Columbia MBA Executive Program or CFA

dear JoeyV, we all have faults and this thread was to collect a view from the US market on their educated view of certain certifications that seem to dominate the post-college education.
I do not concur with your views of ‘efficient’ as that would imply the whole world operates in the same view as the US, which is not the case. As with the CM view - it would mean free flow of capital and hence portability of the MBA. As I had pointed out earlier, being in the front office in many countries outside of the US does not necessitate a MBA, so I was curious to collect views of my fellow colleagues who, by and large, write on this forum to assist each other as they sow a lot of personal time and effort into the CFA designation.
as you can see from this thread, I am able to collect some very useful insights of which MBA route one could consider as one is asked to stay in the US; and by and large everyone has been helpful on the forum.
 
I am applying to MBA programs right now, and i know for a fact that EMBA is less competetive then MBA
 
The Edge - This is truly a pointless question. Are you really that deluded to think that an MBA is only about education??? For the most part, it truly isn’t. I would say that the majority of the value in it is in the contacts and network you develop as you go through it. Not to mention it’s ability to transport your career to other fields completely unrelated to what your presently doing. This is why a Columbia EMBA costs $133k vs. the relatively low cost of education in virtually all other programs, whether studied at a university or other venue. Basically, if your primary concern is to obtain the best education at the lowest buck, than the CFA isn’t bad… it covers all of the Finance related material I went through in my MBA (top 3 Canadian school) and then some.
comp_sci_kid - you’re seriously misleading anyone by saying that this is the “only” factor for consider. It really depends on your situation and one factor can’t possibly apply to everyone in every situation. I really don’t think that someone who is already at an executive level should consider a full time MBA and if their employer is sponsoring as this typically means that the employer has the confidence in this individual to progress much higher in their organization. As such, how would taking 2 years out of work help that individual accelerate their career 10x over???
 
darkhelmet - your views are good (I have never said that this is all about education - please read what I have asked and it was not meant to be a limited or a directional question) … all views welcomed. I agree that there is a strong element of networking with good mba courses. Networking is a very strong element in this country as it is with elite schools elsewhere, but for the latter that tends to happen in earlier education programs in other countries and not in post-graduate courses, which is much more nurtured via the MBA course. the level of networking is prevalent across all levels of corporate structure here „„ less so in other countries where it is focused in senior management … so this is question of what is the benefits of such certification in this country. what may be obvious to you - is not obvious to people in other international countries.
 
The edge….you’re obviously very ignorant (joking). You forgot that Americans are very self centered and can care less about anything but the good ole US. Of course his view is bias, he has no idea nor does he care about your country.
 
perhaps if we knew more about your objective, we’d be able to proffer better advice… as you mentioned, you don’t need either for what you’re already doing.
i have to say though, i’m somewhat confused by your last remarks… are you saying that networking is more or less important as a senior manager in your country? are you planning on taking the emba in NYC or does the school offer the program in your country?
 
EMBA’s at places like Wharton, LBS etc are very competitive! Agreed that many business school EMBA’s can be less so due to demand-supply and other factors but the top schools still hold. I would love to go FT, and feel competitive for top 5 schools but if if your company is happy to pay and if your already working for a top investment bank in a field that you want to stay in then applying top MBA school for exec option is a no brainer - saving over $135k, not to mention salary for two years. Say pre MBA salary was $150k then savings would be
$435k. Plus if you was already say in fund management for a leading investment bank and wanted to make move to venture capital / hedge fund then I’m sure the top 5-10 Exec MBA would give you equal chances (not immediately due to some possible lock in with your existing company but after say a year or so lock in) to move field or advance to more senior VP while building your career, leaving you out of a big 6 figure debt, living a full salaried professional lifestyle while taking the MBA. The FT MBA from say top 5-10 would then be associate still with long way from seniority.
 
a good friend of mine has Harv EMBA + CFA. Got both in the 1990s.
His background is Econ, economist for bank, strategy director for broker/fund manager. Now runs deep value fund.
(assume Columbia is not too far below Harvard in terms of name, CV value, etc)
So I asked him the question - This is what he said:
EMBA:
- best suited to senior execs with 10+ yrs senior experience.
- Its all about interaction/sharing experiences with fellow students
- practical application = macro picture: competitive strategy, markets, global trends
- biggest take-out = contacts for life
CFA:
- learning method is the opposite of EMBA - ie lone study, extreme discipline, no teamwork, etc.
- He did CFA before there was Schweser, Stalla, or any other help
- practical application = micro - detailed company analysis, PM, instruments, etc
- invaluable in what he does day to day - couldn’t do it without what he learned in CFA
- biggest take-out = detailed hands-on knowlege on ER + running funds.
He rates both CFA and the Harv EMBA as the best experiences of his life (professionally).
CFA is much more of a sole personal challenge to be conquered.
But with the EMBA it wasn’t a question of passing - virtually everybody passed. It was more a question of what he contributed/took out in terms of collaboration, teamwork, sharing knoweldge, etc.
CFA - anybody can start - but only a few get through - enourmous personal effort and challenge - have to juggle with competing priorities - work, family, boredom, etc.
Harvard EMBA - few can start - but virually all get through - not as intellectually challenging - more about contributing/sharing/teamwork. You’re doing it 12 hours a day with your colleagues - away from home - no competing priorities - so it’s hard not to get involved and do well.
Depends on your goals - CFA is invaluable if you are aiming at ER, PM, running funds, etc. But the EMBA can help you get to the top in general management in a variety of industries.
Bottom line - If you can get your firm to pay 100% of EMBA - DO IT - don’t even think twice. You can do the CFA any time (assuming you have the time + brainpower).
good luck…!
 
I was looking at that program too. If your company will pay, I say go for the Columbia MBA. If my company would pay for it all, I would go in a heartbeat. You can also crank it out in two years whereas the CFA program will take longer.
Make sure that you make it clear with your company that the program consists of Friday and Saturday every other weekend. This means you’ll be missing work if you attend the program.
I really don’t think there is much to debate on this. Based on the research I’ve done on the program and the people I’ve talked to, the networking and career center support for this program are top notch. If you are company sponsored though, they won’t let you interview side by side with the fulltime students…just something to be aware of.
Attack the CFA after you finish it up. That way if you leave your company in a few years, you won’t care as much about springing for the couple grand.
 
You can always do the CFA following the MBA, but the reverse would likely be tougher. Your employer will pay for MBA now, and if you move, your future employer might well not. But I suspect that funding for CFA is much more prevalent. So from a money out of pocket standpoint, go with the MBA.
You’ll also get access to Columbia’s alumni network, which isn’t trivial by any means.
 
comp_sci_kid Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Sorry guys, but EMBA and Part-time MBA are never
> worth the buck comparing to real full time MBA.
> Dont ever think that just because you go to
> Columbia they will discount your “E” in MBA
Total crap. I have both columbia emba and cfa. The former has gotten me my last three jobs; the latter has contributed something between slim and none to my professional career. Here’s the scoop:
+ There’s no marketplace discounting of an EMBA relative to MBA. The point doesn’t even come up since the diploma and your resume both say MBA.
+ Curricula are identical, as are the faculty. There’s less grade pressure in the emba program, so you might find some students taking less than full advantage of the educational opportunities. But if you’re self-motivated you can get identical educations via either route.
+ EMBA programs are much less competitive, admitting from 1/3 to 2/3 of applicants (compared to ~10% of full time).
CSK is perhaps confused by the existence of “executive education” programs at many business schools (which lead to certificates, etc.), and the branding confusion has led Columbia (among others) to drop the “executive” from the emba name. That would be a good thing imho.
Back to the original question: the emba choice is a no-brainer.
 
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