Will a top Canadian MBA and the CFA get me to IB from big 4 consulting?

Hi all, gonna make this short and sweet:

I'm currently in big 4 consulting doing "finance" work (costing, budgeting, finance strategy, financial systems). I also passed the CFA level 2 and have had experience in financial planning.

I recently completed my GMAT and got a 733, I think I can make it into a top 5 school given my resume and gmat, however, I'm trying to see if it's really worth it.

After some introspection, I came to the conclusion that I will not be happy with my MBA investment if I do not AT LEAST get into IB as an associate.

I'm also planning to write CFA level 3 if I decide to go down this route.

I'm 26.

Thoughts?

 
Most Helpful

It will put you in contention, that alone isn't enough to get you in. Please don't take this as me trying to put you down or be condescending, not my intention.

A large chunk of every Canadian MBA class wants to get into banking, and overall associate hiring is miniscule compared to the US, i.e. large candidate pool competing for a small number of openings. Combine that with Big 4 finance / consulting / tech backgrounds being a dime a dozen at the MBA cohorts. Not saying this to put you down in any way, just to point out you need to differentiate yourself in some way - things like case competitions (not just participating, being a finalist or winning), networking your ass off and making solid impressions etc.

Bottom line is the MBA will give you access, CFA will help, but those alone won't get you in. Tons of other factors - networking being number 1, grades of course, extracurriculars, case comps and luck.

 

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