MSF now or MBA later?
Hi, I have 1 year Corporate Banking experience. I want to do either an MBA or an MSF. However, for an MBA, I have to wait for a couple more years.
So which one will be better for me? MSF now or MBA 3 years later? My goal is IB.
What's your background?
That depends on what you are trying to do. Are you wanting to switch careers? Switch function? The two degrees have very different career opportunities and paths post graduation. Even in IBD, MSF degrees lead to Analyst jobs while MBAs compete for Summer Associate internships between year 1 and year 2.
What size bank are you currently working for? If you work for a larger bank you should be able to transition into a boutique IB or MM IB firm as an entry level analyst.
I would like to ask a similar question, I currently have an offer with BB Ops. I want to do IBD, is it better to go for an MSF after a year or wait a few years and shoot for an MBA?
How's your money situation? What type of MSF program can you get into , a top one? You don't want to go into an extra $60k in debt and be back to square one...The program doesn't guarentee an IB job, especially if it's not a top program. It's certainly possible to get into a Top 10/15 business school from ops, in which case you can fairly easily recruit for IB, but it is an upward battle getting in.
I am graduating undergrad with zero debt and I will be living in a very low COL area for my BB Ops job. I don't have a math or computer science background so I was thinking about Villanova, Vandy, WUSTL. I think after 1 year of BB Ops, and Zero debt, I should have at least 20k saved up. I am confident that I can get into a top MBA after 3-4 years but I'm afraid that having 3-4 years of BB Ops might hinder me later for IBD associate recruiting when I get my MBA.
Banking has really lost its allure among people at Top 10 business schools (aside from Stern). Most want to do Consulting or Tech nowadays, and people who want to continue to do finance go for PE/VC/HF, not IBD Associate. Assuming there's not another recession and bank don't have revenue decreases, you should have pretty good chance of becoming a IBD associate from ops, if you make it into a top MBA program. Most are career switchers, and they aren't going to be ex-McKinsey consultants.
Here's a good thread about it from a few years ago: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/post-mba-associates-whats-the-point
eu Engineering student: MSc Finance now or MBA later to break into investment banking? (Originally Posted: 03/19/2015)
Hi,
I am currently a penultimate engineering student at Imperial College with a predicted first. My dream job is probably investment banking (M&A) or Asset Management, although this is not fixed: I find many finance jobs exciting. I think I eventually want to go to Hedge Fund, but there’s no way to predict so much in advance, although it’s good to have a plan. I do not have experience in finance, but this industry attracts me a lot more than engineering (not only for the salary)
I still want to finish my 4-year engineering course, and I’ll be doing my second engineering internship this summer. Upon graduation, I have two possibilities:
1) I can nail the GMAT during my 4th year and apply to business schools for an MSc in Finance. I aim at the top UK (Oxford, Imperial, LSE …) and French (HEC, ESSEC) schools. Upon completion, I hope to get an investment banking summer internship in London. 2) I can start working in engineering for 2 years (in the UK), and then do an MBA at a top school and try again to get into investment banking (at associate level?).
Both routes seem interesting. I am not passionate about engineering, but I feel working there two years could be fun and would at least value my undergraduate course.
The big question is, is there a better road? Choice number 2 may be forced if I cannot get into a good business school.
I would love to have your views on my situation and thank you for taking the time to read my post.
msf
If your dream job is in finance, how the hell did you end up in engineering?
When I applied to university, I wasn't sure about this. Engineering gave me the flexibility of switching to finance via business school, the other way around is nearly impossible. To be honest, if I get a good business school thanks to Imperial, I would still feel my choices were right.
So stick to engineering then. I don't think you will like finance, and you don't even what it's like to work in the engineering field.
And you need more than 2 years of experience for an MBA an MSF is better for the transition but I really think you're making a mistake.
did you consider taking a gap year to do internships prior to potentially pursuing the MSF? I guess internships will make you an even more attractive candidate, too
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