Manager
Joined: 29 Jul 2011
Status:Disbelief! The Countdown Begins
Affiliations: CFA
Posts: 214
Concentration: Finance, Economics
GMAT 1: 600 Q45 V28
GMAT 2: 670 Q44 V39
GMAT 3: 750 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.5
WE:Accounting (Insurance)
Re: MBA vs CFA
[#permalink]
22 Dec 2011, 09:44
You have no idea how ridiculous this convo sounds to me. I have seen this debate so many times, mainly on analystforum.com (CFA forum).
As a CFA charterholder, I do not receive a minimum salary of 150/250k. It would require a raise for me to get half of that minimum.
The CFA program is both intense and very finance specific. If you know one day you are going to be an investment banker, you better get a top 10 MBA, and then a CFA designation.
I would both agree and disagree with VWJetty. I will agree it requires more work than the average MBA, based on what I have seen the average workload is for some friends. I could do their finance homework in my sleep as a charterholder. A top 10 program is probably a little different and requires as much work.
I would disagree that the designation gains you that much more interest from financial institutions. Most at this point in the economic cycle can have their pick of good employees, and CFA is more of a requirement now that a lot of people have.
Top 10 MBA is more of a game changer for certain. Not only will you be considered a subject matter expert, but you will know how to work well with others, which the big companies look for.
Finally, I went through the CFA program because I didnt go to a top 50 undergad, and wanted to beef up my resume. I will let you know how that pans out next year when I apply to the big boys (top 10) now that I got the gmat out of the way.
Best of luck with the CFA tests VW, work hard and knock them out. By the time you are done with CFA (which it sounds like you are taking), studying for the GMAT will be easy.
Go onto analystforum and ask the members if theyd prefer the CFA or top MBA. Most will agree with top MBA.