Master of Economics after CFA for breaking into AM
Hello Everyone,
I'm currently looking forward to move to US and break into AM to pursue my dream of becoming a PM. In order to do so I have to apply a master or Phd program, so IMHO the best one that suits my background is MA Economics.
For anyone wondering I have an Accounting undergrad with a MSF from a very weak university in my home country. I've currently passed CFA L1 and hopefully by the time I'll move to US, I'll pass L3 (and I might be able to get my charter). I have a couple of years of experience as an equity analyst (buy-side) in a non-existing market (face palm) so I don't think my experiences would be converted in US.
So is the MA Econ (I'm looking forward to University of Texas at Austin if anyone is wondering) suitable for this ambition or should I choose another path? Is there any risk involved with not studying in a business school? I think MA Econ would help with the PM role and another MSF would be overkill. I can afford MBA but not in US (probably UK which I don't really like).
Any other recommendation would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
This comment adds no value, just ridiculous how you have to go through all of these hoops. Better off becoming really great at a personal account, that’s where you actually develop the skills, imo. Hope someone chimes in on your actual question. Best of luck.
This is my first post here so I don't really get you, but the fact that there's no similar situation like this on this forum is a bit weird. So IMO it could become a useful topic if anyone can shed some lights here. Even there aren't many topics on this forum discussing about MA Econ.
I assume you're looking at MA econ programs because they're STEM accredited and cheaper than an MBA.
Depending on the program, an MA Econ prepares you for either a PhD (academic) or industry (applied) or somewhere in between. In either case, the skills you're learning aren't directly applicable to most types of AM unless you're doing something heavily macro oriented.
Neither your background nor your goals suggest you have an interest in the field (nor, possibly, the quantitative skills), so I don't even know how good your chances are for admission are. Maybe I'm blowing my own horn a bit as an economist but it's not a field you can just walk into at postgraduate level without a relevant background and expect to get the kind of grades that'll help land top job offers.
You say you're already working as an analyst on the buyside. That's relevant experience. I'd focus on building on that; even if your domestic market is shit, you can surely lateral somewhere better. After a few years I don't see why you wouldn't be able to target a good MBA program.
Thank you for the comprehensive answer!
But why do you think the skills taught in the program are not applicable? I have really enjoyed the CFA level 1 macroeconomics and I guess they are really useful. (haven't reached L2 economics). I understand that some micro stuff or econometrics stuff are not really applicable but don't you think the macro part is super useful and somewhat essential for a role like PM?
I have some quantitative skills as I have passed some financial engineering and mathematical courses so I don't think that would become a problem.
And you asked about my ability to afford MBA. As my name suggests, you can't even imagine the salaries here so anything above $50-60k would become difficult to get by!
I'm not trying to convince you of my decision, I'm just telling you the reasons that how I came up with this program.
You are right, being affordable and STEM accredited made it on my list but the main reason I picked it as a candidate was that I taught it could help me with landing a job in AM and it will provide me some new and applicable content (hopefully).
So the way I see it these are the issues:
Full disclaimer: I haven't done an MA econ, but I've been actively looking at programs in the US for about a year now. I am in a macro type AM role though and did econ in UG.
Edit: Re-read this and thought it sounded too discouraging. You have relevant experience, I just don't think postgraduate economics is super relevant to general AM recruitment.
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