| Topic Name: |
Is it too late for me? |
| Message Name: |
Not too late. |
| Date Posted: |
05/06/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
Hi, I'm 32 y/o, and want to leave my career as a web programmer, although my degree is in Chemical engineering from U of IL (Chicago) with a 4.25 GPA (out of 5.0 scale) in 1996. Worked as Research Engineer for a year for a major food company after graduation. Studied programming shortly thereafter, then landed a job as web programmer for a start-up that failed during the dotcom meltdown. Nevertheless, gained 2 years programming work experience from there.
Looking at the current economic landscape, I started listening to my deep-seated interest in Finance. I've always had this interest, but never had a chance to pursue it. The only thing I came close to this was when I took 2 Accounting, 2 Economics and
a Finance course during undergrad.
My dilemma is this:
1) If an MBA is the only way to enter Finance or Investment Management to be more specific, do you think, given
my age, and lack of solid work experience to get into a Top 20 MBA school, that there is little hope for me to get on track to a lucrative and fulfilling career in the Investment Mgt arena?
2) I have considered the CFA route, and realized it would take at the very least, 3 years to earn it. But what kind of job can I get
now without at least Level 1 under my belt? Should I take another programming job until I pass Level 1, and then, jump-ship to a Finance
job or should I not even bother with any IT job, and start now on anything
Finance-related I could find so that after passing Level 1 I'd be much closer to landing a real good job in Investment Management?
3) Given my background, what entry-level job should I shoot for realistically? And what specific area in Invesment Management would be
good to consider (i.e. job position/title) in the long-term? I was thinking more along the lines of an executive in an Investment
Mgt firm in the future.
4) Also, I would like to remain in the Los Angeles, Orange County California area. Is this too much to ask?
5) What about the value of a Certificate in Finance from UCLA in order to complement my degree in Engineering? They told me that I cannot earn a second undergrad degree in Finance since I already have one in
engineering. The only reason I thought of this certificate
is to be able to get an entry-level job in Finance, and get noticed by recruiters who insist to only talk to people with Finance degrees. Would this actual help me get into the same footing as someone with a Finance degree perce? I hope so, if not more since I also have a value-added which is an engineering degree.
6) If Investment Management would be very hard for me to get into, what other areas in the field of Finance would teach me all the business skills to evaluate a good business investment and maybe learn to operate one myself (perhaps a gas station franchise)?
Thank you so much in advance for any perspective any of you can share with me. I really need some. I will be truly grateful.
WannaBeeinIM |
| Message: |
I had a military background. I started the CFA when I was 28 and started my MBA when I was 30. Today, I'm an equity research analyst...
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