Controversial Opinion: Is a Finance Undergrad Degree obsolete now, AI realities, + recent CFA changes?

Hello everyone.

A little about myself before I go on to make my case/do a rant/ask for advice (although for the amount of controversy, I believe I will probably create I do want to remain partially anonymous). My username is not my real name.

Key points:

- Recent Finance Grad 2023 with a GPA above 3.1 yet not higher than 3.5.

- Non-target school.

- Did one Project Management internship at a Manufacturing company in addition to some Summer jobs.

- I am currently looking for work.

- I took some upper-level electives in Supply Chain Management and I am planning on going more in that route for my career just due to enjoying it more. The school did not offer a full major in SCM, so I went with Finance as my specialization for my Bachelor’s.

However, my own circumstances are not really what’s the issue here. I am not inquiring so much about my own future since I am making a career change anyway. Instead, I am asking honest questions about the future of Finance Careers in general. 

Specifically, I am wanting to get some honest/constructive feedback from everyone regarding the following questions:

1) Does anyone feel like an Undergraduate Degree in Finance is becoming obsolete nowadays?

2) How worried are you that the AI will take jobs away from those wanting to get into Finance.

3) Given the recent changes to the CFA of adding AI to the curriculum, increased eligibility to write the exam at earlier periods by all types of different undergrad majors in their second year, and the added computer science curriculum, is the CFA, and it’s marketing to non-Finance Majors and Finance Majors alike, diluting the value of a Finance Degree?

Let me explain what I mean by describing the issue in terms of what I encountered in my Final Year of University.

    I wanted to learn more about Derivative Securities for that specific class offered in my 4^th year. The upper-level class materials were awesome. The professor was helpful. However I needed help still. Given the complex nature of the financial products, and the fact that I was in my last year, I bought the CFA Level I, II, and III materials at around $300 a piece for the extra legitimate practice + help. I also did this out of curiosity as originally (before my Supply Chain pivot) I thought I wanted to do Portfolio Management as a career.

    To my surprise a lot the CFA materials (particularly Level 2) complimented, regurgitated, and had newer insights, for the class I was taking, and vice versa. This was for the 2022-year materials before the bigger changes in 2023. I ended earning an A- in Derivatives where a vast majority of the grading portion was quantitative and based on exam results. This grade was not on a curve yet graded absolutely. I knew my stuff and I was not just the best out of group of bad apples for that semester as it were. 

     I will say that CFA materials provided me with some much-needed extra understanding of the subject. To CFA’s credit, if you are an Economics, Finance, Accounting, or Business student and you are struggling with any of the topics that CFA touches where the materials and subjects are similar that the expense was worth it just from the perspective of extra practice that is not in any way shape or form cheating.

However, what concerns me about the complimentary or repetitive material is what is the point of majoring in Finance as an undergrad if one can just get the CFA regardless of what one’s first Undergrad Degree is in?

    Let me draw a bigger picture of what I mean in this instance. Let’s say you are an Undergrad Student who wants to get into the Mining Industry (probably in Canada or Australia) and you want to make the big money. You are flexible as to whether that is in the form of being a Geologist or as a Finance person. It’s just the money and career flexibility you care about. If you know you want a specific sector of the economy technologically or scientifically speaking, is not a tech or science undergraduate degree [in that sector] + the CFA for the hard Finance skills the better combination here? By that I mean Geology is just an example. You could probably substitute Tech or any other STEM or Engineering Degree for this point.

Or put another way WHY get a Finance Degree just to be eligible for the CFA if you are sector orientated and that sector has to do with technology or science to some degree?

    I am proud of my Finance degree and my efforts. I am also proud of my career choice to go into Supply Chains. So long term this issue will not affect myself as much. What does bother me though is that the CFA should remain as a credential geared towards making one more competitive for Portfolio Management Careers (which it does) all if you are in Finance already, or for someone who wants to work for a tech sector specific portfolio capacity. It should not be a way of bypassing an entire initial major and all of the people who made that their first choice. Yes, life is competitive. Yes, life is not fair. Yes COVID-19 changed things. And yes, it is the responsibility of the student to understand the reality of a phrase that comes to mind of which I heard at University too late, this being, “You can teach the Engineer business, but you can’t teach the Businessperson Engineering.” Where the point of that phrase is that those with a science background may have more transferable skills than those who just studied business subjects. Regardless, where I do object, is in the fact that if someone chooses Finance as their first choice as their undergraduate major it does signal the immediacy of choice compared to their science collegiates. I.e. They aren’t someone who does not get to the point in their career choices. This is unlike all of the Arts Grads [future Macdonald’s employees as far as I am concerned] who similarly pivot to business at the last minute to salvage their career opportunities.

   This all before the issue of automation brought forth by AI and its adding to the curriculum of the CFA as well. This is not something I can speak to due to the timing of when I bought the CFA materials and given my own career change. However, the fact that there has been such a change shows desperation to keep the professionals up with the times. If Finance was such a great profession on its own, would it need such the upgrade?

   I do hope that the scenarios I am describing make sense here. What are all of your hopefully constructive thoughts and feedback to the three questions I posed? If the employers just demand everyone sits for the CFA at the end of the day, and the CFA materials are what you need to succeed in Finance, all over again, why double down on a duplicated option that could be dying due to technological change?

Best of luck to you all and thanks for the constructive responses.