Lol, it sure seemed that way. I wonder what the thought was then he did his comparison Google job search. Knowing that the CFA charter is such a specialized designation and few people have it relative to other professional designations… I don’t understand how anyone could think that a Google search would yield comperable results for CFA jobs and something as broad as accounting.
I think someone really hit the nail on the head when they said, “there are more medical tech jobs than doctor jobs… so should everyone quit medical school?”
As a former CFA candidate who passed all three levels on the first try and later decided to leave the finance industry because he still couldn’t find a job other than a bank teller or a commission based investment advisor, I will still declare that CFA is not a complete waste of time. Actually there are at least three of us, who have made the same comment.
To comment on your salary level for CGA/CMA/CA, I’m currently working towards my CA designation so I can definitely speak from industry experience. Salary for CGA/CMa/CA entry level positions are nowhere near 55k. For CAs (Chartered Accountants equivalent to CPAs), entry level makes 45k, intermediate level makes average 50k, and senior level makes 60k (even lower for some of the big 4s). It would take at least 4-5 years to make the average salary (70k) for a CA.
And for CMA/CGAs, entry level is about 40k due to the intense competition over financial analyst positions and many tend to revert to bookkeeping roles which make 35k to 50k max. CMAs will make more than a CGA in the future, but most likely a CMA will be stuck in a financial reporting role for the rest of his/her life.
So do your research before you throw “facts” out there. You also do not know how difficult it is to be hired by a CA training office. I know so many people who couldn’t get into a training office so they have to do their CFAs or CMAs. I do agree experienced CAs have unlimited salary potential, but so does any other positions as you’re willing to work hard towards your goal.
CMA or CGA might guarantee you with a job and stability, but CFA offers more career options.
Let me get this right, you are mad/bitter becuase they didnt’ say hi, or “how are you doing”. WTF? I am short on time, you are lucky that I even called you to conduct this interview. As a matter of fact, I/personlly hate when people ask me “how are you dong”. Why the F*** do you care, when I was in equity sales, I called a client and asked “how are you doing?” They guys replied “my dog just died, how do you think am I doing”. From that point on, if it is business, straigh to the point. Bleach, I am sorry your OLDER feeling got hurt (I thought you are a big boy), suck it up. BTW, what is CMA, must be a candian thing.
The OP reminds me of a trainee in our office that wanted some career advice. I was nice enough to share some of my experiences but he wanted me to lay out the yellow brick road for him. Namely, what will guarantee me x result? Is it an MBA? CFA? My answer was and still is this: pursue excellence. Enter this (or any) field for the right reasons. There are NO guarantees. A CFA will not guarantee you a job. But if you went to a decent school, and networked your way into finance it should help you in your LONG-TERM trajectory. If you’re not in finance, it may even help you secure some interviews. You may or not receive immediate results but if you are looking to become better in your field and be a more competitive candidate, a CFA will help.
To an extent, I understand some of his frustration. An older colleague that I went to B-school with said that an interviewer in investment banking laughed when they read the year that he graduated from undergrad. Another said that during a closed door meeting about whether to extend a full-time offer to a summer candidate, part of the discussion centered around determining the race of the candidate. These things happen in finance. They also happen in entertainment, Silicon Valley and any other competitive field. They are wrong and hopefully we can all do our part to effect change. In the meantime, don’t take things personally and instead work to find a workplace that’s a good fit for you.