Choosing Between MBA Or CFA For A Much Better Finance Career

Both CFA and MBA qualification have the potential for advancing your career in finance. There are actually benefits and drawbacks of each, but is there any that can help you heighten up your career ladder?

As a matter of fact, the CFA charter is a grueling badge of honor that needs about 300 hours of study for each of the levels, in terms of heavy technical knowledge, asset management and the keenness to show off its value of the sell-side. On the other hand, the MBA is the route into a banking job investment, most especially in the United States, but also the job opportunities, which have been squeezed, as the firms cut back on hiring in the past years.  

Here’s how you can decide better about which one’s right for you:

Earning potential and cost

In the financial services, the average earnings for the MBAs in the United State is about $107K and $128L in the Western Europe. On average, it takes about three and a half years to get back into the black right after an MBA. Although, there will always be outliers. On the other hand, the CFA is a much cheaper option. It all depends on when you register for your examination, it comes at about $1,000- $2000. By contract, the tuition fees at the top business schools come in at about $65 up to $100L and that you can also add up to $40,000 on books as well as accommodation costs, and this is all before the living expenses are being factored in.

Career Options

Most of the business schools around demand about five years of work experience from those that they take on to their MBA programs. Usually, the CFA is taken by people at an early stage of their career, by the undergraduates or by those that are studying for the Masters in Finance qualification. Still, investment banking is the most popular career choice within the finance industry for the MBAs, but the gap is somewhat closing, most especially that the firms are reluctant to bring in the MBAs to their sales as well as trading figures. As a matter of fact, most of the people being hired by these investment banks are in the early teens and they are somewhat competitive and being hired to go through the formal associate programs.

Whichever program you choose, both CFA and MBA are valuable. Keep in mind, these certifications are only tools that one can use to standout a tad bit. Experience and networking are always the important spices to succeed.