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April 30, 2024
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You have never worked in business and don't want to get an MBA. What is your interest exactly? What do you want to "career change" to?
You have also been working for 5+ years and never received a major promotion, and cannot get a positive reference from anyone who has interacted with you over the past five years. No, you do not have a chance at an M7.
I can get a positive reference from every employer I've had. The question was who was the best to ask. Because of the nature of the work I was doing, I didn't work more that 1-2 years in a given place (2 universities and 2 schools) as funding for projects changes. That's why I never received a "promotion" as if such as thing even existed in the offices I was working in...
What exactly do you want to do in finance? What are you looking for in a finance career? A raise? Job stability? More work hours?
Do you have any finance/business related experience? What notable aspects of your experiences can you incorporate into your B-school application/interview?
Being in your late 20s, having an MA in history, and no prior business/management experience, you're going to have a hard time getting into the industry.
Yes, I want to move into finance because it's more interesting and rewarding work than I do now. I also want more job stability and financial security. I know lots of people in the industry, so I'm in a good position to evaluate this.
No, apart from a clerical job I took in desperation immediately after grad school, I have no business experience. I manage a classroom and oversaw the development of the Latin program at my last school, but this is not the same as 4 years as a FA. My question is how much this would effect my chances of being accepted into a solid school. I know it would have no impact on where I was accepted to law school, for example. But how crucial is business/management experience when applying for an MBA? Is it enough to make my other stats irrelevant?
I have a strong network to work with. If I could make myself qualified for a career in finance by passing the CFA L1 exam, I would do that. But I was told on another forum that CFA couldn't help me, and that the only way I can expect to successfully break into the industry is by graduating from a top 15-20 MBA program. But if I can't be reasonably certain I'd land a good job afterwards, the $160k in debt I'd end up with makes it a stupid move.
I would think a CFA + strong network that you mentioned would be enough to break into industry and skip the MBA BS. I'm far from an expert though.
Yeah, will definitely have to disagree with you there lol...
trinko, anything is possible, but you need to establish yourself as a candidate. People want you to have work experience and educational credentials. Go get them. Work unpaid at a tiny place if you have to, perhaps do the CFA L1 to stand out a little more, and try your hand at a good MBA program (people not in M7 have succeeded in life, relax).
With a respectable MBA and the network it provides you, as well as work experience to put on your resume and make you a viable candidate (and the skills that go along with it), you can do this.
But that's the key: do it. Don't slack on any aspect of it.
OP, why did you start a new conversation? I am a little confused to why you needed a new thread for the exact same question.
I don't understand. In my last thread, I asked if I was too old to break into finance. In this one, I asked if my work experience would hurt an MBA application. Still haven't gotten an answer to this one, but it's a completely different question.
Does a lack of work experience hurt your MBA application to an M7 school? Absolutely. They are looking for professional/business/managerial potential and without prior work experience, it's hard to show.
That said, it doesn't preclude you from getting in, rather it just makes it more challenging. That said, you'll also have a harder time with on-campus networking/recruiting as you'll have little to show.
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