Earnest question: Want to shift to finance?Government Employee,Passed CFA & FRM,no prior knowledge of finance, what should i do?

Water Cooler Careers
#1

Hi,

I am working in Indian Government and planning to change careers.

I am applying for B school in US next year and will most probably start my MBA in fall of 2017. I wish to do an internship and then make a career in private equity,hedge funds,M&A…anything related to finance.

I don’t have prior knowledge of finance but have passed CFA level 3 and FRM part II. Is it good enough?

Have spoken to lot of people and have been advised that " go for consultin, it will be really difficult to breakthrough into finance at age of 33(when i will be graduating from B school) and without relevant experience".

What’s your take on this?

I am i good enough after passing all these exams?

What necessary skill set should i develop to pursue my aim?

I have even been selected for an executive course from Harvard Business school(HBX) and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and have excelled in those.

After doing all these things i still believe that my lack of practical knowledge will hamper my aims. What do you suggest?

I am planning to learn Financial Modelling and reading lot of books on investing. But still somewhere due to lack of practical knowledge i fell I am not good enough.

Please give your views,ideas to help me improve my skills as well guide me to break into finance related job later.

#2

You took all 3 levels without trying to get some experience until now?

anyway, you have the right plan of a U.S. MBA, just make sure it’s a top school. when you say you want a job in PE, HF, or M&A, I’m guessing by M&A you mean investment banking? Of the three that’s probably the most realistic option. Investment banks will take MBAs with no experience and train them, so if I were you I would narrow my goals down and make it, in chronological order:

  1. Get into a top 10 MBA.

  2. Get an investment banking internship.

  3. Transform that internship into a job.

If you don’t want investment banking than obviously edit that. Also of the side activities you mentioned learning financial modeling will probably be a better use of your time than investing books, so do that first (search around there are always financial modeling threads on this forum)

#3

so you are 33, worked in government the whole time, the Indian govt, and you want to break into finance in the US.

those are some long odds you got there

#4

It’s insane the number of Indian’s that complete the CFA exams without finance experience. What are they telling people over there?

#5

It’s all the for-profit test prep centers.

I knew 2 indian low-level back office dudes who got the CFA while at Blackrock. They decided to go back to India to open a CFA test prep center and sprew nonsense about people having a chance to land great high pay finance jobs in the US.

hundreds of unsuspecting people sign up thiking the CFA is some gold ticket, and they make big $$$

#6

indians rule the world. get over it.

#7

^ probably an indian under disguise of a fake pseudonym. Loooool.

#8

wow you actually met EDUPRISTINE???

#9

#10
#11

Thanks Ron

I also have pretty much the same plan----

#12

Thansk Itera

Your comments have always motivated people like me to work even more harder and achieve my aim.

#13

A wood saw is just a hacksaw hacksaw.

I guess that means: woodsaw = hacksaw^2

#14

What part of the government did you work for? The usual way to move from government to investments is to leverage your connections to get plausibly deniable insider information. If it’s about currencies, it’s not even illegal. Regulatory connections that affect public companies are the most useful, usually.

#15

Atta boy that’s the right attitude. CFA on tombstone or nothing.