Canadian wanting to work in US

So for a bit of background, I am a Canadian who graduated from college last year from an Ivy League school in the US (non-finance degree). During my time in college I hadn't figured out what I wanted as a career and my recruiting suffered a lot as a result, and I didn't find a job to stay in the US which had been a big goal of mine for a long time. Over the last year I've realized I love learning about finance, economics, and capital markets, but I haven't done enough to make myself a competitive candidate for those jobs.

At the moment I'm working at a small market research/consulting firm at home, and I don't feel like my work is fulfilling. Before graduating last spring I panic applied to the Master's in Management program at my school's business school and got accepted. I've talked with a lot of people working in finance who cautioned me against the program, since it's not directly beneficial to a career in finance and it could raise some eyebrows if I ever want to get an MBA in the future. On the flip side, having another year to get my shit together and have another chance at US recruiting seems pretty valuable, but I'm not sure that it's worth a year of Ivy League tuition lol.

In terms of career aspirations, I am most attracted to roles in asset management or ER but I know ER especially requires more advanced certifications like CFA or MBA. As for right now, I'm unhappy at my current job and I'm doing my best to recruit for positions that catch my eye, but it's proving to be difficult without a finance background and doubly so for US-based locations as a non-resident/citizen. 

My question for those of you who made it this far is: what's the most efficient use of my time now? Do I 1) Hop on the Masters in Management program and mega grind for the few opportunities it might provide 2) Continue with my current job search and try for an MBA a couple years later?

Is there another angle I could approach this from that I'm missing?

Thanks in advance for your answers, I would appreciate any feedback you're able to give.

 

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