No Ivy-league degree, mid-30s, CFA?

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whohasaquestion

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I am a CPA and have a MBA degree, however.
There is so much talk about how IB & PE only hires ivy-leaguers, or top public-university grads…my school reputation is okay, nothing impressive.
Now, I wonder if I become a charter, will that get me in the door? Or the hiring decision will still be based on my school credential?
Also, how many hours do portfolio manager, investment analyst…etc work per week? I like to have a big raise but I think it should be looked at at the hourly rate not yearly salary/bonus.
 
mid-30s with a CPA and MBA? your work experience is the key factor that will determine if you get in the door.
 
Honestly, back in the day IB was like a frat. It’s either who your dad knew or what school you went to. I find that over the years, that barrier has come down some bit. But on the flip side, with companies cutting back on recruiting, you’ll find many companies stop conducting fresh full time interviews. Whether its analyst or associate level, they tend to take from the summer pool since a) they already know them b) cuts down on the cost having to make a 2nd trip. And unfortunately, most summer programs are based on some “target” list of schools which usually reflect top tier schools, with the exception of 1 or 2 in which a top exec has close alumni ties.
Back to your question, it’s a tough market still so yes, companies have the right to be “selective.” Being a charter can’t hurt but I don’t see it giving you a huge edge b/c 1) in the fields that do recognize it (portfolio, research), most solid candidates already have them and 2) in the fields that don’t recognize as much (banking), it’s just another “check in the box”. It doesn’t give a huge edge, but it certainly helps. I do find that more international banks put more weight on the cfa than domestics though.
Given your age and experience though, I’d rely more on your network you’ve built up over the years.
 
PE and IB could care less about a CFA charterholder and unless you know someone w your stats u have almost no chance. I see people coming on here all the time with questions like this. U really need to do more research on the job market andwhat they want. Your only chance would be PE if you got in through the back door by getting on a due dilligence team that they sometimes outsource to a big 4 accounting firm. Sometimes they hire Cpas from those teams. Hopefully you dont thinki am a jerk i am just trying to tell u how it is. There are 100 kids in their 20s w better stats than u competing for the same jobs who do uthink they will hire. Just a reality check.
 
thefork wrote:
PE and IB could care less about a CFA charterholder and unless you know someone w your stats u have almost no chance. I see people coming on here all the time with questions like this. U really need to do more research on the job market andwhat they want. Your only chance would be PE if you got in through the back door by getting on a due dilligence team that they sometimes outsource to a big 4 accounting firm. Sometimes they hire Cpas from those teams. Hopefully you dont thinki am a jerk i am just trying to tell u how it is. There are 100 kids in their 20s w better stats than u competing for the same jobs who do uthink they will hire. Just a reality check.
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^ well said, listen to the fork.
I would say the same thing, but the flamers are out in full force lately. They’ve even started to make whole new threads laced with flame grenades trying to call me out. Makes hell look like a candle store.
 
itera wrote:
thefork wrote:
PE and IB could care less about a CFA charterholder and unless you know someone w your stats u have almost no chance. I see people coming on here all the time with questions like this. U really need to do more research on the job market andwhat they want. Your only chance would be PE if you got in through the back door by getting on a due dilligence team that they sometimes outsource to a big 4 accounting firm. Sometimes they hire Cpas from those teams. Hopefully you dont thinki am a jerk i am just trying to tell u how it is. There are 100 kids in their 20s w better stats than u competing for the same jobs who do uthink they will hire. Just a reality check.
Click to expand...
^ well said, listen to the fork.
I would say the same thing, but the flamers are out in full force lately. They’ve even started to make whole new threads laced with flame grenades trying to call me out. Makes hell look like a candle store.
Click to expand...
i usually just ignore these threads and dont want to post discouraging stuff but the sheer number of threads with people wondering whether a CFA will get them into finance is unreal. Do these people have no idea how unbelievably hard it is to get a finance gig now? The industry has been in contraction for years and the competition is fierce. You have to have the right credentials experience and AGE means more in finance then it EVER has before. That really really sucks bc i am mid 30s and just today a friend on a small cap team told me the MD wont hire any analysts over 26. They can pay less and dont have to compromise on anything. Hiring managers can goto a 3d printer and type in what they want and get it in this market.
So to all the IT guys, the mid 30s guys with zero experience, and especially people that need H1 sponsorship, let me answer all of you guys and make this a sticky bc seeing the threads over and over and over again gets old old old, you have less than a 1% chance of getting a CFA caliber job in this job market. If it was 2007 things might be different but from today going forward getting a CFA will do practically nothing for you. If you want a career change get into a top 20 MBA program. If that isnt possible network and try your hardest for a few years and then come back to this thread and tell me I was right and you should have listened to me and not wasted your time or anyone elses time. Sometimes the denial of reality around here is maddening.
The whole trophy generation BS = denial of the reality of the real world. Yeah it sucks but thats the way it is. You cant always get what you want and every decision you make in life has consequences. I now wonder how many people will be sitting for the CFA tomorrow that are in complete denial of the reality of current finance hiring.
 
itera wrote:
thefork wrote:
PE and IB could care less about a CFA charterholder and unless you know someone w your stats u have almost no chance. I see people coming on here all the time with questions like this. U really need to do more research on the job market andwhat they want. Your only chance would be PE if you got in through the back door by getting on a due dilligence team that they sometimes outsource to a big 4 accounting firm. Sometimes they hire Cpas from those teams. Hopefully you dont thinki am a jerk i am just trying to tell u how it is. There are 100 kids in their 20s w better stats than u competing for the same jobs who do uthink they will hire. Just a reality check.
Click to expand...
^ well said, listen to the fork.
I would say the same thing, but the flamers are out in full force lately. They’ve even started to make whole new threads laced with flame grenades trying to call me out. Makes hell look like a candle store.
Click to expand...
itera, let the haters hate. they have no sense of reality. being realistic != being a pessimist. kids nowadays want people to tell them that they can do whatever they set their minds to but unforutnately that is the furtherest thing from the truth. in real life, most people will be mediocre and be stuck in a 9-5 ok paying job. such is life. but when you say this to people they get mad. why do they get mad? because you’re popping their dreams.
 
gentlemen, all good points.
This may be before your time, but bromion used to be the hammer-of-realism on AF. But he got tired of the relentless hate of people arguing with him.
 
The HF I’m at holds no weight to CFA. The only charterholder here is on cap intro. I’m just pursuing it because I started it, I aim to finish.
 
people laugh when I say I am taking cfa exams. Yet I take it seriously anyway…
 
Not that this is exactly relevant to your question but I work in commercial real estate finance. People in my profession barely know what the CFA is. They think it sounds prestigous but don’t exactly know what it entails (or care for that matter). You occasionally run into a charterholder in real estate but it is usually somebody who has changed careers.
In addition, commercial real estate companies in the U.S. are predom domestic. Even if you work for an international bank doing real estate lending, you are probably solely dealing with U.S. I think CFA would be more relevant to international banks like some people stated.
I have a Masters of Real Estate and really didn’t want to do an MBA. CFA was the next best thing.
 
villnius wrote:
The HF I’m at holds no weight to CFA. The only charterholder here is on cap intro. I’m just pursuing it because I started it, I aim to finish.
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Don’t they teach you about what to do with sunk cost at L2??
 
I got my non-Ivy MBA at 32 from a regional school and started my CFA journey at 33 when I was miraculously hired at a very large public pension to work on real estate and real assets. Charter received at 36. Still on the buy side but now at a corporate pension working on hedge funds and public equities.
My point is that good things can happen in your 30s and that change is sometimes possible. As much as it often has to do with your “pedigree” (where you went to school, where you worked before) don’t underestimate the value of networking and presenting yourself in the best possible light on cover letters, your resume, and especially at interviews.
 
As painful as some of these cold showers thrown here are, they represent the truth. I have MSF/MBA from a no-name school and I could not get a decent interview in IB/PE space - all were looking either for Ivy or top-10 public universities.
I took the CFA with the initial intention of boosting credentials, but even before passing L1 last December, I got cured out of that expectation. Instead I switched approach and became an independent analyst. For the last 1.5 years, I have been writing equity research for a few hedge fund/family investment office-type clients to build name (and obviously make a living).
Despite the erroneous premise for the CFA, it has turned into a valuable invesmtment because it has directly contributed to the improved quality of my work - a 360-degree overhaul of my research framework.
Now I am at a cross-roads: clearly there are limits to organic growth in my path. Eventually, I want to be part of an institutional firm and follow that career path, so I think rather than mask my no-name education, I should actually seek a proper one. I live adjacent the campus of a top-10 pubic university with a top-tier PHD program in capital markets. Am I being like Alice going too far into the rabit hole of continuing education? Beacuse I am contemplating application into the program (after seeking to score a high GMAT score). I figure I got the time and energy. I am early 30s, married and no kids yet.
I apologize to the thread-starter for hijacking the topic, but I sense the forum is not better served with a separate one.
 
I’m mostly annoyed that people keep using “Ivy League” to describe good universities. Of the top 5/10/20 universities, not even half of them are in the Ivy League…
 
ishkurti wrote:
As painful as some of these cold showers thrown here are, they represent the truth. I have MSF/MBA from a no-name school and I could not get a decent interview in IB/PE space - all were looking either for Ivy or top-10 public universities.
I took the CFA with the initial intention of boosting credentials, but even before passing L1 last December, I got cured out of that expectation. Instead I switched approach and became an independent analyst. For the last 1.5 years, I have been writing equity research for a few hedge fund/family investment office-type clients to build name (and obviously make a living).
Despite the erroneous premise for the CFA, it has turned into a valuable invesmtment because it has directly contributed to the improved quality of my work - a 360-degree overhaul of my research framework.
Now I am at a cross-roads: clearly there are limits to organic growth in my path. Eventually, I want to be part of an institutional firm and follow that career path, so I think rather than mask my no-name education, I should actually seek a proper one. I live adjacent the campus of a top-10 pubic university with a top-tier PHD program in capital markets. Am I being like Alice going too far into the rabit hole of continuing education? Beacuse I am contemplating application into the program (after seeking to score a high GMAT score). I figure I got the time and energy. I am early 30s, married and no kids yet.
I apologize to the thread-starter for hijacking the topic, but I sense the forum is not better served with a separate one.
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I like your story. Good job!
 
no chance kid,
what kind of work do you do in accounting? why dont you be the best among the mediocre people around you?
 
1BigStudMuffin wrote:
why dont you be the best among the mediocre people around you?
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+1
People so often forget how important this is. Employers love seeing a consistent top performer.
 
To make this easy, instead of having people consistently creating threads about ”what job and how much money will I make obtaining my CFA” why not just have one pinned topic that clearly explains what the CFA will not do for you. I will start with a few….
1. It will not get you a job
2. It will not get you more money
 
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