Master's in Finance or Economics?

All,

Career switcher here. Based out of Western Europe and interested in entering the Asset Management industry, with the ultimate aim of working in portfolio management.

The MBA is simply not an option at this stage due to the sheer cost of it. Out of these two masters, which one do you consider to be 'better' for getting into the industry? I will also be sitting level 1 of the CFA this June.

Thanks!

Recap

 
Best Response

I would go with finance, you are a career switcher, so I assume you are a bit older. Getting an UG in something unrelated (CS, Eng, Math) is fine if you want to go into finance later on, but if you already have work experience in a completely other field, how do I know you are really interested in Asset Management if you go back to school for a degree in something tangential to my field.

For anyone else reading this who may be considering breaking into AM and is wondering about what UG they should get. If you really want to get into investment banking, asset management or trading getting a degree in finance is the surest path to get there. Getting a degree in something completely different (as mentioned before any field in engineering or the sciences) certainly gives you a very strong foundation to quickly pick up the concepts of finance and I'd argue that after a few months of the job you would not be able to distinguish where the kid came from judging from the quality of work. A strong degree in physics may even give you a leg up in the hiring process as you will stand out from all other finance majors, but you need to know that it is a gamble and if you don't get your dream job in finance you might have to look into your field for employment (not saying that is a bad thing). I did take this path, and it worked out for me, but if you are really sure about what you want do consider taking the finance path.

 

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