share your 'cfa > mba?' stories

is a CFA going to get you interviews at Goldman, KKR, Blackrock, PIMCO? No. A top MBA will give you a much better shot.
 
I guess you should read what I wrote again; if you are being interviewed by someone who has passed through cfa program and holds the charter then he will definitely appreciate cfa more.
Plus getting into Goldman, KKR, Blackrock, etc.. might be your goal, but compare someone someone with a top mba against someone with a cfa, working in the finance field inside goldman, KKR, etc.. and let’s see who can outperform and handle stressful situations. Not to mention, not every successful person on earth has a top MBA and not every successful person on each worked at the companies you have mentioned before.
If you measure success in life by getting interviews at goldman then that’s 1 unique opinion .. however I want to ask you, what is the chance of getting an interview at the companies you have mentioned above if you get a top MBA? what if you dont?
 
starbuk Wrote:
——————————————————-
> is a CFA going to get you interviews at Goldman,
> KKR, Blackrock, PIMCO? No. A top MBA will give
> you a much better shot.
Bingo. A top MBA is valuable precisely because it gives you access to these firms. A person at wharton without a CFA can get interviews and face-time at PIMCO/blackrock/fidelity, etc., while a CFA holder will have a tough time getting that type of access.
I think people on this board underestimate the value of a top MBA in this regard. It’s not about the education or coursework; it’s about having easy access to companies you want to work at.
 
I was talking to someone who holds a CFA charter and is currently a top ten MBA student, he explained it to me like this:
- CFA charter is 1 mile wide and 3 miles deep, a top MBA is 3 miles wide and 1 mile deep.
 
ksc1940 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> starbuk Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > is a CFA going to get you interviews at
> Goldman,
> > KKR, Blackrock, PIMCO? No. A top MBA will
> give
> > you a much better shot.
>
>
> Bingo. A top MBA is valuable precisely because it
> gives you access to these firms. A person at
> wharton without a CFA can get interviews and
> face-time at PIMCO/blackrock/fidelity, etc., while
> a CFA holder will have a tough time getting that
> type of access.
>
> I think people on this board underestimate the
> value of a top MBA in this regard. It’s not about
> the education or coursework; it’s about having
> easy access to companies you want to work at.
Exactly. This has been the one thing that’s had me wondering whether I should pursue an MBA, but I feel like I’m getting a bit old now… arghhhh.
 
nirm41 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I was talking to someone who holds a CFA charter
> and is currently a top ten MBA student, he
> explained it to me like this:
>
> - CFA charter is 1 mile wide and 3 miles deep, a
> top MBA is 3 miles wide and 1 mile deep.
His name must be Captain Obvious.
 
Get a job first. If you don’t have a job, you can’t get into a top MBA program and can’t add the 3 letters after your name.
For what its worth, I have only heard of MBAs pursuing the CFA charter, not CFA charterholders chasing the top MBA. The only CFA charterholders who are going back to school either suck at their job (therefore not compensated well by the job market) or are going back to leave finance entirely.
To whoever that wants to call bullsh!t on someone rejecting Stanford or HBS because of debt, I can say you lose. I wouldn’t go back to any business school unless someone paid it entirely.
 
^ Thank You! finally, someone with their head on straight.
Taking on massive MBA debt to get into finance is only worthwhile if you tried and can’t break into finance at all, don’t have connections, are at a dead-end job, and you’re getting too old for an entry level finance job.
You will always see plenty of people with top MBA’s try to pursue the CFA.
Successful people in finance with a CFA: never go back for an MBA.
 
Brute_Force_Method Wrote:
——————————————————-
> nirm41 Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > I was talking to someone who holds a CFA
> charter
> > and is currently a top ten MBA student, he
> > explained it to me like this:
> >
> > - CFA charter is 1 mile wide and 3 miles deep,
> a
> > top MBA is 3 miles wide and 1 mile deep.
>
>
> His name must be Captain Obvious.
Lol, was thinking the same
 
Disagree. How do you explain so many guys from megafund PE and top hedge funds going off to HBS/Stanford each year? Their opportunity cost is pretty big, and yet they arrived at the conclusion that an MBA from a top school is well worth it.
iteracom Wrote:
——————————————————-
> ^ Thank You! finally, someone with their head on
> straight.
>
> Taking on massive MBA debt to get into finance is
> only worthwhile if you tried and can’t break into
> finance at all, don’t have connections, are at a
> dead-end job, and you’re getting too old for an
> entry level finance job.
>
> You will always see plenty of people with top
> MBA’s try to pursue the CFA.
>
> Successful people in finance with a CFA: never go
> back for an MBA.
 
ksc1940 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Disagree. How do you explain so many guys from
> megafund PE and top hedge funds going off to
> HBS/Stanford each year? Their opportunity cost is
> pretty big, and yet they arrived at the conclusion
> that an MBA from a top school is well worth it.
>
>
1) Most of those guys treat it as 2 years of vacation from the daily grind that they find a way to rationalize
2) Network
 
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