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 CFA or MBA ?, to go into investment banking

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TSohemmgee
post May 21 2014, 06:48 PM, updated 12y ago

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Currently I am in my first year undergraduate majoring in IT and would like to go into investment banking for my career. I understand that investment banking accept all sort of majors but should I take up either CFA or MBA to score a better chance of going into IB ?

Should I take CFA Level 1 exam in my final year to have a higher chance of going into investment banking upon graduation ?
Or should I focus completely on my undergraduate studies (e.g. : CGPA & Co-curricular activities) ?
Or should I work for a few years upon graduation and then go for MBA after that ?

My main goal is to go into investment banking once I graduate but am afraid IT graduate would have a lower chance.

Thank you in advance for your advice.
TSohemmgee
post May 21 2014, 09:11 PM

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QUOTE(Y.J.S @ May 21 2014, 08:24 PM)
Investment bank in western countries prefer non economic major. This is because economic or finance major are everywhere. IT graduates will be much sought after due to their high problem solving skills and knowledge in IT.
But I strongly suggest you to break in to IB straight away after you graduate from university. Don't waste your time on postgraduate. NO ONE will hire postgraduate with zero working experience in investment banking field.
You could work as analyst in an investment bank for 1 to 2 years first. Then only study for MBA if you wanna move up the ladder to associate position OR exit to the buy-side career (I'd suggest this one).

You are so wrong. CFA cost more than MBA to study but its function is not as great as the MBA. After obtaining the MBA, your job scope will not be limited whereas CFA will only limit you in certain career that act as specialist.
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Hey there, are you currently working in an investment bank ? Does local bank hire IT fresh graduate for their analyst position ? I have made a simple search in JobStreet, it seems that out of the 3 banks that I have searched RHB,Maybank and CIMB, only RHB is hiring analyst but it requires some working experience as well as post grad qualifications.

http://www.jobstreet.com.my/jobs/2014/5/r/...&src=16&srcr=12
TSohemmgee
post May 22 2014, 12:29 AM

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QUOTE(alaskanbunny @ May 21 2014, 11:13 PM)
lol.. finish ur undergrad first then return here n ask... u r 3 years too early
I wanna plan everything properly in advance so that I can go into investment banking the moment I graduate. I do not wanna regret not doing anything that could have gotten me into IB.
TSohemmgee
post May 22 2014, 12:34 PM

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QUOTE(Fiona Chin @ May 22 2014, 09:28 AM)
TS, I got offer from IBs with only BBA. You should focus on your degree now, put some colours in the cert, medals, some letters like 1st class, awards, gold medalist and so on. I got CFA soon after grad and then MBA recently. If you want IB or more prestige cert, CFA. But CFA is not easy. If you flung your IT degree, you may have hard time passing.
But you have a business degree. Does IT graduate stand an equal chance as business graduate to get into IB ? If it doesn't, should I take CFA Level 1 during my final year to cover up my disadvantages as an IT graduate ?
TSohemmgee
post May 25 2014, 09:09 PM

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QUOTE(Topace111 @ May 25 2014, 03:21 PM)
Focus on getting high grades and curricular activities.
Cfa without working experience doesn't add much value especially recruitment.
Only when you have extensive number if practical experience + technical knowledge from cfa, yes it will be.

MBA depends which school you enter. If you are talking about FT100 yes it will make a difference. For example CEO of Goldman Sachs is MBA background. Difference is MBA requirement for entry is much harder than cfa especially the prestigious ones.

Btw, isn't there good career prospect for our background? Oracle expert engineers in mys also can earn 20-30k per month after 10 years experience.
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What about doing CFA Level 1 in final year ? For example, I can state it in my resume as CFA Level 1 candidate. Do you think I stand a higher chance ?

Somehow my interests have been shifted to IB the corporate finance side.

 

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