19831985

Making a mid-30s transition is totally doable. I got my MBA at 32 and didn't officially break into the investment industry (aside from years of real estate investment consulting) until I was 33. I didn't start working on my CFA until actually getting into the industry directly. I have a "regional" MBA and never worked in New York. I'm now 36 and awaiting L3 results and waiting for the return of my wife and kids from their "CFA vacation" that started in May.

Since my early mid-life crisis/decision to transition, I have had two great buy-side positions at a large university pension+endowment and a corporate pension fund. I was very focused in my search and identified positions in which I was truly interested and against which I could map my skills and education to demonstrate that I would be a strong organizational fit. I only applied for a handful of jobs but really spent the time on my approach to each potential position.

I didn't have a deep network when I sought out each job but I did leverage connections on LinkedIn of all places to conduct informational interviews and to get some inside information on both organizations. I think the key is to wring anything out of your previous career that can be applied to the industry you seek to enter. The toughest questions to deal with, though, are the "why know?" questions. Work on your story and your "elevator pitch" and you'll be on your way.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:32PM by ATH.

iteracom

Penny-wenny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> greengrape Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> >
> > People are not beating you down for the sake of
> > it, they're just telling you the realistic odds
> of
> > success. What you do is up to you.
> >
>
> "The realistic odds of success"...? just out of
> interest, what distributional assumptions (of the
> underlying stochastic process of course) are you
> incorporating in this theory you are developing?


The hardest part of breaking into finance is having a contact inside or a way to initiate conversation. The easiest method to do this is through your school. At 36 your far removed from your education and you don't have that option. All that is left is your personal network and the online application process (read garbage disposal). If you don't have a person with some sway inside advocating for them to view/consider your resume your going to have difficulity. It's not based on any hard numbers it's based on common sense.

I belong to another forum that discusses finance and every so often the CFA comes into discussion. They generally say the CFA is not a career changer and suggest an MBA for that. The only people they encourage to do the CFA are usually fresh graduates who missed their recruiting opportunites during school (as far as for breaking in purposes). I'm not saying this to discourage you. I really like the positive attitude on this forum and as someone said, "you only need one opportunity."

llxx

greengrape Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> People are not beating you down for the sake of
> it, they're just telling you the realistic odds of
> success. What you do is up to you.
>

"The realistic odds of success"...? just out of interest, what distributional assumptions (of the underlying stochastic process of course) are you incorporating in this theory you are developing?

smuggycfa

You're always going to hear of some example where someone made it against all odds. This forum is good because it gives people a healthy does of reality from people who actually work in this industry and have seen a lot.

People are not beating you down for the sake of it, they're just telling you the realistic odds of success. What you do is up to you.

"Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."

It's why people still play lottery even if the odds are 1 in 300 million

maryli

No one is telling some one what to do or what not to do. Changing careers is always tricky, given this environment even more so, so everyone is just given their own 2 cents. The decision is on the person

" Look before you leap" a quote from real life ..ps Movies lie !!!

ayaz_mahmud369

Telling someone that he/she cant do something because hes too old or because of gender or whatever is pathetic.

Here's a great line from one my favourite movies, The pursuit of happiness

"Don't ever let somebody tell you... you can't do something"

kickthatcfa

Hope I didn't sound too mean. You always have a chance but you probably should change the thinking from "what I want/what I can do" to "what the potential employer wants from me".
My situation is even worse. Being a financial journalist and a woman in 30s, in a city flooded with financial professionals - it is tough!

DSquaredSlim

Hey Step,

I'm in the same boat. But I don't give a crap what the replies are to your question. Just an obstacle that I'm going to overcome. There will be less opportunities, but you only need one.

huangxiaoxie

^ i think you need to change your name. great attitude.

hassan

ha ha many soothsayers... if you blow up a bit more maybe i'll get to see you all the way from here