momothetired Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > On hindsight, a CFA or MFE is probably a much > better choice than a MBA for a career in finance, > unless you’re going to Columbia. Dude, why only columbia. the last time i checked the 2009 Rankings (various sources) even NYU mba in finance was better rated than Columbia. And what happen to all other institutes such as Harvard, MIT Sloan, Wharton, Stanford, Yale, University of Chicago, Berkley (HAAS), Kellogg Business School etc ??? Some people are just so stuck with Columbia … ignorance. For all MBA-lovers, this is for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vx1BTBhg4c (the voice over dude speaks the key line)
MBA is overrated for sure. Of course, if you don’t have intellectual power (and/or time & dedication) to get the CFA charter, it might be worth it, but otherwise…no point.
Neud Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MBA is overrated for sure. Of course, if you don’t > have intellectual power (and/or time & dedication) > to get the CFA charter, it might be worth it, but > otherwise…no point. You are the Jehovah’s Witness of the CFA program. I bet that you go door to door proclaiming the intellectual superiority of CFA aspirants over MBAs.
drat - i thought this was going to be a fun thread, what a waste
Neud Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MBA is overrated for sure. Of course, if you don’t > have intellectual power (and/or time & dedication) > to get the CFA charter, it might be worth it, but > otherwise…no point. lol, i guarantee thus gut never went to bschool. it is what you make it boys and girls. go to a top 20, network, things will work out. be aggressive.
this guy, i meant : ) -
Look at all the top jobs on Wall St., how many don’t have an MBA? If the job market is bad for several years, having an MBA will become even MORE important as a differentiator. If you can get into a top 7, do it. P.S. I don’t get the Columbia comment either, it’s at the bottom of the top ten programs.
daj224, of course I never went to a business school - would be a waste of time and money. By the time I could go to business school, I already had a post-MBA level position in M&A of an investment bank (partly thanks to the CFA program which I completed). So, spending another 2 years and a shitload of funds (accounting for both education expenses and unearned salary for the period) would have been plain stupid.
Neud Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > daj224, of course I never went to a business > school - would be a waste of time and money. By > the time I could go to business school, I already > had a post-MBA level position in M&A of an > investment bank (partly thanks to the CFA program > which I completed). So, spending another 2 years > and a shitload of funds (accounting for both > education expenses and unearned salary for the > period) would have been plain stupid. You know a lot of people i know have the same view. I am like why don’t you do an MBA and they are like well i am already working in a position an MBA has. So why should i go for school at this time and spend $100,000, not work and top of everything loose on experience. And experience is the mother of all things which cannot be bought for anything. its a big debate i guess.
yeah but if you dont have an MBA, you better have some darn good work experience coupled with your CFA. otherwise in an interview between a CFA w/ minimal work experience and a CFA/MBA. I imagine the employer would go with the CFA MBA. gotta take it to the next level with the number of unemployed finance peeps these days.
SkipE99 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > yeah but if you dont have an MBA, you better have > some darn good work experience coupled with your > CFA. otherwise in an interview between a CFA w/ > minimal work experience and a CFA/MBA. I imagine > the employer would go with the CFA MBA. > > gotta take it to the next level with the number of > unemployed finance peeps these days. Yeah but then everybody and their mothers have MBAs. Assuming all three candidates have solid experience with whatever # of years they worked. Also MBA is from second tier university, so its a pretty decent program Who do you think an employer will choose for xxx manager job: a. 6 Years Experience CFA holder b. 4 Years Experience CFA/MBA c. 9 Years Experience, Bachelors in Finance
I think you answered your own question
why does the CFA/MBA holder only have 4 years of experience? Did he go to a fulltime 5yr MBA program or something?
It’s pretty obvious that, other things equal, a CFA charterholder who also has an MBA has on average 2 years less of experience (as these 2 years were spent in business school). When you realize what positions a CFA charterholder with 4 years of relevant experience may get, you will likely agree that in 2 years, he will be MUCH more welcome by the employers than the guy who spent these last 2 years in the business school. Real experience is more valuable than MBA diploma.
ok I can at least follow your math, but why does the Bach in Finance have 9yrs of experience? 5 yr difference between CFA/MBA and a Bach, shouldnt it be 2 years dif? And wh does the poor CFA holder have less experience than the Bach? Last I checked I was studying AND getting experience concurrently…therefore it should be: So what is better: 9 yrs Experience Bach/CFA 9 yrs Experience Bach 7 yrs Experience MBA/CFA
I would say, after you reach 9 years of experience, your education is almost irrelevant already - only experience and client relationships 
tvPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ok I can at least follow your math, but why does > the Bach in Finance have 9yrs of experience? 5 yr > difference between CFA/MBA and a Bach, shouldnt it > be 2 years dif? And wh does the poor CFA holder > have less experience than the Bach? Last I checked > I was studying AND getting experience > concurrently…therefore it should be: > > So what is better: > 9 yrs Experience Bach/CFA > 9 yrs Experience Bach > 7 yrs Experience MBA/CFA Dude its not the math, its just who is at an advantage. I am not weighting each position to another. its on individual merit but they all have experience for ehatever # of years. And the reason why i put in 9 years for Bachelors is because he never had to worry about anything, just concentrated on work, he slept at his job and climbed up the ladder steadily. He never got fired or laid off because he couldn’t give his 100% to his job as he had pressure from the CFA exam on the side. So assume the CFA guy was out of work a couple of times and then came back, hence short of experience. Lets make that CFA guy 7 years experience.
this is just getting too make believe for me to follow. If you are lining up candidates apples to apples, thats cool. Otherwise its a case by case situation that you cant compare. Its like: Equity Research Position (Healthcare) A: 20yrs experience as Healthcare Analyst, Bachelors in Finance B: 4yr experience in Accounting, MBA C: 6yr experience in IB, CFA/MBA You can skew this however you want its just silly
Anyone who’s worked in finance in a major market will tell you how important an MBA is if it’s from a top school. I know many people who have been very successful without MBAs, but each of them have privately encouraged me to get mine. It’s simply a right of passage and not having it is a huge disadvantage. Again, this is for top tier MBAs, if you can’t get into the top 10 or even top 7 then it’s a totally different story and might not be worth it. In times like this, having every advantage matters if you are truly successful in finance than a $100k OC is nothing!
Top MBA as a right of passage where? After a top MBA, the best job one can hope for (save for unique cases) is an associate position in a bank like MS, ML, GS etc. If exactly the same role is available for people without an MBA (but with the CFA charter), then where is a huge disadvantage of not having it? When one is in, people only care about his performance - and performance of the CFA charterholder will likely be better due to deeper understanding of finance and more relevant work experience (compared to an MBA graduate from top school).