Career Transition
I'm looking for any advice regarding a career transition.
Brief backgound: I have a PhD in psychology and currently have a private practice. I have several years of research experience, currently teach statistics courses, etc. I'm looking to transition from private practice to finance (e.g., asset management). I have just started an MS in Finance program and am scheduled to write the CFA Level I in June 2008. I was thinking of thinking of trying to get some part-time work at a local boutique next year after having a year of Finance school under my belt and hopefully passing Level I. Given my background, equity research seems to be the best way for me to transition into the finance industry. Few questions. Do I have any realistic chance of making this transition? Am I taking the right path? Anything I should be doing differently?
Ideally, you should have pursued an MBA at a top 10 program and used your summer internship to leverage a full-time finance opportunity. However, your advanced degrees demonstrate your intellectual capacity and dedication to hard work. I think you should have no problem landing an IM job after passing level I and networking your ass off. I have a BA in Psychology (what a waste of time) but was able to land a PE job through networking and busting my ass. It can be done. Good luck.
Thanks for your comments. Being a sole provider for a wife and two young kids restricted my MBA and summer internship pursuits. Do you think a BB like Lehman's would look at me or are they mostly interested in the top 10 MBAs? Again, thanks.
I don't rate your chances unless you have some quite senior connections. Even then, I don't think it may be the right choice for you.
"Equity Research" is nothing like the "Research" that you have done for statistics - a more appropriate job description is "Equity Analysis".
You are probably too old to come in at the first year analyst level but, to come in at a more senior level, a bank would want you to bring some industry experience to the table. Unfortunately there aren't may investable equities that relate to psychology.
Even if you do get a junior position, it's going to play havoc with your family life - you won't see your kids outside of the weekend (you'll go to work before they wake up and arrive home after they've gone to bed).
A PhD shows you have book smarts. Your statistics teaching and private practice show that people listen to and trust you. I would think that your background and family situation would make you very suitable for private wealth management.
This forum is quite elitist and you'll see a lot of derogatory comments about PWM but it's a very good job by most peoples standards.
Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
No offense taken. I'm looking for any kind of feedback. I see your point about PWM. I'm not a salesman. I have great interpersonal skills, etc. but I just don't do well with the cold calling side. Would this be a huge drawback in PWM? Do you think that the CFA is a necessary pursuit for PWM or a waste of time? Also, aside from networking, any thoughts about the best route to take to get into PWM? Sorry to rapid fire so many questions. Any advice is appreciated.
To the layperson, "private wealth manager" sounds similar to "independent financial advisor". Don't worry, it's not the same. IFAs are basically pension salespeople whereas PWM is looking after the money of high net worth individuals.
If you work for a large investment bank (especially a Swiss one!), there will be little or no cold calling - or at least the leads will be warm (they will already be customers of the bank in another form).
I'm speculating but I think CFA would look impressive to a prospective PWM client, although a PhD and MS in Finance would also look very good as well. You're basically like a family doctor for their money - recommending portfolio construction and financial services that fit their needs. If we continue to medical analogy, an equity analyst would be akin to a specialist surgeon - detailed knowledge in a narrow field but largely ignorant of other fields - while PWM would know a little about a lot of areas. The key is whether the client trusts you with their money - and hence why I think your interpersonal skills would be an advantage.
I've never looked into it so a don't know the traditional, or non-traditional, routes into PWM. I would think a good starting point would be to speak to the HR departments at the big banks for their opinions and go from there.
Hope this helps.
Very helpful. Thanks for your time.
Another prospective field would be to aim slightly lower. Middle market boutiques, specialist advisory and even some niche players would be interested in you. Obviously, you fall outside the very rigid structures that the BB's want, this doesn't mean you aren't qualified etc. It's just they have set it up to make it easy for them.
It will take a little more work on your part, but there is definitely a place for a self-starter with an advanced degree. You need to get a few people on your side, is all.
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