Is it prudent to leave a job mid career to pursue CFA course
Hello,
I'm a Bachelor of Commerce & Accountancy (Honors) and currently working full-time with a MNC bank at a junior managerial position in India. I have overall experience of over 6 years various back office roles (Fund Administration, Portfolio Valuations, Fund Reconciliations, etc). My job requires me to spend around 10-13 hours in office around 5 days a week.
I have in the past 6 years come across a lot of opportunities where I was told that I was ineligible because I merely hold a Bachelor's degree & do not have a Professional Qualification. I want to take my career forward from here and after doing my research I have come to a conclusion that a CFA or ACCA could better my chances at securing a middle office position in a Hedge Fund/FOF firm in India or abroad.
I have been planning to prepare myself for higher studies however my current job role would not allow me to study over the weekdays. On weekdays I'm leave home at around 9am and return around 11pm. Finally I've decided to pursue further education.
Therefore I'm planning to sit for the CFA Level 1 exam this December. I also want to quit my job and enroll with a good coaching center. This way I will have enough time to prepare as I have been out of studies for about 6 years now.
Now I have a few concerns regarding this.
Q1> If quit my job now to pursue the CFA course for the next 1.5-2 years will it affect my career adversely due to discontinuity?
Q2> What are the real chances of me securing a much better job after completing this course than what I'm already doing?
Q3> As I would be out of job for about 1.5-2 years would I have to start my career from scratch again or how easy/difficult would it be to secure that dream job post completion of the CFA course?
My thanks and regards to all those who can share their advice/feedback/suggestions. |