MBA Apps hurting my career?

C

cfa2grunt

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Sorry, I don't know of anyone making $130K at the associate level in equity research. But I'm in Boston, not NYC. I assume these offers are at a lower salary than your hypothetical person is currently making? Normal equity research associate in Boston probably makes $65 - 90K base.
 
numi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> if i were that person and i were focused primarily
> on furthering my career and/or obtaining a
> position in sell-side research, i'd say definitely
> yes. graduating from HBS would give the person the
> same opportunities to enter equity research and
> then they'd be making considerably more total comp
> than the current salary ($156-182K is not that
> much to forego such an opportunity if the career
> goal is investment analysis or management)

What if they already have a BB research associate offer on the table w/o the MBA? They would be starting at the same position as they would post MBA. However, does the lack of MBA hinder their career progression to senior analyst or if they want to leave the equity research field?
 
cfa2grunt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry, I don't know of anyone making $130K at the
> associate level in equity research. But I'm in
> Boston, not NYC. I assume these offers are at a
> lower salary than your hypothetical person is
> currently making? Normal equity research
> associate in Boston probably makes $65 - 90K base.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a research associate is typically post MBA pre analyst (own coverage) level. I can't imagine many top 10 MBA graduates entering into a field for 65-90k base, unless the bonus is extremely impressive.
 
Danny Boy wrote:
"What if they already have a BB research associate offer on the table w/o the MBA? They would be starting at the same position as they would post MBA. However, does the lack of MBA hinder their career progression to senior analyst or if they want to leave the equity research field?"

Well, even so, banks have to pay MBA's more than undergrads even if the amount of actual experience is equivalent...it's just the way things go. However, the lack of an MBA doesn't hinder their progression to senior analyst, and many would argue that the CFA is more directly applicable to the field if you are an undergrad and have already secured a position in research.

Of course, I plan to get my CFA and MBA and maybe even become a leader (or part-time owner) of a foreign country, perhaps an island nation somewhere remote.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, September 29, 2006 at 12:34PM by numi.
 
Danny Boy, on the buy side I've noticed that most associate positions are pre-MBA and analyst positions post-MBA. Perhaps it is different on the sell side, or maybe I'm just generalizing based on my shop and several others here in the Boston area.
 
cfa2grunt wrote:

<<Sorry, I don't know of anyone making $130K at the associate level in equity research. But I'm in Boston, not NYC. I assume these offers are at a lower salary than your hypothetical person is currently making? Normal equity research associate in Boston probably makes $65 - 90K base.>>

Sell-side associates with MBA's make at least that much in terms of total comp (often considerably more) as do folks who do not have MBA's but hold an MBA-level position (including third year BA's or otherwise awesome people)
 
Numi, I was talking about a pre-MBA position (see above). I'm on the buy-side and haven't gone through the MBA recruiting process, so don't know how all the terminology (associate/assistant/analyst) translates.
 
oh, sorry about that...yeah, in that case, most pre-MBA's won't make six-figure base salary, but some come pretty close, and as always, it's the year-end bonus that matters most.

for the most part, a licensed sell-side person (with Series 7/63/86/87) that isn't an analyst is called an associate. people in the industry further distinguish associates as either post-undergrads or post-MBA's. there are a few firms that use different terminology for their undergrad "associates," including research assistants, junior analysts, junior research associates, and so forth...but these firms know that it's just a matter of title that's different and they are all just "associates" out of undergrad
 
Wow guys. Thanks a lot. There have been quite a few good points made here.

If I apply to B-school now it could kill my promotion prospects and hurt my bonus. I would be more attractive as an applicant post promotion, but the promotion isn't guaranteed either.

Part time is not an option. I would probably quit my job, post promotion, to go to a top school like Columbia. Anyway I would have had 9-21 months experience in my post promotion role (depending on if I apply now or next year).

I need a really good bonus and the extra money that comes with a promotion. Also, I�m 27 at the moment which might become an issue. Would it be possible to enter B-school after being a 29/30 year old senior associate (or Assistant Vice President), i.e. post MBA role and come out as a VP/Principal level?

I'm not in research.
 
Well, if your personal situation is such that you NEED the bonus and promotion money, then that's obviously a priority for you over B school this year. If you can get by without it, I would highly suggest going sooner than later. At some point, sacrifices must be made if you want to get a good MBA program in. It never gets any easier.
 
I see your point, but I don't want to be in the situation where I apply to top schools, lose my promotion opportunity and don't get in.

I'll wait for a couple of months to see what happens at work and will take it from there. If I do apply to b-school and don't get in and don't get promoted I'll probably move to another firm just to spite my current one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top