From semiconductors to Equity Research

Hi all,

I´m currently working as an engineering Team Leader in a capital equipment semiconductor company and I have a promising future (or at least, my boss is promissing it to me). In spite of my daily work is closer to the development of our machines than to the market, I´m fully involved with the market research team locally as well as our customers and together with the huge amount of information available in our systems, I already developed what I believe is a deep understanding of the semiconductor and technology sector, the trends, the future milestones, the risks, the products, the companies etc etc etc.

By the way I´m living in the NY area, with all the big firms offering equity research possitions in semiconductors. My question for you guys is if all of this can help to the switch. I´ve a masters degree in industrial engineering and an MBA, what I think together with my 4 years of experience and my leadership possition can help. I´m studying the CFA level I, I build financial models by myself, I´m reading the releases of the main companies (10k,20f,quaterly releases...) of the sector as soon as they arrive to my hands. Basically, when my workday ends I start¨"working" in all this stuff that I´m passionated for.

But I´ve not experience in finance and, very important, I turned 30 recently (goodbye 20s)

What´s your advice to get into an semiconductors equity research position? Is it realistic? (There are some successful cases that went from semiconductors engineering to equity research, like David Wong from Wells Fargo). Do you think it worth it?