Job input, pay, etc?

Before I get harped on, my current new position is temporary and I was told no harm in finding stable full time work in the meantime. I have an interview with this firm on Monday morning. I realize it looks like paper pushing position, but this particular financial niche looks very appealing given the baby boomers population coming into retirement. Given a good offer on a position with upside potential, I have no qualms with delaying the MBA. Thanks for your input ahead of time. Advisors, Inc. is an independent, fee-based consulting firm located in twin cities, Minnesota that works with mid-to-large size sponsors of retirement plans. Our main focus is to help plan sponsors optimize the management of their plans. Our services involve the design and implementation of retirement plans including the selection and monitoring of investment managers. We are looking for an individual to assist with the delivery of client materials and ad hoc projects. Strong communication skills, both written and oral, are essential to excel in this position. Candidates must have a proven ability to analyze, interpret, and synthesize investment data. The successful candidate should have a minimum of two years of relevant work experience, a college degree in Business or Finance, experience working for an investment institution, and strong knowledge of investment management. Experience with ERISA-governed retirement plans preferred. Current CFA candidates will be given preference. Advisors will offer a unique and challenging environment, valuable experience working for a firm that provides investment consulting, and a competitive compensation structure.

There is no question in this entire post. Are you asking MBA or CFA, or MBA or job?

btw it looks like a decent gig in investment consulting.

My mistake. The decision comes down to MBA or job. I’m 25, temp analyst work in an absolute return fund making $hitty pay, but great experience in portfolio management. Decent MBA program acceptance which would start in August 2009. CFA Level 2 Candidate (awaiting results) Background experience in tax (2 seasons), back office (2 years). I took a stab and applied at this firm for the investment analyst position. It looks like a good shop to get into, but the job itself looks iffy. This statement makes me wonder how s3xy the job really is; “We are looking for an individual to assist with the delivery of client materials and ad hoc projects. Strong communication skills, both written and oral, are essential to excel in this position. Candidates must have a proven ability to analyze, interpret, and synthesize investment data.”

It seems like your MBA is not from a top notch school. If you can delay it, then you can give this job a try.

Take the job and do MBA meanwhile. Looks like a junior investment consultant role.

THis job is performance reporting. so you get performance data from custodian of records and put together reports using some kind of proprietary software. the track takes you to becoming an investment consultant. pay would be around 45-50K starting out plus maybe 5% bonus. long hours likely.

needhelp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > THis job is performance reporting. so you get > performance data from custodian of records and put > together reports using some kind of proprietary > software. the track takes you to becoming an > investment consultant. pay would be around 45-50K > starting out plus maybe 5% bonus. long hours > likely. I think you hit the nail on the head. A friend at a competing firm in my area does just that for the same pay.

The conventional wisdom on Wall Street is if you don’t go to a top tier business school then it’s not beneficial to go.

Thanks everyone. I figure there is no harm in going in for an interview. In the event an offer surfaces, I’ll bring it to the board to hash through. So the consensus seems to be Job>Decent MBA?

Ah I know which firm you’re talking about. I think it depends on what you’re interested in doing with your career. If you think this is a good stepping stone to reaching that goal, then by all means go for it. If this work is really pretty unrelated to what you want to do, you may be better off sticking with plans to go to b-school. On the other hand, if you think working here for a year or two and finishing the CFA designation may improve your chances on getting into a more competitive program (CSOM) maybe that’s something to think about as well.

Quant, i’m in investment consulting and did that job in the NE. Shoot me an email if you have any questions. A step up from your run of the mill BO job. Chance to move up into investment consulting. No its not the best job in the world and Goldman or BlackRock won’t come knocking at your door afterwards. Really depends on what you want to do afterwards.

My knowledge of investment consulting is not the greatest, but I feel it holds great potential with the influx of retirees approaching. Any salary info? They asked for my salary history which is low, really low. I’m wondering how this influences an offer if one is presented?

Cambridge Associates… entry level performance guys make 40-45k (0-10% bonus) senior performance people 50-60k (0-10% bonus) senior = 1-4 related work exp and pass level 1. Twin cities has a lower cost of living then Boston but fees from client should still roughly be in-line w/industry. Expect 38-45k (0-10% bonus). You can probably get 45-50k (0-10%) w/your work exp. Mid 40s is a good start but in this economy I wouldn’t be suprised if you get a low-ball offer of high 30s.

Is entry level really this low pay? I was quite interested in Cambridge Associates, but no door to get in. BTW, what is performance guy means? junior research associate?

Thanks bipolar, I’ll let you know how it goes.

why the is it nessesary to put (awaiting results) after L2 candidate. That just blows my mind. dude, we know that you are awaiting results.

yes i have a few friends in Cambridge Associates. performance analyst = collect data from custodian/manager to compile performance reports. usually come from BO jobs (fund accounting or right out of college) consulting analyst = projects for clients and consultants. more interesting. CFA extremely helpful (often determine your promotions). Usually hired out of undergrad. much more exclusive then performance. pay = 50-60k all in junior research analyst = research asset classes, interview managers, on-site, and write-ups. usually out of undergrad but also some people move from consulting. CFA will be very useful for promotions. 50-60k all in Tons of BU/BC/Bentley/Babson kids in performance. Consulting usually take kids from Tufts/Brandies/top 25 schools.

Quant, Take the job and do the MBA part time in the evenings for the time being. I do not think there is a significant difference between full time and part time at the school you have been accepted. If you stay around the Twin Cities, nobody cares if you did it full time or part time, IMHO. I will shoot you an email when I have a chance. Alex

^I’m working full-time and taking classes essentially full-time (like 3/4 time technically) it’s very doable if you’re good at time management/prioritization and you stay disciplined. You’ll have to be will to give up a fair share of your free time (including sleep occasionally), however.