A full time MBA ....worth it or not ???

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willcrackcfa

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Ur right ...let's forget this topic .. I think IT is still as dynamic as finance ...
 
After reading some of the responses I'm not worried about my opportunities in the least. Apart from working as a staff accountant for 5 years -- without the CPA -- I have no finance experience at all.

I just registered for CFA Level I in Dec and the PRM exam I in Dec. I'm working on my MBA from a school that probably doesn't break the top 150. The thing is, the MBA allows me to take classes that I otherwise wouldn't be allowed to -- Stochastic Processes for Finance, Data Mining and SAS certification, intro to econometrics, and I'm learning a lot of software and programming that I hadn't been exposed to as a Finance and accounting undergrad. Everything else is your typically MBA rehashing of undergrad work like every other MBA. Also learning french and spanish. And as a member of several financial associations I'm not panicked about networking. I've been to several conferences and at least got a business card and an invitation to visit a company.

Its just interesting that most of what I read here is "damned if you do" or "damned if you don't". I'm certain we can find a thread that says MBA plus CFA is as good as gold. Then find another thread that says CFA won't help as much an MBA so don't bother with an MBA. Or another that says MBA plus CFA isn't enough, so you either need another designation or a PhD or another Masters. And yet another thread that says getting a PhD or MSF or MFE isn't worth it.

I've decided that I'll pursue the MBA/CFA/PRM (apart from the certificates I already have), learning other languages and programming. Everyone's experience will be different. So everyone's opinions will be different. Just figure out what you want and stop second guessing everything that you do. How do you expect to go into an interview with any confidence when you can't set a goal for yourself based on your own abilities and desires and create your own plan to reach those goals.
 
Killamanjaro, the biggest factors against willcrackcfa are his age mixed with the fact that he doesn't have finance experience. A 28 year old with the CFA, experience, and top 10 MBA is as good as gold. A near 40 year old without true finance experience trying to make a career switch is asking which will have a better chance at success: full time or part time.

An MBA from a school that doesn't even break the top 150 is not going to help much, if at all. It, alone, will not make you stand out against the competition and will be an extremely difficult road to a BB. Add as much alphabet soup as you like, but without solid experience or a top MBA then those connections better be golden. If the goal is not ER or IB, then maybe a third (or fourth?) tier MBA will open other doors. I'd personally rather have an undergraduate from a top school than an MBA from a non top 50.
 
Good points Danny Boy .... But if I do a FT Math Finance from say NYU instead .....that will surely help me ...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, August 17, 2006 at 11:16AM by willcrackcfa.
 
As I saw the subject of thread, I was tempted to go through it and I am I glad I did. Thanks a lot for all your insights about changing from IT to Finance since I am in a similar situation even though I am not writing code most of the time. However, it seems that there are some misconceptions in the board regarding recruiting for exec MBA students. As far I am aware, most top Exec MBA programs lets you use their career services if you are self-sponsored. At least Wharton does let you use them and I know it because I am a student in the program. And regarding career change, almost every one who was self-sponsored has changed jobs as soon as they graduated. One another thing, EMBA students have the same access to alumni as FT students.

Now, the question of FT v/s EMBA is a whole another topic. It depends on at what level you are in your career and how risk averse you are. Are you willing to leave your job, sell your house etc. after having gotten used to the life style? It'll be hard on your family too. I was accepted to a couple of top 5 FT programs about 5 years ago and couldn't go, thanks to USCIS because of the way they handled my immigration case. Once it was sorted out, I weighed my options considering I'd just turned 31, I decided to join the EMBA program for reasons cited above. Now, I feel I did the right thing. My classmates are great. They bring a whole lot of experience to the class unlike the 3-5 yr avg. experienced folks you find in the FT program. The curriculum is the same, except that it is packed to 2 days in the weekend and as a resulting it is quite demanding. The downside is the $100K + tuition for the two years.

This is not to undermine the FT program. It has its own advantages. Students have more time to socialize with fellow classmates and have time to have fun. They also have the internship in summer during which they can figure if thats what they want to do etc..

So it all depends on what you want to do after your MBA? How do you value the internship ? etc..
 
Ganap, what type of positions do you see the career changers going to? How drastic are the shifts in direction? What is your estimate of the career changers average age?
 
Danny Boy:

Are you only speaking of NYC, Chicago and LA??

I'm certain that there are MBA students in Memphis, St Louis, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Seattle that have opportunities available to them. It may not be as prestigious as NYC or Chicago firms. But once you get in the door its your performance in whatever role you assume that determines future success.

I know former classmates that didn't attend a top-tiered MBA program but they managed to get positions in excess of 100K (after 2 to 3 years) at companies like Common Fund, Morgan Keegan, Pfizer, Microsoft, FDIC -- in treasury management, portfolio management, equity research, and risk management. Only one of them sat for the CFA LI & LII (Morgan Keegan). I'm certain that with minimal effort that any one of them could pass CFA LI and LII -- because even at our <150 university, the curriculum is designed using the CFA texts.

I think people limit themselves so they only think of limited options like Top 10 MBA program plus CFA. I'm not worried about taking a junior position to someone who got an MBA from a better school than I did. I'm confident that I'm just as ambitious or twice as ambitious as someone who thinks that the name brand will keep them ahead of me. Don't get me wrong, I did apply to top MBA programs and if I do get accepted I will transfer. But if it doesn't happen I won't consider it a failure.
 
WillCrackCFA: I also thought of an additional path you might consider for getting into financial services. There are many vendors which provide software to financial services especially on the buyside. For equities, there is Barra, Vestek, etc. For fixed-income, there is Bond Edge, Yield Book, etc. There are many types of roles within these organizations ranging from very technical to people oriented: software development, product management, to client support and sales. Since many of the users of software are the buyside firms, this is a good way to leverage both a CFA charter and an MBA degree.

Clearly, most people would rather work for a bulge-bracket firm or an investment management company, but vendor work is another way to get your foot in the door. If you are in a role in which you communicate with clients regularly and do a good job, you may be able to make a switch to that client down the road. I am starting to come around to my own advice as well...
 
One of the best threads on AF, in my opinion. Few other points:

1. An op-ed piece on immigration pointed out that the unemployment rate for engineers was equal to the general employment rate, and (get this) for EE, was even higher. So much for the shortage of engineers!!

2. Age discrimination is there, unless one brings such awesome experience to the table that it isn't an issue. But, as CFAAtlanta pointout, many insecure analysts don't see any value in that experience at all.

3. If your company pays for your MBA, take it. Even if you have to pay back that money (Time Value of Money anyone), if you leave, you still made a salary while pursuing that degreee.
 
"3. If your company pays for your MBA, take it. Even if you have to pay back that money (Time Value of Money anyone), if you leave, you still made a salary while pursuing that degreee." ....

That's a good point as long as Ur not doing it to switch careers ......In my case ... I can;t afford to be stuck at one place for 4 years .....there will be no flexibilty. An MS on the other hand ...even if FT will be MORE relevant
 
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