Valuation/Modeling courses (e.g. training the street etc.)
If I'm reading resumes to interview and I see Training the Street or something similar listed, I will strongly discount the candidate. Why? It shows a lack of priority and judgement - why pay hundreds of dollars for something you'll learn as soon as you start? If you need help for interviews, you can read the Vault/M&I/WSO guide for $30 and be set without the huge cost. It also brands you as a less interesting person - it implies that while others are playing sports or working to pay for college or having fun, you're shelling out hundreds of bucks to learn to do a DCF.
That's just my two cents, what are your thoughts on taking those courses to put on a resume?
My school provided it for free (Well like $20 deposit or something stupid). So your entire argument is wrong.
So you don't think I had fun in college because I took a weekend course? Get over yourself, jesus.
you sound like a massive tool tbh.
do you also ding people for getting a gpa above 1.0?
I mean they could have been getting drunk and playing sports instead of studying right.
Man those kids with 2.0 gpas are such loser already they went to tests instead of taking bong hits.
morans.
Why would learning a DCF preclude you from playing sports or having fun in college? Are they mutually exclusive now?
Good point about the two being mutually exclusive.
One of the hardest obstacles to overcome when trying to break into the industry (especially for someone who has been working in another industry) is the lack of knowledge that is typically gained in an analyst position.
I was actually think about doing one of these courses to have basic understanding and familiarity with excel, I am disappointed that you looked down on it.
Would you rather hire someone who was trying to break into the industry that was not putting any effort into learning the basics? Someone who was just chugging along in their current job just hoping that they can break into the industry w/o any effort?
Confused....
You will actually get brownie points from me for taking the initiative. Sames goes for the CFA.
TTS online courses... worth going for $125?? (Originally Posted: 09/05/2014)
Hello all,
I've searched and heard from this forum that TTS and BIWS are the hands down best self-study program for finance skills. I'm considering TTS as I recently got a chance to subscribe their full-bundled courses at discounted price, contents including corporate valuation, excel best practice, financial modelling, macros, and merger models..
The question is... how much do you think the bundled TTS courses are worth going for?? For now I can get it at around $125, do you believe this is a good deal?
Also, upon completion of this self-study courses, would it be recommended to include TTS training on the resume? will this look too desperate?
Yes, anything you can do to enhance your understanding and make yourself better is worth it. Even a few thousand dollars (i.e. traveling to NYC to network and other prep/classes) is well worth the investment if it gets you to the right place. Do not put in on your resume, you can speak to it verbally.
All told I think I spent about 3k on recruiting. 100% worth it.
I bought TTS a few months ago and I've been able to apply a lot of the stuff from the courses to interviews. Understanding how to go about valuations or how a model is supposed to look like has helped me a lot because its practical experience from a real banker and you know how your expected to answer certain questions.
Some people dont want it on the resume but I put it in the bottom under "additional" in the "technical skills bullet", if you have space why not.
Training the Street questions (Originally Posted: 04/25/2012)
There was an announcement in my class that there will be Training the Street Workshops next Fall coming to our bschool. Applications are due this friday. Its 150$ for each workshop, or 350$ for all 3 workshops. The 1st workshop is called, "fundamentals of financial modeling and excel practice". The 2nd is called "Corporate Valuation". The 3rd is "Advanced Financial modeling" . How useful are these workshops? Which, if any should i sign up for? Where could this type of experience go on resume, and could it help get a good internship? Thanks guys
depends on how much excel and modeling knowledge you have.
Zero modeling and basic excel knowledge
I cant really speak for internship interviews as what ive been going for are analyst interviews, but for those, what you learn from these classes was certainly helpful. Its possible for internships they wouldnt require you to know as much, but then again knowing shit can never be a negative. as far as where to put it, pretty sure i threw it under "other skills" as "completed x,y,z TTS courses"
Your thoughts on three popular Modeling Courses offered (Originally Posted: 02/26/2010)
Good Afternoon, I am hoping you guys can shed some light on which program I should do.
I have been researching self-paced as well as instructor based modeling courses and I have narrowed it down to the following three; - TTS -IBtraining (Investment Banking Institute) -AnalystExchange
-I know that taking any of these will not guarantee full-time offers, it comes down to the individual and how much they are willing to use the experience to position themselves for firms.
I. Training the Street Pros: - Recognized within the industry - Positive reviews from users on WSO and other forums.
Cons: -Lack of "employment/placement assistance -Cost
II. AnalystExchange Pros: - Four-to-Six week long internship at corresponding firm within your field of interest - longest length of training/internship
Cons: - No assistance offered but networking opportunity available during your internship. - Cost
III. IBtraining Pros: - Least Expensive - Full-Time Positions and Internship opportunities are listed, some posts have been skeptical as far as the validity of these. - Longest in term of length of course 8 weeks.
Cons: - Seems like this is the least prominent one out of these programs. Some of the posts have mentioned negative reaction by the recruiters upon seeing this on the resume.
Which one would be the best to have on a resume and one which provides the best training? Any help would be sincerely appreciated and I hope this serves as a bookmark for any future inquires on this topic in WSO.
Thank you
IB Training is waste of time. Their Placement services are just a joke. Its just listings from other website. Do not fall into their sales trap, They do not have any relationship with any headhunters. If placement assistance is your goal stay away from IB Training and If you just want to learn models there is a good book on this which you ca buy for $50 and save lots of money.
PM if you need more info.
I did IBI (ibtraining). For me it was REALLY helpful cus I had no idea how to model/value. he's right they dont have any connects to jobs and their resume review sucks. but all in all if you want to learn how to model you have to do it LIVE, in a class, with someone teaching you. not out of a book.
gluck
The model cases also suck at IBI. You can learn more if you have case books from leading universities
IMHO any of these courses will have a very minimal impact as far as boosting your chances of getting or converting interviews to offers.
Puss my "research" consisted of using the search function of this website. I should have made it more clear, these three are the programs I AM INTERESTED IN.
I didn't include Dealmaven because I did take one of their online courses and found it confusing, not to mention as one of the fellows said this is something best learned from someone who shows you step by step.
AnEx has such a great business model. Pay us to put you to work. Gold mine for boutique banks looking for free/cheap labour.
No help in getting you a job but I did TTS back in the day. Didn't absorb much since it went by so quickly. Did the 3 day gig, my firm paid for it
So how important is it to have modeling knowledge going into an interview either with a bulge or with a small shop?
One of my peers who is an associate said he had no knowledge prior to being hired, and my professor has stated it having this on your resume just shows your interest in the field.
How important is it to have this knowledge prior to gaining acceptance into a firm? If one were to read the posts on this site regarding modeling it just seems like you HAVE to know this to get hired.
Is this material at least somewhat similar to what you'd get in training for SA's?
Stay away from IBtraining. Just empty promises, no placement or help in placement. Their course also isn't worth much. You can get it anywhere for $ 75 max. Rip off artistes.
How exactly complex is the training the street public modelling course? Currently in high school and have decent trading/financial knowledge for my age. I think they would add value to my resume when getting my first few internships...
Financial Modelling Question (Originally Posted: 10/20/2013)
Hey guys,
I'm trying to enter the equity research industry and am currently learning how to create financial models from the Macabacus website; specifically learning how to create three statement models and make dcf valuations. But I was wondering if what Macabacus teaches is enough, or if I should also take an online course like Training the Street. If so, is the financial modelling course offered by TtS by itself enough, or would the Corporate Valuation course also be useful for an equity researcher? Thanks.
I have taken in person courses and have also used the BIWS online courses. BIWS courses were more effective for me. Check them out.
As to whether what Macabacus etc teaches is enough, that depends on how much you can take from it- if you have no trouble building a 3 statement model and a dcf after using the course, then it's probably enough. If you still struggle, you probably need more.
Thanks for the quick reply, I'll check BIWS out too.
As implied by notthehospital, Macabacus is great for self learners. If you're better taught in a more traditional classroom setting or something of the sort, it is worth it to buy Wall St Prep or BIWS, as the modules are narrated like a lecture.
I spent the $ for WSP and think it was well worth it. Even if you are a good self-learner, it is difficult to know what you are not understand as profoundly as you should be. WSP and BIWS really drill the important things in to you.
Thanks for the replies :D.
How much does a modeling course help you getting a job? (Originally Posted: 01/27/2010)
Does financial modeling training help a lot? Or it's not that important until you actually have a job? I don't have a job now...should I just focus on studying interviews using WSO and M&I guides?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
It only helps you because you will know how to answer the technical questions during interviews (if you remember anything from the course) but no one will see a modelling course on your resume and go "OoOoOoOhhhhh.. give him an interview!"
I did the Wall Street Prep class in college. It was a weekend (I think 8am-5pm Sat and Sun). They walked us through a DCF model, and we got to keep it. It was very helpful, and also looked nice on my resume. IB banker asked about it during interview. The paper materials are also nice to create your own/help with input. It was very helpful. Not going to scream at interviewers, though, more practical for actual on the job use.
yeah, if it's something with like Training the Street
All depends on your knowledge going in. If you're already comfortable with financial concepts, it will add almost nothing. Also, it adds almost no value to your resume. It's not an accomplishment, there are no requirements to take it, and you have no proof that you are even good at it.
I dont think a modeling course will really help you in an interview. Yes, you will have to know how to "walk through a DCF" but I have never heard of anyone having to sit down and actually build one in excel, and definitely not for SA positions. The WSO guides are great prep for interviews and if you know the questions in there, as well as understand the concepts behind them you will be great. Don't stress about knowing how to build a DCF from scratch in interviews. If it's on your resume, they may (and probably will) ask you about it, but if it's not I wouldn't expect to get grilled on it.
Study your guides, be confident and passionate, and you will be fine. Good luck.
You will be grilled harder during an interview, but on the flip side, it shows interest. At a boutique it may be more important, but BBs give less credence to these types of programs on ur resume since they recruit a bunch of liberal arts kids from targets and train all their analysts anyway.
My point is that it may get you better traction for an interview at a smaller firm than a larger firm.
I'm coming from a BB, target, liberal arts background.
Basically would encourage you not to do it. You should know all the technical answers and all of the fit questions etc.
Once you land an offer the best thing you can do is honestly learn excel, ppt and word short cuts. Everyone writes "good at MS office" on their resume but this is pretty much a bold faced lie. You should be fast and accurate. So taking an excel short keys, ppt short keys and word short keys course would help you 10000000x over the long-term.
The modelling stuff is already pre built anyway, banks have been around for many many years so the chances of building from scratch are much lower. If that is the case? Then you're just ripping from an old model reformatting and then doing it anyway... There will be a model somewhere thats similar.
Should I Take a Modeling Course? (Originally Posted: 09/07/2011)
Hi,
I graduated about a year ago with an industrial engineering degree and have been working in software consulting since. Would taking a financial modelling course like Wall Street Prep give me a leg up in the job hunt? And as far as Wall Street Prep goes, is their certification something that looks good on a resume? I've heard mixed opinions on this and some other programs.
Thanks
I'll be curious to find out about this as well.I'm also interested into how those compare to the analyst exchange.
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