Hi. I am an economics graduate with 2.5+ years of experience. I am considering to move to Canada. Just wanted to get the idea about the finance industry in the country and whether the move would be favourable to my career. TIA. (PS - I am a CFA level 2 candidate and hope to clear the exam in the August 2021 session)
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The comparison is too broad. What specific sectors, groups, etc are you targeting within the broad concept of "finance"?
Also, not trying to be discouraging here, but everyone around me is a CFA. Once met a uber driver having both phd and CFA (but runs a side day trading business). Despite all the good stuff being talked about re how Canada is a welcoming country to new immigrants, the matter of fact is that the industry, and in particular high finance echelon is very very local, and many people don't give a dam about your prior experience even if in reality you are equally if not more qualified or experienced.
This is correct - Canada is a great place to live and work and finance is a big part of the landscape but you need to be clear about which aspect of finance you're looking to get into. If it's investment banking, Godspeed to you - everyone here is an MBA/CFA and there are plenty of 3.6+ GPA undergrads from top targets who don't land in investment banking. That said, I don't imagine these jobs are exactly thick on the ground in India either, and with a population of millions of qualified people, it's probably even more competitive.
Thanks for the response! I primarily have experience in the PE space, however, I am considering IB, VC and AM as well given the buffer of an MBA which I'm planning to pursue in a year or two.
if you're a little more broad in your approach then you'll probably land something. if you're able to do your MBA in the states, you can work on OPT for a year and then come to Canada, and then your options would be significantly better.
It is very important to get the channel right. I've seen many not-so-great type of people getting jobs because they were in the right funnel and speaking to the right people. For MBA and a job in investment banking or institutional AM, hands-down Rotman. No other school is even close. The internship is CRITICAL to getting you into that funnel. Many Canadian firms prioritize intern conversion over hiring from the outside, in particular your first local job.
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