Should I go for CFA after MBA at 37?

Dear Forum members,

I finished my mba last year and will be graduating later this year. I’m 37 and have 10+years work experience (management, consulting, some finance). I am considering CFA to specialize in investment management and finance, to improve my career opportunities, and personal investments. The other specialization option is to consider an alternate masters in data science.

  1. Any advice on pairing CFA and MBA for better career opportunities?, and

  2. Which would be a better specialization route and create better opportunities, CFA or a certification or masters in data science?

1 Like

Hi Pete,

First, consider what line of career are you interested in what do you want to do next, and how you want to progress. If you are looking at specializing only in investment management then you can opt for an MBA in investment banking and can get great roles in the big 4’s and banking companies. But you say you have done your MBA so are you planning for a second MBA?

Data science and finance are two separate domains and you need to choose between where your interest lies…

CFA is time-consuming and requires a lot of effort to complete all three levels it might be a bit easy considering you come from a finance background.

So I suggest you plan out your interest, career goals first before moving forward. Lastly, age is not an issue when it comes to learning and studying as long as you plan to put your priorities and time everything is achievable. :slightly_smiling_face:

Good Luck Pal!

I completed my CFA at early 40s and earned charter . It took me 4.5 years. I did not have any finance background. I loved it every bit of it. If I can do it anybody can do it.

Also did I mention I did it mostly on my own without any prep provider ( but that has its own price)

2 Likes