Engineer's for CFA-- Please stand up!!

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Hi, All
I am a guy in a huge Dilemma. I graduated last year with a very good undergraduate record in engineering and with that landed myself a nice engineering job.
BUT– I hate it. I much rather look at the stock markets all day and study them. I get more happiness from that.
Hence I want to make a career shift. I am 22 years old and am determined to obtain the CFA designation. I want to know if there are any engineers who have done the same and who have advice of what route to follow. I want to register for the Level 1 2008 December exams.
PLEASE HELP!!!
 
Sigh.
I think you should try to find happiness in your engineering profession first.
 
I don’t see how you can go through 4 years of engineering classes (which I assume you enjoyed) and then a couple months out of school decide it’s not the career path for you?
 
I”m one of them. I didn’t enjoy the 4 years of engineering : (
I just passed Level 1 and so far I’m getting no calls for any entry level jobs. Seems like 3.1 GPA in engineering isn’t good enough : (
Its ok, i have high hopes and passion like that of kevin garnett.
 
Been there, done that.
Network network network. That’s how I got my finance job after designing positive displacement blowers and compressors.
Once you Excel, you’ll never AutoCAD.
 
engineering degree here, doing consulting work now, probably (hopefully) going to business school in a year or two, on level 3. its tough to crack finance with this “non-traditional” background without the MBA.
ps I hated my classes, still not sure why I didn’t change majors to Commerce.
 
I also did 4 years of engineering and decided it really wasn’t for me. I’m a software engineer for an online computer game company now and passed level 1. In this job market and with our background it’s going to be very hard to land a finance job. The best you can hope for is to know someone who knows someone who knows someone who is a big deal. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably be in software for another few years until I go back to business school. All that being said, the CFA really isn’t going to help you make a huge career switch. Getting your MBA is going to be infinitely more useful because then you can do fall recruiting with everybody else. Hopefully by then the job market will have turned around.
 
Sam24 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Hi, All
>
> I am a guy in a huge Dilemma. I graduated last
> year with a very good undergraduate record in
> engineering and with that landed myself a nice
> engineering job.
>
> BUT– I hate it. I much rather look at the stock
> markets all day and study them. I get more
> happiness from that.
>
> Hence I want to make a career shift. I am 22 years
> old and am determined to obtain the CFA
> designation. I want to know if there are any
> engineers who have done the same and who have
> advice of what route to follow. I want to register
> for the Level 1 2008 December exams.
>
> PLEASE HELP!!!
This is so depressing. Just quit and take any job in the financial sector you can get. But to get anything good you need to have a better story than “I love to analyze stocks”. As it is, you are a walking cliche.
Another option is to go to a 2nd tier business school like Rochester or Purdue that has a record of taking young engineering kids straight out of school. Then maybe you can transition before you hit 25.
 
there’s more to this than meets the eye. what specifically do you dislike about engineering and your job, and what ‘studies’ do you run on the stock markets?
with a bit more detail, maybe this group can guide you in a more customized manner.
 
Engineer here. Did civil engineering for about 5 years in Phoenix. Got my PE. No big whoop. It is nothing compared to the CFA exams. At least the PE exam is open book.
Anyway, during that time, I got really bored with engineering. The work was really repetitive. I also realized that there is a ceiling for engineers unless maybe you get on with a very large international firm and work your way up or you open a very successful startup firm. Depending where you live, those may or may not be options. I thought that maybe an MBA would help with my career (engineering or otherwise) so I did that. While in the program, I found that I was way more interested in finance than engineering and that I could use the skills from engineering in finance, especially the quant stuff. I finished the MBA up 6 years ago and had only heard one person ever discuss the CFA. I went on to get my MS in finance a year later and the CFA was a much bigger deal for students. I passed L1 pretty easily. Took about 6 months to find a job which sucks when you are unemployed and paying a steep rent in Boston but the market at the time was horrid. I ended up in an analyst position back in my hometown in the midwest which was nice since the pay was good (about what I was making when I quit engineering) and the cost of living is relatively low. That was a little over 4 years ago. I switched firms about a year ago to work with a small closed fund and I’m hopefully going to pass L3 this year.
If you really want out of engineering, do it now. Don’t wait because next thing you know, you will get more promotions and raises and maybe a family and then it is a bigger deal to quit and you will always wonder what might have been. Worst case scenario, you go back to engineering. That is always nice to be able to fall back on. I could probably pick up the phone right now and have 2 or 3 job offers but they wouldn’t pay me what I make now. Granted, having your PE makes that a lot easier, but there will always be a demand for engineering.
 
hezagenius Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Engineer here. Did civil engineering for about 5
> years in Phoenix. Got my PE. No big whoop. It
> is nothing compared to the CFA exams. At least
> the PE exam is open book.
>
> Anyway, during that time, I got really bored with
> engineering. The work was really repetitive. I
> also realized that there is a ceiling for
> engineers unless maybe you get on with a very
> large international firm and work your way up or
> you open a very successful startup firm.
> Depending where you live, those may or may not be
> options. I thought that maybe an MBA would help
> with my career (engineering or otherwise) so I did
> that. While in the program, I found that I was
> way more interested in finance than engineering
> and that I could use the skills from engineering
> in finance, especially the quant stuff. I
> finished the MBA up 6 years ago and had only heard
> one person ever discuss the CFA. I went on to get
> my MS in finance a year later and the CFA was a
> much bigger deal for students. I passed L1 pretty
> easily. Took about 6 months to find a job which
> sucks when you are unemployed and paying a steep
> rent in Boston but the market at the time was
> horrid. I ended up in an analyst position back in
> my hometown in the midwest which was nice since
> the pay was good (about what I was making when I
> quit engineering) and the cost of living is
> relatively low. That was a little over 4 years
> ago. I switched firms about a year ago to work
> with a small closed fund and I’m hopefully going
> to pass L3 this year.
>
> If you really want out of engineering, do it now.
> Don’t wait because next thing you know, you will
> get more promotions and raises and maybe a family
> and then it is a bigger deal to quit and you will
> always wonder what might have been. Worst case
> scenario, you go back to engineering. That is
> always nice to be able to fall back on. I could
> probably pick up the phone right now and have 2 or
> 3 job offers but they wouldn’t pay me what I make
> now. Granted, having your PE makes that a lot
> easier, but there will always be a demand for
> engineering.
damn that is insanely brutal. Your MBA must have been of no name
 
pacmandefense Wrote:
——————————————————-
> damn that is insanely brutal. Your MBA must have
> been of no name
Not sure what is supposed to be brutal.
Last I checked, it was a top 25 program.
 
i also found that an interesting remark. i went to what they call a ‘top x’ MBA and no one there cared a damn for the CFA. they were too busy congratulating themselves for being the smartest of the smartest, and preparing for being worthy contributors to the next credit crisis, while chugging beers on weekday evenings.
 
why do u need a MS in Finance AFTER a top 25 MBA? CFA and MS in Fin is very redundant
 
pacmandefense Wrote:
——————————————————-
> why do u need a MS in Finance AFTER a top 25 MBA?
> CFA and MS in Fin is very redundant
When you have no background in finance and an MBA from a non-East Coast school, it is kind of difficult to find a job on the EC. Also, there was very little heavy quant stuff in my MBA and I wanted to work in quant finance so if I wanted to learn that stuff, it was either an MSF or an MFE, and even then I knew it would still be an uphill battle. Sure, I could have just read books to learn it but my potential employers wouldn’t know that. The other option was a PhD but I didn’t want to spend 5 more years in school.
I agree that the CFA and an MSF are somewhat redundant but my current employer doesn’t seem to think so.
 
I graduated with an engineering degree 12 years ago and decided at the time not to practice.
Got my MBA right away…then my CFP….now working on the CFA program
 
hezagenius Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Engineer here. Did civil engineering for about 5
> years in Phoenix. Got my PE. No big whoop. It
> is nothing compared to the CFA exams. At least
> the PE exam is open book.
>
> Anyway, during that time, I got really bored with
> engineering. The work was really repetitive. I
> also realized that there is a ceiling for
> engineers unless maybe you get on with a very
> large international firm and work your way up or
> you open a very successful startup firm.
> Depending where you live, those may or may not be
> options. I thought that maybe an MBA would help
> with my career (engineering or otherwise) so I did
> that. While in the program, I found that I was
> way more interested in finance than engineering
> and that I could use the skills from engineering
> in finance, especially the quant stuff. I
> finished the MBA up 6 years ago and had only heard
> one person ever discuss the CFA. I went on to get
> my MS in finance a year later and the CFA was a
> much bigger deal for students. I passed L1 pretty
> easily. Took about 6 months to find a job which
> sucks when you are unemployed and paying a steep
> rent in Boston but the market at the time was
> horrid. I ended up in an analyst position back in
> my hometown in the midwest which was nice since
> the pay was good (about what I was making when I
> quit engineering) and the cost of living is
> relatively low. That was a little over 4 years
> ago. I switched firms about a year ago to work
> with a small closed fund and I’m hopefully going
> to pass L3 this year.
>
> If you really want out of engineering, do it now.
> Don’t wait because next thing you know, you will
> get more promotions and raises and maybe a family
> and then it is a bigger deal to quit and you will
> always wonder what might have been. Worst case
> scenario, you go back to engineering. That is
> always nice to be able to fall back on. I could
> probably pick up the phone right now and have 2 or
> 3 job offers but they wouldn’t pay me what I make
> now. Granted, having your PE makes that a lot
> easier, but there will always be a demand for
> engineering.
I am Glad that you replied. You seem to be a very determined and passionate individual. Thank you for your advice and for sharing your experience with me. It is really appreciated.
I just want to clear up something. When you say quit now do you mean that I should go back to school and study a master’s that involves finance? Or do you think that I should get a job in finance and study for The CFA exams and build my way up like that.
In my country there are a number of jobs in investment banks that require recently graduated engineers and then they train you on the job. The only problem is that the jobs start in the beginning of the year. So I thought that if I got my Level 1 by the end of this year then I would stand a better chance of landing one of those jobs and then working myself up from there.
I am just worried that it will be very difficult to work a pure engineering job during the day and then study for the CFA and night.
What do you think?
 
Sam24 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> hezagenius Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > Engineer here. Did civil engineering for about 5
>
> > years in Phoenix. Got my PE. No big whoop. It
> > is nothing compared to the CFA exams. At least
> > the PE exam is open book.
> >
> > Anyway, during that time, I got really bored
> with
> > engineering. The work was really repetitive. I
> > also realized that there is a ceiling for
> > engineers unless maybe you get on with a very
> > large international firm and work your way up or
>
> > you open a very successful startup firm.
> > Depending where you live, those may or may not
> be
> > options. I thought that maybe an MBA would help
>
> > with my career (engineering or otherwise) so I
> did
> > that. While in the program, I found that I was
> > way more interested in finance than engineering
>
> > and that I could use the skills from engineering
>
> > in finance, especially the quant stuff. I
> > finished the MBA up 6 years ago and had only
> heard
> > one person ever discuss the CFA. I went on to
> get
> > my MS in finance a year later and the CFA was a
>
> > much bigger deal for students. I passed L1
> pretty
> > easily. Took about 6 months to find a job which
>
> > sucks when you are unemployed and paying a steep
>
> > rent in Boston but the market at the time was
> > horrid. I ended up in an analyst position back
> in
> > my hometown in the midwest which was nice since
>
> > the pay was good (about what I was making when I
>
> > quit engineering) and the cost of living is
> > relatively low. That was a little over 4 years
> > ago. I switched firms about a year ago to work
> > with a small closed fund and I’m hopefully going
>
> > to pass L3 this year.
> >
> > If you really want out of engineering, do it
> now.
> > Don’t wait because next thing you know, you will
>
> > get more promotions and raises and maybe a
> family
> > and then it is a bigger deal to quit and you
> will
> > always wonder what might have been. Worst case
> > scenario, you go back to engineering. That is
> > always nice to be able to fall back on. I could
>
> > probably pick up the phone right now and have 2
> or
> > 3 job offers but they wouldn’t pay me what I
> make
> > now. Granted, having your PE makes that a lot
> > easier, but there will always be a demand for
> > engineering.
>
>
>
> I am Glad that you replied. You seem to be a very
> determined and passionate individual. Thank you
> for your advice and for sharing your experience
> with me. It is really appreciated.
>
> I just want to clear up something. When you say
> quit now do you mean that I should go back to
> school and study a master’s that involves finance?
> Or do you think that I should get a job in finance
> and study for The CFA exams and build my way up
> like that.
>
> In my country there are a number of jobs in
> investment banks that require recently graduated
> engineers and then they train you on the job. The
> only problem is that the jobs start in the
> beginning of the year. So I thought that if I got
> my Level 1 by the end of this year then I would
> stand a better chance of landing one of those jobs
> and then working myself up from there.
>
> I am just worried that it will be very difficult
> to work a pure engineering job during the day and
> then study for the CFA and night.
>
> What do you think?
I think clearly Sam24 is fishing for validation, hears what he wants to hear, likely has a pipe-dream of hitting it big on the street and is looking for anything to justify a career switch. Answer this…
If you have never worked in finance, how do you know you’ll even like it. You thought you would like being an engineer too before you became one, right— so what makes you so sure about finance this time? What are your real motivations for wanting to “look at the stock market all day”– money maybe, prestige? Why not just study the stock market on your free time if you love it so much?
 
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