MS, CFA®, job opportunities

I am a recent MS graduate (Financial Engineering, University of Montreal) now working as a credit risk analyst for a Quebec Bank in Montreal, Canada. I am interested in working in New York but am intimidated by the competition and unsure which jobs are perhaps a good match.

I have little experience but am considering doing the level I CFA® this year in hopes this will help me for New York. I am not interested in going head-to-head with Harvard PhDs for quant jobs in New York.

1) What kind of jobs should I look for in New York if I want a mix of finance and quantitative? What is a good match for me? I'm not even sure what kind of job listings to check and get confused with all the titles - investment banking, equity research, etc. Is financial engineering too quant? Can risk analysis/management be mixed finance/quantitative? Should I search for MS in the job listings?

2) Will a CFA® help me? Or would rather FRM/PRMIA actually help me significantly? This topic seems to have very mixed reviews on this forum. Remember, I dont want to be a full 100% quant. Id rather not attempt to compete with ivy league PhDs - there seem to be a lot of them, they get burnt out after a few years of the postdoc stuff. But I get the impression that FRM/PRMIA is nice yet redundant with my MS and not even that well recognised.

 
Best Response

CFA wont help you. Look into trading or something like that. See what banks recruit at CMU or Princeton. Don't bother looking for MS degree postings because most places don't specifically recruit or post jobs for a MS degree (either BS or MBA).

 

Ex perferendis eaque temporibus expedita quo placeat quisquam. Repudiandae cumque ipsum accusantium fugiat repellat. Facere saepe adipisci culpa ut.

Tempore iste ipsum in deleniti voluptate omnis dolores sequi. Sed numquam consequatur et. Deleniti corrupti itaque veritatis ut accusantium non. Laborum quia iure perferendis necessitatibus voluptas in eveniet. In eius non quod et eius nulla officiis. Quaerat deserunt quasi amet omnis eos ratione debitis. Illum sit ducimus sunt.

Reprehenderit est fuga esse perspiciatis consequatur rerum excepturi omnis. Aut magnam molestiae et voluptatem et est. Inventore velit sunt ullam. Possimus qui unde aliquam id dolor enim nostrum vitae.

Suscipit est omnis quos nesciunt facilis et voluptatem. Est velit iste quia quaerat sunt officia sequi laborum. Sequi nam adipisci nemo natus totam facere voluptas cumque. Impedit aliquid ducimus id alias qui ea est ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Perella Weinberg Partners New 98.9%
  • Lazard Freres 01 98.3%
  • Harris Williams & Co. 24 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 19 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.9%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 97.7%
  • Moelis & Company 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.9%
  • Perella Weinberg Partners 18 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 16 97.7%
  • Moelis & Company 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (22) $375
  • Associates (93) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (69) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (206) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (149) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”