How important is pre-MBA experience for career switchers?
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12 Apr 2010, 02:32
Greetings guys,
I'm a career switcher from IT to finance, and my MBA starts in Fall 2011. With a year in my hand, I thought I start looking for a job in finance top help boost my post-MBA career.
The good thing is, there is a good opportunity for me to get a job in investment management right now. However, the down side is that I will get a drop of %15 - 20% in my salary (The total loss from now till the MBA starts is roughly $8000).
Should I pursue this opportunity or not?
Pros:
- This year of finance experience would get me better jobs and better starting salary after my MBA.
- This year would count towards my CFA (I'm registered for level 1 this december). So I would get the title a year earlier (The title makes a big jump in the salary in this region).
Cons:
- $8000 is a lot of money.. especially since I'm saving right now for my stay in the US during the MBA + I just registered for the CFA and a preparation course + I got a baby incoming this september.
Overall, I don't think I'll have a hard time getting a finance job post-MBA, but the starting salary will be lower without this year of experience.
What would you do?