Is CFA only an add on, and having another pg degree is important for you to fetch a job?
I have a BBA, MBA, and DBA… and I can tell that you learn almost nothing (of practical utility) in any of those.
And 2 months in CFA preparation, I already know it teaches you much more.
So if I was recruiting, CFA would be a better indicator of competence than MBA or DBA.
what do you mean dba teaches nothing? Being able to build and maintain databases is a great skill to have
The DBA I am talking about is Doctor of Business Administration. It is the father of MBA and the grandfather of BBA.
In other words, a PhD in Business and Management.
Well, it also depends which MBA you have. I’d bet my left nut that MBA from Harvard or Wharton weighs way more than CFA when applying for jobs. Then again 6-month online “MBA” from your local community college probably doesn’t mean shit for recruiters.
For me it came down to this. I weighed doing an mba and going BACK to school vs something that is totally self study and independent and said there isn’t a snowballs chance in hell I wanted to go back to “school”… combined with the “awe” and “majesty” that I had for the CFA program since I heard it was the toughest thing you could ever do on Wall Street. So, I went with what I thought all the BSD’s were doing and took CFA.
And the results? Well, the day I passed level 1 was the same day I took my last sandwich delivery (or so I thought, my best friend owns a cheesesteak restaurant and sometimes has to fire his delivery drivers and I’ll help him out occasionally).
it comes down to the fact that passing these exams doesn’t HURT you in your job search, but saying it guarantees you a job is likely built off spurious correlations.
what REALLY helps is when your dad owns a dealership… I’m set for life boyos.
What is a role proposed for “Doctor of Business administration”? Although, I’ve heard for that title, it sounds useless and silly. If you’re chief or an executive in particular company, you do not need being a doctor. Or you are supposed to take a scientific research of operating business everyday processes?
Good Question.
So my boss is 60 years old, He initially qualified as a chartered accountant in South Africa and worked as a CEO of a large pension fund. when he turned 40 years old he decided to embark on the CFA journey. 4 years later he completed the CFA program, started a Structured Product company at a well known investment bank. Fast forward 16 years , I now work for this Structured product division, we are the largest in SA - and the correlation between the study material and my day to day job is very high.
just goes to show.
That’s an inspiring story. I’m 43 and just doing this myself. The value you get out of the CFA all depends on how you plan to use your CFA and who you want to work for. I can tell you an MBA doesn’t add much value as a financial advisor unless you’re advising startups and middle market firms on more than just qualified plans. Even if you got it at a top school. The DBAs I know are professors, consultants, or do government work. Some do all three. The executive Director of my MBA program was a DBA. The difference, as I was told, that that PhDs focus on research whereas DBAs focus on application.
I’m rooting for you! 
Good question. I became a charter holder in 2009 (haven’t unsubscribed from the mailing list since then, this question brought me back to the site for the first time in nearly 10 years), and now run a team of analysts that I recruited from scratch.
Most started as graduates and have a degree (although not all in finance or anything relevant) or a MSc finance and then we pay to put them through CFA.
Anyone who has put themselves through CFA, even level 1, would get an interview regardless of other qualifications. My experience is it is a far higher marker of competence than a degree. My experience of graduates (in the UK at least) is that they don’t really learn much of value at university, so instead I’m looking for specific characteristics (skepticism, attention to detail, numeracy, ability to pass CFA!) rather than qualifications. The right attitude and CFA level 1 would be a definite callback (my last two hires fit this description, having changed careers 1 from sales and 1 from customer support).
That being said at bigger firms you might get screened out. Even if the investment team would take you seriously, the HR department might not.