Rant on 'Is the CFA useless?' threads...

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I guess I did not go far enough last time...

The CFA Charter is a signal. That is it. A signal that you know what you need to know to be an asset manager or wealth manager or investment analyst.

A top tier MBA is a signal for all of that, plus business management, plus a network effect, minus a big chunk of change, minus opportunity cost since you likely cannot work for two years.

NEITHER WILL GUARANTEE YOU A JOB. Get the heck out of finance right now if you think signaling will get people to like you and give you a job. If you want that- go learn how to write an application and leetcode or whatever and then go do technical interviews where skill is all you need to get a job.

Way over 50% of finance is NOT SKILL. It is who you know, what network you have, how hard you work for them, and what you have done for them lately. That goes for clients and employers. Pay in finance works accordingly... other fields like tech and pharma have average top quartile wages in major cities in the $100-$200ks. CFAs and MBAs do also. Except that the ceiling for finance (MBA or CFA) is way way higher than if you go the technology skill route. It is literally unlimited. There are also a lot of crap-paying jobs in finance, and not a lot of those crap-paying jobs in other high skill jobs. This is the risk and the opportunity of the profession- and if you complain about the designation you look to everyone like someone whining for a job.

Last- if you think the CFA is worthless- where do you think the top tier MBA candidates with their CFA Charter want to work right now?? Well... who are the highest paying employers, with the most cash to invest? THAT IS GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, MICROSOFT, APPLE, AND AMAZON. Go on linkedin and look up 'CFA Finance Google'. And then look at their experience and designations. ALL OF THEM HAVE BOTH A TOP 10 MBA AND CFA. I just looked and two of the top three are CFAs with Wharton and Sloan. The other got the job with just state school undergrad and CFA... you think he had a network to get in there?? If you do not have a network, and want access to those jobs- well I do not know what to tell you except you either need to seriously hustle or start working on getting into one of those programs.

If you have the network and access- then CFA is a lot less $$ and opportunity cost.

I cannot believe I took the time to write this. Stop complaining, we are all among the luckiest 5% in the world, and no one is in charge of your decisions except yourself.-OK rant over-

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Max111xam

Thanks asu, I am glad some people got something out of this.
Now I am going to hijack this top comment for my own post-rant notes since this will be my only comment:

Yes a network is often gained from family and friends. That is how life is, and also how every job is everywhere. But many many people build their own network. Dad or Mom had to start somewhere. I suggest to everyone annoyed at this- at your next exam- TALK TO EVERYONE AROUND YOU. Ask them what they do. I guarantee that some people in your vicinity have connections to the type of firms I list below. Get a group together and go have a drink after the test (outside and distanced of course.) Make sure you leave with at least a few contacts. That is how it starts.
The pay ceiling in Finance is indeed unlimited and higher than any other field. Anything AUM-based from RIA, family office, HF, PE, Mutual Fund, Robo Advisor, SMA manager, etc. has no limit. Asset gathering is lucrative and the CFA Charter gives you the confidence and signaling required to do it, and the rest is up to you.
Mark Meldrum expresses a lot of this same stuff at this link, a lot more elegantly than I can. Here is my plug for him- I am a oftc paying customer- he brings to the table such a remarkable amount of value. I try to bring some of the ways he runs his business to how I run my own firm, and I recommend you at least check out what he has to offer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3R4bOfpSs4

Thanks for the comments everyone, and I appreciate and respect the comments and point of views made by the very people that this original post was aimed at. Good luck on the test everyone. Education is the best investment anyone can make- whether that is the CFA Charter, an MBA, or something else.

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Max111xam

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Posted: 3 years ago
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