MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: Profile Review
[#permalink]
05 Jan 2010, 16:20
Sounds like you have a solid handle on where you stand with respect to your target schools and that you've done your research.
To answer your questions:
(1) Historically (i.e. in the olden days of the 1990s and earlier), people completed the CFA levels *concurrently* while working in IM (as opposed to getting the charter before getting an IM job). I honestly don't know what IM funds want now, but with your finance work experience *and* a top MBA, I don't think being a CFA charterholder is really necessary *before* getting the job (but once you join you will likely be expected to do it). And no, it's not realistic to study for the exams while you're a b-school student. It's not that the stuff is hard, but simply the volume of material you have to go through to prepare for even the Level I exam.
(2) I think you've chosen the right range of schools, except for Berkeley which being in the Silicon Valley doesn't have the strong ties to Wall Street that the other schools on your list have.
(3) Equity research (if there are any jobs left in that area). ECM amd DCM also tend to have better and more predictable hours compared to traditional IB - it just depends on the bank you're at. There's also working in asset management for endowments and foundations (i.e. rich family's money) as well - but those are jobs that you likely won't have access to right after b-school but perhaps a few years out.