A post dedicated to Puys wanting to know more about CFA and also about entering the finance industry, specific to India alone. Also when i refer to MBA it pertains only to the top 20 institutes alone.The bitter truth for most of us is that CA and MBA are the only two avenues to succeed in the finance industry.
CA: CA is undisputed the best way to succeed and dominate the finance field. Rank holders and first attempt (CPT,IPCC and Final) candidates are always favored. ICWA and CS do have their niche area of excellence, however in terms of pay or breadth of opportunities, fall behind CA. A CA combined a CFA or MBA is a deadly combination in the investment or related industries.
MBA: MBA from top 10 colleges (older IIMs,XLRI,FMS,SPJIMR,MDI,NMIMS) is an excellent way to pave your career in finance. You have a plethora of options if you graduate from these colleges.For students graduating from Colleges ranked 10-20 (eg: SIBM,XIMB,SCMHRD,IIFT), the options are definitely as wide as the top 10, however they do have the opportunity to switch over to better profiles after a few years of experience.
CFA: If you do not have the above two (Assuming you are not an IITian), it is impossible to succeed in the finance field. Finance is a very qualification driven profession. Not a single profile will ask for CFAs. However every single profile will either desire for an MBA or a CA.
BOTTOM LINE: Start with CFA only if you are already are a CA or a top 20 B school graduate or an IITian. A quick search on linkedin of successful finance professionals in top companies will show most of them having CFA. However this is misleading. As most of them got into those positions more importantly due to the above mentioned qualifications rather than just a CFA.
For engineers: Focus on MBA
For commerce students pursuing professional courses: Focus on CA. If not CS/ICWA.
There are exceptions to every case presented above and in life too. Soo kindly refrain from any disagreements ,as no advice can be free from errors. Thank You.
@harrypotter24 That is an excellent analysis. One question- I am very much interested in pursuing PRM/FRM and go in for a Financial Risk Management role, along with an MBA. How far will PRM/FRM will help me succeed in the financial world? I know that Financial Risk Management is getting more importance, so would it be possible to enter an IB through the risk management role and move upwards? How attractive is it currently? Any light shed on these questions by you ( or by any fellow puys) would be most welcome!!
@freesurfer Are you an engineer?From any premier college?If yes to both then you have a heads up. Financial risk management is nascent in India and is mostly dominated by engineers from premier colleges due to its quant intensive syllabus. If you have not MBA try getting into a good B school. If you have already started, then do go for FRM. It scores over PRM any day. Take a good look at job descriptions for risk management. Most entertain only engineers with experience in finance related activities and FRM.I doubt you can ever enter an IB with a risk related role and move on to a front desk position. Both jobs are poles apart. Front end IB roles are only offered to MBAs from top 5 institutes. Also IB requires very little quant and more corporate finance. Hope this answers your question.
@Jamiroquai said:To Dubai and the middle-east - yes. However, to the developed world, it is pretty difficult (which is a tragedy because the skills are very transferable)
hi,
I am a newbie in here and was soaking up all the knowledge u have shared in here and thanks for the same..sorry if my question may seem bluntly out of scope..is there any chance for an indian mba(consulting/finance/marketing) grad from collgs like xlri/nmims/jbims to land up with jobs abroad ...if not as a fresher may be when he gets 3/4 yrs experienced down the line..
I am a newbie in here and was soaking up all the knowledge u have shared in here and thanks for the same..sorry if my question may seem bluntly out of scope..is there any chance for an indian mba(consulting/finance/marketing) grad from collgs like xlri/nmims/jbims to land up with jobs abroad ...if not as a fresher may be when he gets 3/4 yrs experienced down the line..
@harrypotter24 : I need some help and advise !!! i will not be able to get to top 20 b schools .. however might get into college where companies come and offer profiles like corporate treasury,equity research etc. i have already left my job and really do not have option then to join a b school. Can i still go into i banking after having the aforementioned profiles and pursuing CFA ??? Plz help and suggest
@guddulovesgudia : i cudnt make to top 20 ! its juz dat is there a way to working out with the given options ...
@guddulovesgudia i cudnt make to top 20 ! its juz dat is there a way to working out with the given options ...
@Jamiroquai : can u tell me if colleges like siib , pune help u enter banking jobs in a boutique firm
@guddulovesgudia said:@Jamiroquai : can u tell me if colleges like siib , pune help u enter banking jobs in a boutique firm
Definitely not. You might be able to get a support job in a big (investment) bank though.
@ashmole2009 : please tell me if i can get into front office job in the same after some relevant experience in corporate treasury etc. and a cfa(u.s) certfication...please help me i m n a dilemma !
@guddulovesgudia said:@ashmole2009 : please tell me if i can get into front office job in the same after some relevant experience in corporate treasury etc. and a cfa(u.s) certfication...please help me i m n a dilemma !
What type of FO job? Whats your background?
i am a chemical engineer who worked in a precious metal refinery in iindia..i left my job and appeared for the CAT but did nt happen to land up a good percentile.. thru snap i mght get SIIB ,Pune which has Goldman Sacchs recruiting from its campus for i guess equity research or corporate treasury..i wanted to get into inves. banking but not as a part of a Global Research Centre (KPO's)..Can U suggest me a way out !!!
@ashmole2009 : May be as an analyst or an associate after some relevant work ex and den probably can move up ..
@guddulovesgudia said:i am a chemical engineer who worked in a precious metal refinery in iindia..i left my job and appeared for the CAT but did nt happen to land up a good percentile.. thru snap i mght get SIIB ,Pune which has Goldman Sacchs recruiting from its campus for i guess equity research or corporate treasury..i wanted to get into inves. banking but not as a part of a Global Research Centre (KPO's)..Can U suggest me a way out !!!
Goldmans would not recruit for ER and Corporate Treasury from SIIB, even if their placement report says so. If a student has got into this area from SIIB before, I can bet it was through contacts/networking.
If IB is your aim, I would not go to SIIB. You are much, much better off retaking the CAT whilst working. IB's are highly selective, they will only recruit the top 10% of ABC's etc.
@ashmole2009 said:Goldmans would not recruit for ER and Corporate Treasury from SIIB, even if their placement report says so. If a student has got into this area from SIIB before, I can bet it was through contacts/networking.If IB is your aim, I would not go to SIIB. You are much, much better off retaking the CAT whilst working. IB's are highly selective, they will only recruit the top 10% of ABC's etc.
sir then how does a person go about building corporate networks considering i dont have much of family connections
@@ashmole2009 : will it solve the purpose or is it completely out of the line ??moreover can u pls share your profle