Value of MBA (2nd Tier) + CFA in VC Industry
Hi,
I am an MBA (Finance) from 2nd Tier B-School (December 2005 Grad). I am trying hard to get into VC Industry, however, lack of direct I-Banking and/or PE/VC experience are putting my odds against me.
I am planning for CFA Level 1 exam. However, before that I wanted to get the idea on how much worth it would to invest time and money for CFA. Will it give me good base or good position to enter at Entry Level in VC??
Other option, I had, was to get into 1 year MS Program (finance specialization) from Top School. However, after MBA, doing MS, I am not sure, will it be a good move. Also, compared to CFA, 1 year top MS program (Full-Time) are costly too !! However, if that program gaurantees some better success rate in VC program compared to CFA, I would like to go for it.
Please share your experience.
Thanks & Regards, Rita
CFA level 1 is a joke. it is multiple choice, mostly undergrad concepts. it will cost you about 800 initial test fees, and 600 for books. time will cost you 250-400 hours depending on what you know. i dont think cfa level 1 alone will give you entry into VC. much too easy of a test.
I don't think CFA be any benefit to getting a job in VC industry... Having CPA might help in PE/VC, but I don't think CFA is good for PE/VC at all. CFA is mostly for the people in the wealth mgmt industry.
rita,
if banking/pe/vc eludes you at this point in time, don't waste even more time pursuing a cfa. to most finance professionals, the cfa designation is pretty worthless unless you want to do research.
some people may disagree, but i honestly believe that your best bet in terms of getting into vc/pe at this stage is to work in industry for a couple of years and learn that industry inside out.
for example, if you were able to land a corporate development job at a tech or healthcare start-up, you'd have the dual advantages of being able to i) learn your industry and ii) be bought (potentially) by a pe shop.
the real value in vc/pe isn't finance and modeling; rather, it's business fundamentals, knowing an industry, and knowing how you could make money in that industry. this situation is even more apparent in vc, where companies often don't even have enough information for you to construct a dcf model. what good will your finance degree do you then?
CFA is nice, but probably not worth your time if your goal is VC. Perhaps work for tech / healthcare start-ups and get to know the industries well. then start knocking on the VC doors
(note - I'm in banking not VC)
wow, level 1 CFA AFTER mba? disgrace!
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