Quitting Miserable Job 1 year before Grad School? GAP, Extend, or look for temporary opportunities?

Hi all,

I'm currently enrolled in a 1-year rotational graduate program in BB in the Middle East/Levant, with a BBA (concentration in Finance and Accounting) with a strong academic record. Unfortunately, due to a hiring freeze, there are no job openings in the franchise I'm currently in.

My managers are considering extending my program for another 6 months to a year, as there are currently no job openings in other locations due to a hiring freeze in the bank. However, I'm totally against the idea because the small franchise I'm in is miserable people here are very annoying and arrogant, and I'm having a hard time learning anything (I only learned during my corporate banking rotation while working on CA's other than that its a waste of time).

Instead, I've decided to pursue a MSF in the US for many reasons including having more technical/specialized knowledge and access to the uS Job market after graduation, and have prepared a list of programs I would be interested in. I wrote my CFA L1 in May and directly started preparing for the GMAT.

  1. If I decide not to renew my program and apply for a Master's, will it have an impact on my chances of being accepted if i wasn't employed at the time of submitting the application? Or will the University not care much as I'm applying for an early career professionals Masters? Will future employers worry about that GAP between job and Grad School ( I will probably focus on CFA L2 if I pass L1, and take some courses in that time)?
  2. Assuming I renew my program for 6 months (only considering it to save more money), and during these 6 months I complete all the university application, and then I directly quit, should I notify the universities after I've applied that I've left my job?
  3. Would it affect my application if I quit the BB I'm in (its the biggest in the region) and joined a REPE startup or went back to university to take more programming/calculus courses and enhance my knowledge.

I would appreciate any advice on my situation as my anxiety is at all time highs :)

Many Thanks!

 

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