I am looking for some advise and insight of experts here.
I am currently working as an IT manager at a finance company earning little bit below 200K + Bonus.
I completed my CFA level 3 in June 2015 and also got my Charter.
I really want to switch career. It was very hard studying when I was preparing for level 1,2 and 3 but if I look back now, I really enjoyed studying for CFA.
I am not sure where can I break in to start and also not sure how much of salary I’d have to compromise if I switch.
Would a lateral move possible in terms of salary? If not how much would I need to compromise?
I did work on good projects related to CDS, Swaps and Equity Rebalancing etc.
I am ready to work hard for this and looking to see what others think.
If you have experience with portfolio management functions such as swaps and stuff I can see you becoming a junior or assistant portfolio management for a fixed income portfolio somewhere…
A top full-time MBA would help with the switch. However, 200K+bonus is not too shabby and the opportunity cost of missing out on 2 years of this pay to do a full time MBA is a risk.
You might want to consider some of the top executive MBA programs that might offer the extra ummph to switch while you’re still locked into that salary. Your current firm might not want to switch you into a different role, but the E-MBA would give you a shot to get some interviews in a wide spectrum of the industry to see what part of finance you would like to jump into.
why would you change careers, take a giant paycut, and start at the bottom of the totem pole again?
A better bet would be to build a program on the side uses your derivative product knowlege to help PMs better manage their portfolios. Trade on your own money with no restrictions. Live an IT guys lifestyle. Not worth switching IMO.
It means that I worked on some projects related cds, fx trades which helped in risk reduction. I was very much involved at every step from requirement to prod rollout. I put what I worked on as my experience and got my charter based on that.
When you say “bonus”, do you mean a 10% bonus or a 100% bonus? Anyway, I would guess that it would be easier to get say, a 10% to 15% pay increase eventually in your same function as opposed to working up to that compensation level from a new function.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but I can tell immediately from the way that you write that some work will be necessary for you to fit into a FO job.
My view is that you should stay where you are and continue to build your career upwards. Other people might have different opinions.
Here is the thing with IT->FO transitions. Many talented people express interest in this, but are ultimately unprepared fot the cultural transition. I had a colleague who made such a move, but in the end, he did not fit in. He had spent his career developing analytical and technical skills, but was unpolished in writing, personal presentation, or just his general ability to “fit in”. He ultimately left this role and returned to a technical position in which he will be more successful and will probably earn more money.
I was presumptuous in judging you. However, people tend to fail the “why” question. They are in their current roles because they are productive. If your “why” is because you will be good in a new role, then that is the correct answer. If you are doing this because of a perception of prestige or status in finance, that is the wrong answer. I am also cynical of people who simply say they are “passionate” about a field that they have never worked in. You will probably find that 10 years doing the same thing will erode the interest of any worker.
Here is my profile of you: You are a non-US Indian and have a strong accent. You are smarter than most people in your field, since you have been promoted to a management role. However, you have poor writing skills that are worse than those of a good US college graduate. You are paid well, but are concerned that you will never be “rich”.
People of our age range have generally learned to focus on practical options in which we know we can succeed. There is probably still some headroom in your specialization, if you choose to accept this. There is a lot of risk, and not much real expected upside in changing to an unfamiliar field.
Again, this is very presumptuous of me, but it is my point of view from seeing how other people have progressed in their careers.
You are pretty spot-on with respect to few points.
I am a non-US Indian.
I have a poor writing skills.
I don’t think I have strong accent. (Or at least that is what I think)
I don’t think I’ll never be rich (But I do want to grow financially and professionally).
I am not saying I am passionate about FO job. But I do want to explore something different than what I have been doing. And I liked studying for CFA.
So here is what I want to say:
I do want to give it a try to see if it works out for me. (It’s a risk I am considering if I should take)
I am also exploring what role might be a good fit for me. It could be mix of IT and Business. There are also green card related issues that I would need to consider.
I know I need to improve my writing skills and vocabulary as well. (Any suggestion is also welcome)
First step, please stop writing in choppy short sentances with each thought broken out on a seperate line. I know why non-engish speakers do it this way but it really shows how unpolished you are.
This is how you should have replied to Ohai, in a non-indian way:
"You are pretty spot-on with respect to few points that I would like to further explain. I am Indian and have enough working knowledge of English to get through basic conversations in the work place. I do however lack linguistic sophistication that may inhibit me from articulating my thoughts or responses to Clients - I do believe my accent is not inhibitation to covnersations I have in English but that’s just my impression.
I wouldn’t say I’m passionate about the FO job but from my experience studying for the CFA, i’ve become more and more interested in this specific field. I’m considering leveraging my extensive IT knowledge with my interest in finance but i’m concerned the risk of switching careers is simply not worth the reward. I would require sponsorship of a visa or green card which may make this whole conversation moot.
I would welcome any input this group may be able to offer me - it’s greatly appreciate.
Indian"
See the difference? I wouldn’t consider myself a “good” writer but I can polish a turd decently enough to survive.
