Ehhh what job market??? All I see is tons of qualified finance professionals with loads of experience begging for jobs that no longer exist.
In which field of engineering did you graduated? Guess you were hired in trading just after graduation?
I did a joint engineering degree. Mech and Elec. Been workin as a research eng for 9mnth nw. I stumbled onto cfa and was hooked. The job only starts in jan 09.
No ones ever old for any kind of education. Life is about new learning. Michael299 - You are your own master. Take positive advice. Ignore the ignorant. I am 34. I had done my Masters in Financial Management in 02. But was hooked on to CFA when I went through their brochure. am appearing for L1 in J’09.
Current Qualification : Qualified Chartered Accountant. Age: 24 Why CFA: Desire of learning more and the global demand for this recongnition will rise within 2-3 years when the market picks up. Appearing for L1 in June 09. A man only turns old because he thinks so. Use your brain in the best way and you will be happy as ever and younger too 
Cheers Sumo
I just completed BS in EE and am appearing for L1 exams in Dec., my friends also posed the same question. But my concept is that knowledge always pays off somehow, specially professional education is an asset.
Thanks for the encouragment! Before doing yours master’s degree in finance, did you already work in finance or you shifted thanks to your master’s degree
I was an accountant preparing income statements and balance sheets before I did my masters…Even my professors had asked me why I was considering the move towards finance…I guess about 80% of the world is averse to change. That explains why only 20% are ruling it!
intuitive lines Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was an accountant preparing income statements > and balance sheets before I did my > masters…Even my professors had asked me why I > was considering the move towards finance…I > guess about 80% of the world is averse to change. > That explains why only 20% are ruling it! Nice quote
dlo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > JoeyDVivre Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > michael299 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > Thanks for your answer guys. JoeyDvivre you > > moved > > > to finance at 35. What did you do before?Was > it > > > difficult to do so? I guess you are now still > > > doing level I or have you moved on. > > > > > > College prof. Passed exams long ago but enjoy > > hanging out here. > > Joey, Are you already a Charterholder? Yep, I’ve even graded the essay exams.
Here are a couple of random facts : - In Germany, people start working at around 26-28 (civil service-longer studies). So no, 28 is not too late, depending on the society you live in. - It DOES however become too late at some point, if you don’t have relevant experience. For people who say things like “you are old just in your mind”, sorry but the job market doesn’t see it that way. A 40 year old history teacher would have a pretty tough time making the switch. - Come on…a PhD in electronic engineering has even more value- in finance- than what most people here have, which is an undergrad in finance. Of course, the jump to finance is hard for you because you are dealing with new concepts, but your mind will make the transition easily. You are used to dealing with tougher stuff. - The engineer + MBA combination, for example, is very common in finance. - You are a specialist. The financial world loves specialists. You could work as electronic sector analyst for an investment fund, for example. - BTW, it ISN’T hard to switch from accounting to finance. Hell, who can better understand financial statements than those who prepared them ? Just look at the number of accountants in PE houses. M&A deals negociations revolve around accounting issues. And I mean much more technical stuff than what you’ll read in financial statements analysis. …Just my 0.02$…
Semper, Every qualification is suitable for a particular role. You cant be only an accountant and approach a investment bank or a research firm. With regards to M&As, there is a difference between preparing the technical statements and reports for a M&A; and making decisions based on them. You ought to have a mix of abilities. and when people talk about being old, they are referring to active working age, not 60+. If you need inspiration about job switches, watch the ‘pursuit of happyness’. It’ll tell you that nothing is impossible for the human mind. Anyways, most of your other points are worth the 2 cents.
Of course the decision making is something different, and accounting isn’t the only thing that is required. But in an M&A deal, the accounting aspects are complicated and crucial , and you cannot make a decision without understanding them. It is in no mean the only ability that you need, but it is an excellent “base qualification” if you want to make that jump.
I think with all what has been written, nothing is impossible. Just requires hard work! I will try to stick to my belief and work toward my goal, at all cost. So hard work , hard work and hard work…
Sometimes is more difficult to know what you want than making the change…I think that if you are 100% sure of where you are going, why you are going and what to do to get there, then the change is secondary. If you are lucky enoug of being one of those people, age stops being a problem.