Hey, I hear you jmerten. In fact, I’m trying to decide between PT and FT myself, as my career path lies kind of in the center. The big factor for me is that certain doors will definitely close for me if I go PT, which won’t be the case for FT. There will certainly be plenty of open doors if I go PT, but it’s a question of whether staying at work for two years is really worth burning those bridges… I mean, do you really want an MSNBC article about a financial planner to dictate your career path?
i’m PT at chicago. ADMISSION: the stats for my class were 705 gmat, 3.5 gpa, and generally some people with impressive undergrad degrees and good jobs. say whatever you want about PT being easier, but it’s still pretty damn hard to get accepted. GSB maintains they have equal admissions standards for PT and FT. STUDENTS: believe me, i would LOVE having the luxury of going to school FT. there’s nothing more i would enjoy than no job responsibilities, no pressure to get good grades, sleeping in, getting drunk 4 nights a week, and a full social calendar. but i’ve got a good job, the opportunity to make a lot of money, a wife, mortgage payments, and a baby on the way. FT just aint happening. i’ve been in classes and groups with FT and PT. generally, i would say each segment has its fair share of superstars and idiots. there have been people who i’ve met who have odd jobs (one guy was a fireman) who ended up being smarter than the guy working in i-banking at JPM. you simply never know. RECRUITING: the PT folks have less access to OC interviewing, but it’s not because they’re viewed as lesser quality. first, PT are assumed to have jobs already. why would schools give them equal priority to compete with FT for jobs? second, employers arent as anxious to interview someone who already has a job. the employer has little leverage and no idea whether the person will actually leave their job. third, you dont need OC interviewing to get a good job through the university. GSB has a job board that targets all students/alum. very high quality positions. the only candidates where it matters to be FT is if you’re attempting to make the dreaded career switch into banking/research/et al. FT will make it easier, but i think people tend to get carried away with this assumption. the generalization often made is that it’s practically automatic if you’re FT. trust me that it is not. there is one inescapable fact that matters most in the end: experience counts the most!
Everyone seems to be obsessed with IB jobs on AF… What about asset management firms? Do they also hire only people from full-time top 10 MBA programs? Or the recruiting process is more flexible for those firms.
wegowayback, Great post, I completely agree, GSU was chalk-full of successful people already, not people who might be successful at some point. My first job out of school was in coprorate deveopment group where I worked soley on valuation models and financial due dilligence; I helped close several deals where my financial model was the basis for the decision to acquire. Again, I know that isn’t the same as working at Goldman Sachs but it is the same work in essence and they aren’t doing anything differently that what my group did. I just hate feeling like I have to rationalize my education or work experience. I’ve mentioned my boss a couple of times and he is a Princeton undergrad and a Wharton MBA and is the least pretentious person I’ve met; one of the first things he said to me was that GSU was a good school and he could get good talent at a cheaper price than from Wharton. Anyway, good luck to you ahahah, you’ll be fine either way, there are a lot of smart and successful people on here and my opinion is just that.
jmerten Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’ve mentioned my boss a couple of times and he is > a Princeton undergrad and a Wharton MBA and is the > least pretentious person I’ve met; one of the > first things he said to me was that GSU was a good > school and he could get good talent at a cheaper > price than from Wharton. Thanks for the good luck merten. By the way, isn’t that “cheaper price” what everyone on here is worried about? (Just messing with you…)
krnyc2008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Everyone seems to be obsessed with IB jobs on AF… > > > What about asset management firms? > > Do they also hire only people from full-time top > 10 MBA programs? Or the recruiting process is more > flexible for those firms. My firm (>500bn aum) does not recruit MBAs. Period. Sometimes they apply and get jobs, but they are considered in the regular pool of applicants. Other firms (blackrock, pimco, wellington) recruit at top schools mostly. at top firms other than pimco there usually is recruitment at non-top ten schools, with a preference for regional schools where the firm is located. (my understanding is that blackrock does dip into schools 10-20.) for instance - wellington recruits at BC and Harvard. Socal firms almost always hit up both UCLA and USC (except for capital group - but they are cultish so don’t go there).
Thank you Danteshek, You said your firm doesn’t recruit MBAs, so what degrees they are looking for? Ms Finance, PhDs or something else? I am currently in FI division of a conservative firm with ~200bn aum… Got there after a BBA in Finance from a state school… I decided to do the CFA before the grad school. In future, if I decide to switch to a firm with a more aggressive investment style (or a hedge fund) would a graduate degree be a necessary step to do that? Thanks…
krnyc2008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thank you Danteshek, > > You said your firm doesn’t recruit MBAs, so what > degrees they are looking for? Ms Finance, PhDs or > something else? > > I am currently in FI division of a conservative > firm with ~200bn aum… Got there after a BBA in > Finance from a state school… I decided to do the > CFA before the grad school. > > In future, if I decide to switch to a firm with a > more aggressive investment style (or a hedge fund) > would a graduate degree be a necessary step to do > that? Thanks… It depends. If you are in a back or middle office role (as 99% of people are when they start in the industry) passing the CFA while you are employed with a firm such as yours *might* give you the chance to get a role in the front office, either in biz dev or PM. IF they don’t give you that opportunity, it *may* be hard for you to get a front office role elsewhere, especially a more prestigious firm, if you don’t do a graduate degree. If you do, there are certain firms that will have you in PM. Others hire only based on track record and don’t have PM roles for people just graduated from MBA schools with no PM experience.
wegowayback Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i’m PT at chicago. > > ADMISSION: > > the stats for my class were 705 gmat, 3.5 gpa, and > generally some people with impressive undergrad > degrees and good jobs. say whatever you want > about PT being easier, but it’s still pretty damn > hard to get accepted. GSB maintains they have > equal admissions standards for PT and FT. > > STUDENTS: > > believe me, i would LOVE having the luxury of > going to school FT. there’s nothing more i would > enjoy than no job responsibilities, no pressure to > get good grades, sleeping in, getting drunk 4 > nights a week, and a full social calendar. but > i’ve got a good job, the opportunity to make a lot > of money, a wife, mortgage payments, and a baby on > the way. FT just aint happening. > > i’ve been in classes and groups with FT and PT. > generally, i would say each segment has its fair > share of superstars and idiots. there have been > people who i’ve met who have odd jobs (one guy was > a fireman) who ended up being smarter than the guy > working in i-banking at JPM. you simply never > know. > > RECRUITING: > > the PT folks have less access to OC interviewing, > but it’s not because they’re viewed as lesser > quality. first, PT are assumed to have jobs > already. why would schools give them equal > priority to compete with FT for jobs? second, > employers arent as anxious to interview someone > who already has a job. the employer has little > leverage and no idea whether the person will > actually leave their job. third, you dont need OC > interviewing to get a good job through the > university. GSB has a job board that targets all > students/alum. very high quality positions. > > the only candidates where it matters to be FT is > if you’re attempting to make the dreaded career > switch into banking/research/et al. FT will make > it easier, but i think people tend to get carried > away with this assumption. the generalization > often made is that it’s practically automatic if > you’re FT. trust me that it is not. there is one > inescapable fact that matters most in the end: > experience counts the most! Great post, very informative. I’m extremly interested in GSB down the road (in 5 years or so). My GPA is not far off that base, and I’m doing CFA now (L III) what can you tell me of the work/age profile of your fellow students, are most of them say 5-7 years out of undergrad? Late twenties, early 30’s ish?? Thanks a tonne!
Danteshek, Actually I am already in PM. I am working in the group that manages a portfolio of a certain FI product. I work closely with the research analysts in my group, assisting them in gathering and analyzing data (market data, deal specific info etc) in order to make an investment recommendation. I also assist the PM of my group in monitoring the performance of existing portfolios and stressing them to predict their future performance under different market conditions. I obviously do not make any investment recommendations myself (although people in my group are very nice and do ask my opinion too). Could you elaborate on what is considered to be a “track record”? I got the feeling from you that in PM it could be more important than getting a graduate degree. Does one actually have to manage the portfolio to attain the “track record”? Or making investments recommendations also counts? Thanks you in advance! I really appreciate your help!