MBA v. FA

Are you serious.  You are going to quit with three classes left?  Suck it up!!!!  You need to work long hours as  an FA., if you are working and going to class at night it will look good on your resume.

Education NEVER hurts.

I hope your MBA is in Finance

I wasn’t suggesting that I was not going to finish the MBA program, I’d
be kicking myself in the ass if I didn’t finish.  Basically, I am
inquiring if it is feasible to do both (start as a FA and continue to go to school).  Or if it makes more sense to finish the MBA program then get into the biz.  I am currently working full time in a school district and bringing in about $47,000 per year.

It seems that many who try to be FAs don't make it far.  If you are one of the unlucky ones it cetainly would be better to have an MBA.

I'm a not an FA, but I may become one soon.  I just received my MBA from NYU/Stern.  While I don't think it will be critical to my success as an FA, I certainly feel that it would help me run my business.

Rookie:

Stop being such a little girl. Youve been in classes for three years and have three left and you are going to quit. An MBA is huge no matter what you wanna do, you need to stop crying and take your tampon out.

By the way the MBA is just a general management MBA.  If I were to
concentrate ion Finance that would add another year to the coursework
(something I’ve seriously considered doing).

Wow Keith…do you kiss your mother with that mouth…please refer to my reply to MAYBEEEE before being a d*ck.

I don't think the MBA is important enough to your career as an FA that you can't postpone it a bit.  At the same time, it is certainly possible that if you are successful in this business, that you'll struggle later to find the time to finish.  The last point to add a little confusion to the mix, is that it is also possible, that while the MBA is not very relevant to a career choice as an FA, it could improve your success rate with prospects if they recognize the designation and it makes it easier to gain their trust.

Given the fact that you're making reasonable money (and probably more than you would as a brand new FA), and are close to finishing, I would seriously consider finishing first, and setting aside a cash reserve of at least $10,000 before you take a shot at being an FA.

Suspect you are a straight through MBA'er? More or less 6 years straight?

Either way get the MBA.. Do you have contacts? Do you have sales, networking, interviewing experience? Is your famiy/friends loaded? How old are you?

your 34?

Do you have family to support you during the stress? Better if no wife and kids..

Unless they motivate you…

<span =“bold”>7GOD63, I’ve been
in the Education field for 10 years, went back to B-school 3 years ago,
undergraduate was in History.  I have a wife and a two-year old
son.  Only sales experience has been some telemarketing I did as
an undergraduate.

an mba will not help you much, it could hurt you as an FA.  people who get bogged down in the analytical side are at a disadvantage.  you dont need to be smart or well educated, you just need to bring in clients... also, i have no idea where you got your MBA but I hope to god you can get a better job w/ it than being a rookie broker.  if its from some random diploma mill you may not, but why would you get an mba if all youre going to do w/ it is be a broker?

"also, i have no idea where you got your MBA but I hope to god you can get a better job w/ it than being a rookie broker."



I will receive my MBA from the University of Texas at El Paso, 
your comment about getting a better job than a rookie broker is thought
provoking.

You can do it. I studied for the series 7, got married and doubled up on

classes for my MBA while working 50+hours a week. It is amazing what

you can accomplish when you totally eliminate all “down time” during

your day. “I shall finish the game” -Young Guns II

What’s wrong with having a masters and being a broker. I bet there are plenty.

"What's wrong with having a masters and being a broker. I bet there are plenty."

im sure there are plenty, there are also people at Lowe's w/ masters degrees.  theres nothing 'wrong' per se, its just not necessary to have masters degree if you want to be a salesmen.  it makes more sense to get a masters degree and then get a job that has a barrier to entry requiring that degree.  obviously an mba is pretty open-ended, but there are still a ton of  jobs that require or strongly prefer having an mba.  broker is not one of those positions. 

[quote=ezmoney]What's wrong with having a masters and being a broker. I bet there are plenty.[/quote]

I'm one and I've yet to see it as a disadvantage. OTOH, some industry designation, like CFP, would be a better thing to have on the wall, imho.

I had my interview with AGE this morning.  After considerable
thought, I came to the conclusion the right now isn’t the right time
for me to get in the business.  I explained to the branch manager
that I thought it would be best to finish the MBA, then reevaluate my
options, he agreed.



We had an interesting discussion concerning what I could do between now
and then to better prepare myself for the transition between
careers.  Besides networking, obviously, he suggested I read “The
Millionaire Next Door”, keep up on the industry, stay in touch
quarterly, and build up a savings to dip into if I need to.  I’m
interested in hearing what you think should be done a year out from
becoming a FA. 

I recently got my MBA and have had major difficulties getting another
job.  I have been in the IT sector for about 8 years now and wanted to transition in the financial industry, but was met with some major obstacles.  I live in the DC area and got my MBA from a major university,
but no one seem to want a MBA graduate without formal business
experience.  So people shouldn’t think that an MBA is a license to get any job out there, but it did give me a great deal of business knowledge that I hope to utilize in the financial services industry.

[quote=rookie72]I had my interview with AGE this morning.  After considerable thought, I came to the conclusion the right now isn't the right time for me to get in the business.  I explained to the branch manager that I thought it would be best to finish the MBA, then reevaluate my options, he agreed.

We had an interesting discussion concerning what I could do between now and then to better prepare myself for the transition between careers.  Besides networking, obviously, he suggested I read "The Millionaire Next Door", keep up on the industry, stay in touch quarterly, and build up a savings to dip into if I need to.  I'm interested in hearing what you think should be done a year out from becoming a FA. 
[/quote]

id be wary of any place that wants you to build up a savings

Hell yeah man.. That book should be a course in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. People now a days don't have a clue and the "Millionare Next Door" & "Millionare Mind" lead the way on common sense to be successful in life!

Good advice I would trust the guy.

It's amazing- I also have an MBA that I just completed 6 months ago and haven't been able to find work since. I've worked various jobs while in undergrad and grad school. Before that time, I interned at the best sports network in the world in marketing for 3 months and with a professional basketball organization in PR for 5 months (undergrad major was sport & entertainment management).

My dual-concentration in the MBA program was entrepreneurship & finance. I can't even get an interview and I feel as though I just don't have enough or the right experience. I have hardly any sales experience and I AM limiting myself to Central New York which makes it tougher.

I know eventually I NEED to run my own business. I can't stand the thought of being a 'yes-man' (no offense to those employees out there). I'm 26- so I feel like I need to get going. At the same time, I know I want a big challenge and don't mind taking a risk (no kids yet).

I've looked into Edward Jones because:

a.) they're one of the highest ranks firms to work for in the U.S. (#16 in Forbes)

b.) being a financial advisor (or is it adviser) is one of the "best jobs" to have in the U.S. (#3 in Forbes)

I'm no stranger to hard work, I just want my hard work to pay off down the line. Suggestions on my fit for this industry, based off what you know?

[quote=NeverIffey3]

It’s amazing- I also have an MBA that I just completed 6 months ago and haven’t been able to find work since. I’ve worked various jobs while in undergrad and grad school. Before that time, I interned at the best sports network in the world in marketing for 3 months and with a professional basketball organization in PR for 5 months (undergrad major was sport & entertainment management).

My dual-concentration in the MBA program was entrepreneurship & finance. I can't even get an interview and I feel as though I just don't have enough or the right experience. I have hardly any sales experience and I AM limiting myself to Central New York which makes it tougher.

I know eventually I NEED to run my own business. I can't stand the thought of being a 'yes-man' (no offense to those employees out there). I'm 26- so I feel like I need to get going. At the same time, I know I want a big challenge and don't mind taking a risk (no kids yet).

I've looked into Edward Jones because:

a.) they're one of the highest ranks firms to work for in the U.S. (#16 in Forbes)

b.) being a financial advisor (or is it adviser) is one of the "best jobs" to have in the U.S. (#3 in Forbes)

I'm no stranger to hard work, I just want my hard work to pay off down the line. Suggestions on my fit for this industry, based off what you know?

I have not had a paid job for longer than 1 year. I worked for 8 months in New York City before I went to grad. school.

Jones would work as a start…you may feel overqualified at times once you get there (despite your lack of work experience); at a min you’ll feel way overeducated (if that’s a word…).  The beauty of the career is it provides exactly what it sounds like you want (control of time, income, geographic location, no travel, interesting work, etc) IF you put in the mentally and emotionally grueling energy to survive.  They do a decent job giving you their “recipe” on how to build the beginnings of a successfuly business.  Once you have even the slightest proof that you will make it long term, you’ll have more options than you can shake a stick at–maybe that’s 3-4 years into it.  Then it’s all good, even if it’s not all easy by then, but you’ll be on a great path.

Cracks me up how many people run out and get there MBA and have no idea what they want to do for a living…  I wish I could buy stock in state universities