! CA/CFA all the way yeah i went to a kpmg recruiting event and they have a assurance/advisory rotation…its pretty tite
The CFA value has been vastly diluted in Canada. In addition to a bunch of locals from Ontario, you have lots of Canadians from the Maritimes (Halifax is no financial centre) fighting for the very scarce job supply. On top of that, you have a gazzilion of chinese and indians who’re willing to do the same job for twice as less $$ so they can get the coveted “Canadian experience”. The Toronto job market is doomed for good.
if they’re “willing” to do it for half as much, that only means our salaries were twice too high. honestly, those chinese and indians have a way harder hill to climb. most of them have trouble speaking English, plus they have to study in a second language. lets see you fellow Canadians can do the CFA exam in Chinese or Hindu and work for half as much. if they can do it, they deserve it.
The point is not about climbing the hill, but rather about the pecularities of the Toronto job market.
I read that india has the most english speaking residents of any country in the world…
The toronto job market is fantastic once you’re in the “club”.
FrankArabia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > if they’re “willing” to do it for half as much, > that only means our salaries were twice too high. > > > honestly, those chinese and indians have a way > harder hill to climb. most of them have trouble > speaking English, plus they have to study in a > second language. lets see you fellow Canadians can > do the CFA exam in Chinese or Hindu and work for > half as much. if they can do it, they deserve it. Gotta agree there. Sure they may not ‘speak’ or ‘write’ as well as the non-foreign candidates, but at the end of the day what do all businesses care about? How well you read/write? Nope. Sure it helps in promoting a more ‘appropriate’ image of itself, but when you rip away all the expensive clothing, fancy cars, the wine and dining, golf playing etc etc, all people really care about is the bottom dollar. If you can’t perform, you are useless to them and to your (their) clients. If people are able to pass all 3 levels of the exams, it says something about their aptitude, which not any village idiot can do.
>The toronto job market is fantastic once you’re in the “club”. That’s probably true. After all those stories about too many CFA charterholders in Toronto, not all “insiders” are charterholders. Experience, blah, blah, blah, they would say, but it seems to me, if you know someone important, you can get in. If you do not…well what are we supposed to do?
I would say get out and know the important people…Bay Street is extremely small. I hate to say it, but the best jobs and opportunities are found through networking. I know investment bankers with Bcomms not even contemplating grad school, let alone the charter, f/x sales/traders with eco degrees, I could go on and on. Yes, TO is degree/charter heavy, but the job market is the best I’ve seen in 5 years and the decision makers want to know they are hiring someone that can do the job, they can trust and first and foremost they can work and party with.
Whoever can pass the test deserves it. Having the CFA, however, doesn’t mean much if you speak English poorly. The CFA is just a helpful little tool to crack the front office - once there it means nothing.
turkish, what’s wrong with traders with economics degrees? are you implying that econ degrees are not comparable or below that of business degrees? what are you trying to say? i have an econ background and proud of it.