Hi, I am a CFA L3 June 2010 candidate and an MBA finance. I also have an engineering degree in computer science. I was wondering how I can best leverage my education (Software + finance) and CFA. I am considering applying for a associate consultant role in ERP package implementation. I am not sure if its the right role. Currently i am in a research role - doing business/strategy research. I have 2 yrs of software development experience and 1 yr of research experience Had the following queries: 1. Does SAP FICO experience count as CFA relevant 2. How can I best leverage the CFA brand within the IT industry I am really confused on the career path to take - whether to stick to financial research or take move into an IT company to take up a role of domain expert? Would be really grateful for any thoughts/guidance Thanks
Try financial software development at firms like Bloomberg/Thomson Reauters etc. Becoming a quant is also an option if you math background. Trade Support (Front Office role) could be an option too. SAP FICO - I guess no
Where are you located? Opportunities in different countries can differ dramatically.
So you’re going to have a resume with a CFA (eventually), MBA Finance, and B.S. in Comp Sci. You still like these fields of study (finance, mathematics, and computers) and will be applying for jobs in related areas where you can flex the left side of your brain. You’re going to have to decide if you want to stay on the finance side, where you’ll use the CFA and MBA education heavily, or if you want to go into ERP implementation and comp sci. For me, this would be an easy decision (ERP is too corporate and structured - give me the freedom of doing my own research any day). For you though, it may not be. Judging by your experience, you are fairly early in your career, but highly educated. This should make getting a job (relatively) easy, because you’ve got a lot of credentials, but because you’re young, you would be cheaper to hire. However, it won’t be like that forever. Once you’ve got ten years of experience under your belt, it’s going to be a lot harder to change jobs later. Lets say you go into ERP now. You work there for ten years. You hate every minute of it. Eventually, your job gets outsourced to India. So you say, “Nuts to this, I’m going back to finance.” Well, you were making $100k doing ERP. So you say, “Should be easy to get a job like that in finance.” Nope! They gave the job to the guy who has 10 years of financial experience (or alternately, they hired two guys fresh out of school). If I had your education, and I liked mathematics as much as you seem to, I would try to get a job as a quantitative analyst at a hedge fund, commodity trading advisor, mutual fund, or other investment firm. If I struck out there, I would try to find a job at an investment consultant doing research on such managers. If I struck out there, then maybe a data service provider (bloomberg etc). Remember the payscale food chain: top tier investment managers > average investment managers > investment consultants, banks & FOF > financial service providers > call centers when changing careers, you can always move down the list, but it’s a lot harder to move up (i.e. a tiger can eat a mouse, but a mouse cannot eat a tiger)
I am based out of India…
sumeghborkar Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am based out of India… then you are f*&ked…there is one out of every three candidates in India whose math/comp background is at least as powerful as yours or better. Also, it also depends on the reputation of your B school. You should look outside of India to get the maximum out of your credentials. I’d recommend trying for a finance position with mid-tier ibank in the middle-east or europe.
Apologies for the dire tone, but it sounds like there’s a lot of Indian CFA charterholders who aren’t going to be happy with their prospects if they expect to be handed a job. Subsequently, it sounds the same for their European and US counterparts. I hear Hong Kong is hiring like crazy though.