Profile Evaluation - 26y/o Male - Corporate Finance

Anything international would be an asset in your case. Also, from your profile your analytical skills speaks for itself - you were a biz undergrad, and you work in a biz career already (finance), so there is no doubt that you'll do well academically in school, and that you won't have too much trouble finding a decent job coming out of b-school. What isn't as obvious is "the guy behind the resume" - your group/team/leadership skills which you can draw from your extracurriculars (and if you can dig an even deeper well, you will have even more to draw from -- i.e. continue to deepen your involvement in the extracurricular orgs that you're in). Again, short of joining the military or doing something completely different in your life, the impact of anything you do in the next year or two will be incremental (and if it's transformational, you'll know that if it happens), which can only help your case. Having said that, if you're ready to apply this coming fall, by all means apply. It also comes down to the economy as well and where you're at job-wise. As you know, financial services is in the dumps right now and probably will be for a few years; so that's something to take into account - I personally feel that independent of the economy, you're best off going in your mid-20s, and it makes less sense as you get older. But if you're really focused on getting into financial services, it may be worth waiting an extra year or two (but no more).

As for SLO, I knew a girl who grew up there.

Right on... Great analysis, I appreciate your insights. Thanks again.

Can recommend any international volunteer orgs that are legit?

You can always try the big ones - Amnesty International, Greenpeace, or Doctors Without Borders (Medecins San Frontieres). Or you can always see if you can work with any of the UN agencies like UNICEF (although these would be full-time positions, not volunteer). I don't know a lot about the international scene; one of the sites you can try for volunteer opportunities is www.idealist.org

Good luck

Hey Alex -

Curious to hear you thoughts on the University of San Francisco Master's in Financial Analysis program. (2 yr Part-time Professional's program on weekends)
https://www.usfca.edu/artsci/grad/financ ... index.html

**To clarify - my above post was framing (admittedly optimistic) where I was planning to be when I apply to b-school. Currently Im 23.5 yrs/old with only 1.5 yrs work exp and a L2 CFA candiadate.***

I would like to get out of corp fin into the banking or asset management and was thinking this might be away do to that pre-mba while still keeping my day job.

I still do plan on getting an MBA in the future around 27-28 years old.

A couple questions

1. Would doing the Masters be redundant to the CFA? (worth the $$?)
2. How likely is it to get job offers from coming a part-time program?
3. Thoughts on this program? https://www.usfca.edu/artsci/grad/financ ... index.html
4. Would it be better to do a more "prestigious" full-time program? Even in this market?
5. I do want to get an MBA eventually, would doing the MSF be wise? (hurt/help MBA application?)

Thanks Alex

It would be wise to use what time you have to develop contacts within the industry. The career path you want isn't one where it's about collecting the most credentials. Collecting degrees is easy, developing a network and gaining experience is hard. But it's the hard stuff that you need to do.