i’m year 2 studying fiannce and risk management in undergraduate.
i think i have to decide something for my future at this moment.
now I’m considering three options, cfa, frm and gmat.
i can start frm right away cause there is no restriction on taking test but i have more interests in cfa.
only final year can take the cfa so im also thinking having a gap year after year 3 and doing internship and preparing cfa at the same time. and take the exam whem i;m in final year (if the internship is not that burdensome, i think i can study both cfa lv1 and frm since some subjects are overlapped)
or, is it better to studying gmat not cfa? in fact mba is my fianl goal and that’s why i plan to prepare cfa or frm.
cause i think cfa or frm can be my advantage to get te job after i graduate. the working experience is important one to apply top mba schools in states so i just think preparing cfa or frm can be one way at this stage.
what do you think about my plan? i have totally lost in these thinkings. plz help me!
I think your thinking is very typical of a business student nowadays - overly ambitious and eager to do everything but no clear vision.
Yes, I do think there are benefits to doing any (or all) of the above. Personally, you have to ask yourself, are you trying to collect certificates or are you trying to get a job, and perhaps a rewarding career? I am asking this because if you are really just wanting to get a masters at a top school in the end, you need not to go into finance at all. And if finance isn’t really your thing, you wouldn’t get a (good) job in finance, which is already very competitive in the first place, and you wouldnt’ get a great experience out of it to be considered for a top MBA school.
Now if you are just wanting to get a job at the end, and you assume getting a MBA will get you there. Then i can tell you this, doing all 3, or a combination of the 2, does not guarentee a great career, or a job, for that matter. It certainly doesn’t hurt, but what you have to understand is that, you need to take it one step at the time and building a career is more about the job experience you have then the academic achievements.
We have gone way passed the era when you have a masters degree and you can walk over people… why insist of over-studying?
Focus on your internship, if that’s what you are interested and if that is related to finance, do the CFA and FRM program, whatever you see fit, then build some CONCRETE experience. You may not need the MBA or you may not like finance once you start working. Once you have a few years of experience you will find what you are “strategizing” now is very juvenile (sorry for my bluntness). Learn how to prioritize and set realistic goals for yourself. Having just long term goals and ideals and doing all random things in the moment will not get you there.
Forget GMAT. GMAT is useless unless you want to go to business school, and no worthwhile school will take you until you have experience.
You don’t work in risk management. Don’t get a certification in Risk Management unless you work in Risk Management. What if you get a job in fixed income analysis? Then your designation in Risk Management is totally worthless.
If you’re bound and determined to do some extra study, CFA is the best route. But I agree with Former Trader. Good GPA and good internship will land you a good job. Then you need to do the best job you can. That will take you futher than CFA.
your chronology is all wrong, this seems to be a common for most young unversity students and just demonstrates a lack of research and exposure to what they want to do.
This is what I’d tell second year me.
focus on getting good internships (a whole beast on it’s own), networking, strong GPA.
GMAT is laughable since the score is only good for 5 years. Do you really plan to go back to do your MBA by the time you’re 24/25?
CFA L1 is fine but won’t get you a job out of school if you have no good internships. Internships/networks/GPA will help you get a good job out of undergrad.
Sir with all due respect FRM covers fixed income,derivatives,quant ,alternate investments,portfolio management (from the point of view of risk)in more detail as compared to CFA.FRM how ever doesnot teach you equity,fra,corporate finance and economics.However FRM assumes you know the basics of equity,fra,economics etc.
To Op,
I have done to levels of FRM and as per my analysis FRM is hard but has narrow scope as compared to CFA.I am currently doing CFA as it has better recognition and will help me to get a job when i complete my MBA.
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