Advice for career

I have years of engineering experience in handling industrial projects such as building chemical process plants, oil refineries, power plants and etc., and currently, I am thinking to have a career change to do project finance for those industrial projects in Asia area. To do that, I am planning to study a master degree to prepare me for the career change. The following are my questions

Should I do MBA or MSc?

Any suggestion for good master programs/Schools in Asia area are suitable for my situation?

I know I-Banks such as Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and etc. are some big players in the project finance industry, but is I-Banks the only way for jobs? What are some other options?

How hard for an engineer to have a career change into the finance industry?

Please show this monkey the way out of the cage! (I am bilingual in Chinese)

3 Comments
 

In all honesty, I can't see what use a Generalist MBA will be to you. What you need is a thorough training in Finance. As such, your best bet is to do an MSc in Finance that requires a period of business experience as a pre-requisite for entry onto the programme.

This combination of practical experience and financial expertise will make you irresistable.

I don't know about Asia, but the MSc Finance at London Business School is fantastic and has yielded solid results for previous guys I know.

 

A two-year MBA from a finance heavy institution (read: Wharton, Columbia or Chicago) will do just fine. Provided you have the acumen and background to get in, I would highly recommend this option over an MSc anytime. Not only will you get the same technical background you wouldat a MSc (I can speak at least for Wharton), you will also be able to make the most of an amazing experience at b-school while building an awesome network. As I like to put it,

"The MBA solution is simple and seductive: write the GMAT, crank off a few essays about wanting to conquer the world, pass two alumni interviews, and voilà, the world is your oyster. Tuition will be billed separately, of course."

Good luck dude!

 

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