mid-level mba or cfa in tomarrows market?

Isn't that a little bit reactionary?
Is finance, as we know it, really gone forever? Won't companies need people to manage their assets, make informed decisions on where and when to get financing, where to invest extra capital? No one will need those services?

I understand the market for these jobs is decreasing. I’m getting a CFA to differentiate myself from all those guys who are just getting a B.S. in Finance and that’s the end of the story for them.

If everything goes the way I think it will, I will soon have a job in a contract negotiations office at the Anniston Army Depot. The money will be good enough to live on after I graduate if I can’t find a job elsewhere, so I have good covering for while I’m going for my CFA. Upon completion, who’s to say what the market will be like?

Business students have the tendency to think that their degree is a golden ticket to 40k as soon as they graduate. I don’t fool myself. If you can’t sell yourself as a valuable commodity, then you’ll end up a cranky store manager somewhere with employees who hate you.

 

To the point about Level III assets having nothing to do with the average borrower defaulting on their mortgage.

I found this exert on Wikiinvest (first thing that came up, I’m in a rush) about Level I,II, and III assets:

Level 3

Financial assets and liabilities whose values are based on prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. These inputs reflect management’s own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability (EXAMPLES INCLUDE CERTAIN PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENTS, CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE RELATED ASSETS(including loans, securities and derivatives), and long-dated or complex derivatives including certain foreign stock exchanges, foreign options and long dated options on gas and power). Level 3 assets trade infrequently, as a result there are not many reliable market prices for them. Valuations of these assets are typically based on management assumptions or expectations.

here’s the link: http://www.wikinvest.com/wiki/Level_1,_Level_2,_Level_3_Assets

I’m only in my first semester of Finance classes and I’m just looking for help, so don’t think I’m just being a smart-ass, but wouldn’t a package of these kinds of mortgages be considered Level III assets?

You're probably right, I would just like to know why.

 

In tomarrows market, you need brass balls and an iron will. Save the MBA and CFA in the toilet.. just in case if you run out.

(a fund managers view, I know that many chimps would disagree with me, then again.. they have every right to be )

 

Apparently it’s a popular misspelling. Thank you for your contribution to the thread.

 

Toxic Level III assets on bank's books are a direct result of millions of everyday Americans being unable to pay their mortgages and the fall in housing prices. That is a fact. Whoever said it wasn't is an idiot. Furthermore, Wall Street thought they had a free lunch with the mortgage securitization market and their greed most certainly caused them to take outrageous risks on the U.S. housing market. All of this nonsense that some people try to peddle about how the borrowers should have been more responsible may be true, but it is not very relevant. Most people aren't savvy enough to adhere to proper risk management. These home buyers just followed the heard, which is to be expected. There greed is understandable. Wall Street has no excuse and I am sorry to say got what was coming to them. Their lack of risk controls and greed are just unforgivable.

P.S. You should check out House of Cards on CNBC

 

as usual, there is no definitive answer as it depends on your experience, skills, etc. but speaking from my experience, i have only hired straight out of top-tier universities and grad programs, never undergrads with just a cfa. this isn't to say that you can do well with just a cfa, but an mba from a top-tier will get you there a whole lot faster (and easier). and as much as that cfa may be more knowledgable than the mba from a top-tier univ, the mba will most likely get the better opportunities spoon-fed to him/her. that's just the way this side of the street works i'm afraid.

if you have any other questions, feel free to pm me.

 

Forget MIS. MIS is dead. Most of the MIS has been offshored already anyway. Accounting ... maybe ... don't know much about the field since I was a software developer for 13 years.

> There will be better job growth in the next 10 years for IT specialists.

Huh ? Yea, in Hyderbad or Bangalore. Not here.

 

Believe it or not they seem to be in crazy demand right now.

 

Bumping the thread to say I'm working on the CFA charter and will be attending a mid-tier business school (AACSB accredited) for an MBA in fall. The program also gives me a good chance at being published before graduation. I'd like to work on the research arm of a fund or for one of the independent analyst groups. I'm aiming for smaller shops and boutiques in general, off the Street.

These smaller shops are tough to find, so I was wondering if anyone could drop some names my way. Advice on how to build up my application to these firms is also welcome.

 

I'm getting my mba in sunny miami fl this fall. I'm going to have a concentration in tagging latin girls and swing trading, and hopefully after 2 years of that I will not have to use my degree to support myself, cause finance is a crowded field right now.