Should this oil & gas engineer get his CFA?

I recently accepted an offer to work for a mid-size investment bank as an associate on their E&P Equity Research team. Previously, I spent 5 1/2 years working as a drilling engineer for two different major service companies with field development experience in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. Currently, the only degree that I hold is in Chemical Engineering from a well-respected public university. Though I have taken several MOOC courses in finance, I have no desire of attending any sort of master's program.

Seeing as I am new to the financial services industry, I was wondering how beneficial would it be for me to get my CFA? Given my background, would it really set me apart with regards to advancement and new opportunities in energy finance? Or would it just be something nice to have?

I plan on staying in E&P equity research for the next three years but I want to leave my options open down the road. How much does the buy-side and/or corporate finance value the CFA?

Comments (2)

6y 
Greg Marmalard, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Congrats!

I can't imagine anyone in E&P would care. CFA is so heavily focused on the PM side of things that while it might be nice to have, if you're thinking that you want to stay on the A&D side and your exits are as a more technical guy on the buyside or E&P corporate development then I'm not sure there's much value add, if any. It'd be nothing more than a feather in your cap imo.

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6y 
Street Smart, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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