Posted by: justcurious July 6, 2010
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Thank you for your response Mr. JavaBeans.
I want to clarify a few things first:
1. I am not interested in financial engineering (quant role). I made this obvious in my 1st post when I said that I am not looking to apply to princeton, berkeley and Chicago's programs since these programs are more geared towards preparing students for quant roles.
2. I do understand that work experience is more valuable than graduate level education for success in asset management/ investment analysis roles. My decision to pursue graduate education is more out of lack of opportunities (with an undergraduate degree from an average university) rather than choice.
I started looking for entry level finance job right after entering senior year in college. Even before that I tried hard to network as much as I could by joining professional organizations/honor societies, attending career fairs and so on. I even had the opportunity to interview for an equity analyst position at a highly regarded trading firm. However, despite by persistent efforts, I have not been able to find even a decent finance job. Its been ridiculously frustrating. The biggest drawback for me has been my non-resident status. In about 75% of the applications that I have filled the employers ask whether I would require visa sponsorship now or anytime in the future. Once you choose yes, my experience has been that you never hear back from the employer. I have recently accepted an accounting position but I am absolutely adamant on shaping my career in finance because finance is what I am passionate about. Although I respect your opinion, I really feel that at this point a graduate level finance degree from a top institution will give me the best opportunity to enter the realm of investment banking or asset management.
Don't get me wrong. I understand where you are coming from. If I had an undergraduate degree from a top of the league university (like you do), then I am absolutely confident that I wouldn't be in this situation. It's frustrating to see some of my american friends, who struggle even to understand a simple regression model, land good finance jobs. It's not that I didn't make the effort. Please suggest me a better option if you have one?
I want to clarify a few things first:
1. I am not interested in financial engineering (quant role). I made this obvious in my 1st post when I said that I am not looking to apply to princeton, berkeley and Chicago's programs since these programs are more geared towards preparing students for quant roles.
2. I do understand that work experience is more valuable than graduate level education for success in asset management/ investment analysis roles. My decision to pursue graduate education is more out of lack of opportunities (with an undergraduate degree from an average university) rather than choice.
I started looking for entry level finance job right after entering senior year in college. Even before that I tried hard to network as much as I could by joining professional organizations/honor societies, attending career fairs and so on. I even had the opportunity to interview for an equity analyst position at a highly regarded trading firm. However, despite by persistent efforts, I have not been able to find even a decent finance job. Its been ridiculously frustrating. The biggest drawback for me has been my non-resident status. In about 75% of the applications that I have filled the employers ask whether I would require visa sponsorship now or anytime in the future. Once you choose yes, my experience has been that you never hear back from the employer. I have recently accepted an accounting position but I am absolutely adamant on shaping my career in finance because finance is what I am passionate about. Although I respect your opinion, I really feel that at this point a graduate level finance degree from a top institution will give me the best opportunity to enter the realm of investment banking or asset management.
Don't get me wrong. I understand where you are coming from. If I had an undergraduate degree from a top of the league university (like you do), then I am absolutely confident that I wouldn't be in this situation. It's frustrating to see some of my american friends, who struggle even to understand a simple regression model, land good finance jobs. It's not that I didn't make the effort. Please suggest me a better option if you have one?