MissCleo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sgupta0827 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > In spite of knowing the fact that there is not > > going to be any improvement even after CFA > level > > 2, why are so many people crazy about it? Does > the > > situation improve after CFA level 3? What is > the > > point of going through the pain if one doesn’t > get > > any advantage on resume or while applying to B > > school? > > CFA snipers are tracking you down sgupta I hope my soul gets job as a compensation 
sgupta0827 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In spite of knowing the fact that there is not > going to be any improvement even after CFA level > 2, why are so many people crazy about it? Does the > situation improve after CFA level 3? What is the > point of going through the pain if one doesn’t get > any advantage on resume or while applying to B > school? As most people say on here… CFA level anything won’t get you a job. It will probably make you more marketable over a non-CFA depending on what you want to do, but it sure isn’t a guaranteed job.
krazykanuck Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sgupta0827 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > In spite of knowing the fact that there is not > > going to be any improvement even after CFA > level > > 2, why are so many people crazy about it? Does > the > > situation improve after CFA level 3? What is > the > > point of going through the pain if one doesn’t > get > > any advantage on resume or while applying to B > > school? > > > As most people say on here… CFA level anything > won’t get you a job. It will probably make you > more marketable over a non-CFA depending on what > you want to do, but it sure isn’t a guaranteed > job. In my opinion, the CFA mainly improves your career prospects when you already are in finance. For people looking for an entry level job, it will help, but not *that* much.
you must stop thinking that passing a cfa exam entitles you to a job
Then what is it worth for ??
it just gives you some credibility and some of the knowledge you need to do the job. There are a host of additional skills which are needed to be a finance professional.
I have always been talking to many employers and all they say is you need “EXPERIENCE”. He said with some experience and CFA after your name you will have decent choices but biggest problem would be to get in once you get in then you work your way in the industry. I am actually trying to work free for companies … I know how it sounds, but I don’t have any experience plus with these conditions its just getting more and more hard to get in. So what my plan is, is to pring the contact info of as many investment companies I can get and call their directors and offer myself as a b****. and yes I work at a grocery store so this will definitlty give me huge help in paying bills 
supersunny138 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > …So what my plan is, is to > pring the contact info of as many investment > companies I can get and call their directors and > offer myself as a b****. I believe the technical term for this is “unpaid internship”. It’s actually a pretty good idea, if you can find an company that will take you on and give you experience in the kind of work you’re interested in doing. I doubt that any well-known international bank would allow this kind of arrangement, as they already have proper (paid) internship programs. But maybe a very small shop would go for it.
Yeah I think many people take these exams thinking that it will get them a top paying job in finance. Unfortunately, the cold hard truth is that experience trumps any sort of financial designation, even the highly acclaimed CFA program. The key is to get some experience. To get some experience you need to network and not study for exams. You need to meet as many people as you can, go to informational interviews, talk to people, ask about their company etc. I would look at finance jobs on the periphery such as business valuation, credit analysis, real estate finance, that may someday allow you to transition to investment research or equity research if that is your “dream job”. Once you have a job in finance, then take the CFA exams as you will be much more valuable to a prospective employer and you will learn some new things and gain more credibility. Many of these periphery finance jobs allow you make a decent living and live a good life.
I repeat - Please consider taking GMAT and getting into a decent B-School. Connections, CFA and Experience are NOT required. Those are just lame excuses by HR folks. Good MBA is the right and widely accepted method of making a career switch. It has worked for every single person I know (who could manage to get into a good college). P.S.: If you have Connections, its obviously great and will make life so much easier - But then again, MBA will automatically get you the network you want access to!
anupamjain008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I repeat - Please consider taking GMAT and getting > into a decent B-School. … > Good MBA is the right and widely accepted method > of making a career switch. It has worked for every > single person I know (who could manage to get into > a good college). I think many of the students that graduated from an MBA program in 2008, 2009, 2010 would disagree with you. Even top-notch schools like Wharton weren’t able to place all of their MBA grads in finance jobs upon graduation. Many were sent packing back to China, India, etc with no job and US$100,000+ in debt. Good luck with that. The beauty of the CFA program is that it is virtually never a negative-NPV project. The same cannot be said of an MBA.
rachit202 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Then what is it worth for ?? Seriously? The whole point of the designation is to show that you know what you’re doing and gives you credibility in the industry. It’s not like the CA, which is a requirement for jobs. Taking exams and doing certificates won’t get you a job. Networking is also real difficult when you’re starting out (are you a recent grad?). Start calling up employers, look for temp roles until you find full time, also consider MBA as anupam said. Or call ChickenTikka when he starts his biz.
Wendy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think many of the students that graduated from > an MBA program in 2008, 2009, 2010 would disagree > with you. > > Even top-notch schools like Wharton weren’t able > to place all of their MBA grads in finance jobs > upon graduation. Many were sent packing back to > China, India, etc with no job and US$100,000+ in > debt. Good luck with that. > > The beauty of the CFA program is that it is > virtually never a negative-NPV project. The same > cannot be said of an MBA. Those Wharton graduates who did not get a job then surely have got a job they were looking for by now. I did not mean to say that every MBA graduate gets a top I Banking gig right upon graduating - however - they gain access to a good network which can easily help them get something very close to an ideal job. And in any case, most companies would REQUIRE you to have an MBA to take responsibility beyond a particular designation. Just FYI, I passed MBA in 2009 - right in the middle of world crisis - and definitely not from the Whartons of the world. It was tough beyond anyone’s imaginations - but today I see that all of my batchmates (and even MBAs from other good institutes) have been able to get where they wanted to. Secondly - Your “never a negative-NPV project” argument is not only flawed but also hilarious. Read this forum and you will come across that people have invested their time, soul and life into this program under some illusion that they will get a wonderful Finance gig upon clearing the exams. Talk to some of those people and you will realize how much this program cost them.
i agree with the ‘virtually never a negative npv project’. She was referring to cost and in this respect cfa costs virtually nothing. The investment in time should be useful as well because it is teaching you things you need to do your job and things that you should be interested in. If it isn’t why would you be doing it.
anupamjain008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > …Your “never a negative-NPV project” > argument is not only flawed but also hilarious. > Read this forum and you will come across that > people have invested their time, soul and life > into this program Your misunderstanding of NPV is what is hilarious. If you don’t enjoy learning and studying the curriculum, then that’s a great reason to not pursue the CFA designation. But as escape-from-alcatraz pointed out, “soul” does not factor into the NPV calculation. The significant outlays in pursuing a top MBA (typically $80,000+ in tuition, $120,000+ in lost wages) means that if you find a job immediately after graduation that pays $20,000/yr more than the job you left, the MBA is really only breaking even on an NPV basis. The equivalent salary step-up you need to make the CFA worthwhile is about $500/yr. I think it would be rare for most candidates to not achieve this kind of payoff.
Wendy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > If you don’t enjoy learning and studying the > curriculum, then that’s a great reason to not > pursue the CFA designation. > > But as escape-from-alcatraz pointed out, “soul” > does not factor into the NPV calculation. Well I dunno what to refute here - you completely ignored “time” in the NPV calculation. Add to that the fact that some candidates would spend 4 years in clearing the exam and still be working for some job which will not be relevant to their career aspirations. Secondly, the OP comes from India - in which case all your $$$ calculations will go for a toss. The price tag for Indian MBA programs is way lower than your calculations and mostly people break-even in first year. They also see significant jump (usually minimum 100%) when they graduate from the MBA program. Even if he instead goes on to get an MBA from a US B-School, he will graduate in max 2 years and can recover the cost in another year. His post-MBA job will most likely pay $60,000/yr more than the job he might be doing in India right now. He will break even by the end of 4th year max. (And maybe he will complete CFA L3 exam by then too). Compare this to searching for a KPO role in India (which he will get if he gets really lucky forget any front office job) - he will keep doing same work which he won’t enjoy and clear Level 3. He will not even be able to get a profile of his choice after clearing Level 3 given the competition in the markets here. Just want to leave some food for thought for Rachit (and others who might find this useful): 1. Look at the Profile you desire to get in. Money should be immaterial at this stage. Any IT company can pay you great money but you know that its not in line with your aspirations. 2. CFA could be a “never negative NPV” project but so is “sitting idle and not doing anything”. So there is no beauty in being “never negative-NPV”. MBA will help you in various ways and is the “industry-standard way” of switching profiles. 3. CFA program will be great add-on when you start looking out for placements post-MBA. You might want to clear Level 3 while in the first year of MBA program. 4. STAY AWAY from thinking in the following manner: “The equivalent salary step-up you need to make the CFA worthwhile is about $500/yr. I think it would be rare for most candidates to not achieve this kind of payoff.” - Such thinking is the shortest route to spoil your career.
@Anupam Can I ask you where you got your MBA degree from?
rachit202 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Then what is it worth for ?? its sad to know that u r not able to find an entry level position in India…even if u dont have any exp…I think L2 should fetch you an entry level Analyst position in India provided u hav reasonable expectations…but if ur expectations r too high…then seriously think for MBA…
rachit202 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Then what is it worth for ?? I hav passed level1 and dont hav an MBA …work as a Valuation Analyst for a i bank in India…if u are interested in any such role plz let me know… May be i can be of some help to you… .but again if ur expectations are reasonable…
anupamjain008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > … > price tag for Indian MBA programs is way lower > than your calculations and mostly people > break-even in first year. They also see > significant jump (usually minimum 100%) when they > graduate from the MBA program. Really, even a 2nd-tier Indian MBA means a 100%+ jump in salary? Why do my indian colleagues deride indian MBAs as “Means Bugger All”?