Ok, here’s the deal. I currently work as a broker, and I go to school at night to earn my MSF. However, the hours at work are definitely not doing my any favors in regards to studying and/or life in general.
Since I no longer want to do anything involving the public, I am thinking about quitting my job and doing my graduate degree and the CFA simultaneously. There is already a significant amount of overlap, and if I am not working a job, I will have considerable time to get this done.
However, I really, really worry about my future career and having to explain why I haven’t worked in over a year. What say you guys?
I already have a scholarship paying for half of my ride, and my wife is a doctor so we’re not hurting for money. I just want to see if you guys think I lost my mind?
If that’s the case you’re much better off going back to school full-time, if that’s possible for MSF. Your reasons for wanting to drop work make sense to be, but most employers simply see candidates as unemployable if they’ve been out of work for some prolonged period of time.
Also, this may be my own editorial here but I think that’s a lot to put on your wife. The earnings power of doctors isn’t what it used to be and continues to be at risk, if any of the thousands of headlines out of Congress in recent years are any indication. Good on her if she’s willing to back you on this…you’d be a very lucky man.
Depends on what you are looking to do. If you are doing the same type of stuff, a break will be weird. But if you’re looking to do something different, then I see no reason why it’s a dealbreaker for an employer to see you went back to do a full time school program.
Your rank and the duration of your former employment also matters. The more years of experience you have, the smaller your unemployment period will seem. I met the new head of a trading desk at a big name firm this year who had been off work for 8 months. He said that he had taken the time off to “rest and refocus”, although my guess is that he was just unemployed. The time off did not seem to have diminished his marketability all that much.
If it’s feasible, perhaps you should consider numi’s advice of applying for a full time graduate program, and then quit your job before enrolling. Not only will this reduce your employment gap, but you might also be able to finish the program faster than you would be able to finish a part time program.
With respect to your wife situation - I do know several men in fact, who have stayed at home or pursued whimsical entrepreneurships due to their wives being doctors. Once you quit your job, there will be a minimum salary threshold before it becomes worthwhile for you to go back to work. There is a possibility that you will not meet this threshold again and will stay at home for an extended period of time. I am not saying that this is good or bad, but only that some people just end up doing this, and it might be worth “pricing in” this scenario into your decision.
if money is not an issue, why not study something you like and pursue your career from a different perspective?
I am all supportive of you going back to school full time since you do not like your current job and you do not see yourself being in this environment, but i urge you to really think about what you want to study because you may be studying somethign that makes sense for your current career, but it may do very little for you if you want to switch out of it eventually.
And then there is this thought of doing CFA at the same time because there is “a lot of overlap already” - i think it’s a bad idea personally. 1) if there is a lot of overlap, there is little value to be added, pick one and move on, 2) the stress of doing two programs at the same time is not worth it, you may fail on both and it’s just very messy and unnecessary.
As well, i don’t see why you would worry about future employers’ impression of you. you are making rational decisions for yourself and if you decide to go to quit and go to school full time that should be enough of a justification.
if money is not an issue, why not study something you like and pursue your career from a different perspective?
I am all supportive of you going back to school full time since you do not like your current job and you do not see yourself being in this environment, but i urge you to really think about what you want to study because you may be studying somethign that makes sense for your current career, but it may do very little for you if you want to switch out of it eventually.
And then there is this thought of doing CFA at the same time because there is “a lot of overlap already” - i think it’s a bad idea personally. 1) if there is a lot of overlap, there is little value to be added, pick one and move on, 2) the stress of doing two programs at the same time is not worth it, you may fail on both and it’s just very messy and unnecessary.
As well, i don’t see why you would worry about future employers’ impression of you. you are making rational decisions for yourself and if you decide to go to quit and go to school full time that should be enough of a justification.
if money is not an issue, why not study something you like and pursue your career from a different perspective?
I am all supportive of you going back to school full time since you do not like your current job and you do not see yourself being in this environment, but i urge you to really think about what you want to study because you may be studying somethign that makes sense for your current career, but it may do very little for you if you want to switch out of it eventually.
And then there is this thought of doing CFA at the same time because there is “a lot of overlap already” - i think it’s a bad idea personally. 1) if there is a lot of overlap, there is little value to be added, pick one and move on, 2) the stress of doing two programs at the same time is not worth it, you may fail on both and it’s just very messy and unnecessary.
As well, i don’t see why you would worry about future employers’ impression of you. you are making rational decisions for yourself and if you decide to go to quit and go to school full time that should be enough of a justification.