Hello everyone, I am currently rethinking my whole career plan and I need your advice. Here’s my profile: 22 years old male, French, graduated from a Top 3 B-School in Canada GPA: 3.75 / 4.3 (fluent in English, Spanish, French); GMAT: 640 (Q 38; V 39); CFA level 1 passed in December 2013, CFA level 2 candidate June 2015 Extra-curricular activities: Student athlete plus administrative role in the athletic program of my university, no particular and relevant job experience, various scholarships for academic and sport achievements. My long term professional goal is to work either as a portfolio manager either as an economist analyst whether in the private or public sector. My short term goal is more of an issue as I don’t know which path I should take to reach my long term objective. My personal goal is to attain a strong understanding of the macroeconomic and capital markets mechanisms, decent programming skills (I start from scratch); speak another language by the age of 25. I reckon it can sound very dull. At first, I thought a MiF to be my best option. As you see, I am also involved in the CFA program which I consider an excellent self-education tool. So here’s the thing. I find myself wondering why I would pay a lot of money for a curriculum I have already in my bedroom books (at least 70% for the schools CFA partners). I don’t want to spend the first semester reviewing classes I have already seen the content, before I could select electives that are far more interesting. But don’t get me wrong. Of course there is the value of teaching, networking, prestige of the school etc. and of course you learn much more during a MiF than with the CFA program, and of course there are some really good Mif free of charge for EU students. So I am not rejecting at all the idea itself of enrolling in an MSc but maybe I can get more value in another master program than the traditional MiF. This is where I need your help. Can MSc in Economics present a good alternative? Are they compatible with my career plan? I had this first feeling that MSc Econ lead to mostly PhD, insurance work? Am I wrong? Their curriculums seem very attractive to me but I have only studied Macro I and Micro I before going full finance classes during my BBA; do I have any chance entering such programs with my profile? Why is GRE more important than the GMAT for those programs, do they require more advanced math skills than a basic BBA graduate would have? Here are the MSc I am considering. Master of Science in Economics at SSE Master in Economics or Master in Quantitative Economics and Finance (looks very strong) at HSG Master in EBA Applied Economics and Finance at CBS Does it make any sense to you? I know that’s a lot of question marks but please don’t hesitate to share your insights. Any opinion concerning any part of this post really matters to me. Thank you for your time. Take care all!
What are you doing for work today?
I spent the 9 months following my graduation (dec 2013)travelling in the north. Now I spend most of my time searching actively a job (anything really as I have little work experience). I also follow classes on coursera, learn C++, just opened CFA 2 books, and manage my trading account.
Getting a job > extraneous degrees. Edit: Also, I see you graduated in Canada (top 3… Which really has no meaning in this country, Rotman, Ivey or Queen’s I guess?). Are you planning on finding work in Canada or in Europe (your location says France).
approx 70% of my job applications are in Europe, but I possess a canadian working visa. Even though I would rather stay in Europe (for personal reasons), I am aware I have better chances finding a job in Canada.
I agree job experience is what really matters. But in Europe without a MSc… well. So that’s the main reason I plan to do a MSc. I’m currently applying to all the internship and graduate program I find. I guess those are the ones where my work experience penalize me to a lesser extent. I would love to find a back office job to prove myself but even those require experience. But I keep applying.
You got my top 3 right 
even though I could hardly say the difference between the 6 7 best B-Schools.
Thank you for taking interest !
I agree a Masters is far more critical in Europe. If you were focused on Canada alone, I’d tell you to stop chasing that and just get working. But I’m aware in Europe some employers view undergrad as ‘incomplete’ so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I’m not familiar with those programs specifically. What I’d do is see what schools have good placement records. Second, you want to go to school in an areas with jobs. As you’re familiar with Canada you’d probably know that Haskayne isn’t a top 6 or even 8 school, but it has the highest placement rates and salaries because of geography. Being close to the jobs while in school gives you an edge in interviewing and opportunity once done. That’s all I can say based on my limited knowledge of European business schools. But perhaps someone else can chime in. You seem like a motivated guy. You’ll do well.
Thanks again for your insight.
I just discovered a thread from a guy who had the same questions I presently have.
Here’s the link for those who might be interested.
http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-general-discussion/91227805
Cheers