Anybody have a career related to markets, but no necessarily trading?

[Crispy]

Quote from Cdntrader:

I'm curious why anyone would want to become an analyst, when its well know they are wrong most of the time.

The majority of the street does not get access to the really good analysts. The good ones farm out their views as consultants to funds, family offices and pensions. Believe me man, there are some analysts that crush it...but they aren’t on cnbc, yahoo finance or bloomberg tooting horns or at sell side firms putting out recommendations for the world to see.

You want the good stuff you need to pay up. And big.

 

[pistolpt]

Quote from Ash1972:

Does anyone with a CFA or MBA (top school or otherwise) understand any of the following?

1. To make money trading, you need a long term, provable statistical edge.

2. You need truly superior levels of PATIENCE and EMOTIONAL CONTROL to allow that edge to work.

If they do it had nothing to do with the MBA/CFA, which IMO merely furnish you with the skills to look good and talk about "new paradigms" whenever the next bubble comes along.

Really successful traders are incredibly independent thinkers, often to the point of seeming nuts; the desire to get a "name" MBA shows an all too familiar tendency to think like the herd.

Yes, CFA and MBA have jack to do with being a good trader.

 

[newwurldmn]

Quote from Ash1972:

That's great. With her salary she can top up your trading account each time you blow up

While you are flipping burgers for your next $2000 forex account.

Seriously, all education is good. What you make of it comes from you. Clearly doing the CFA won't make you a worse trader. It might make you a better one. Someone who takes the CFA doesn't automatically become a good trader either.

But to dismiss any education as a waste of time is smallminded. If you are truly talented as a trader, wouldn't a great trade be going to a top MBA school which can get you to the big table where you can make millions instead of putzing around with a 10,000 account?

 

[Froglet]

IF one has a MBA + CFA, then they can't make any excuses. But one that doesn't have either should at least strive to become better.

I've ordered my LEVEL 1 exam, and I'm thinking about the MBA, maybe 2 courses, but it might seem overload. I'll see what financial aid can give me.

 

[Froglet]

Quote from Ash1972:

If you admire MBAs / CFAs etc. after all that's happened since 2007, you are truly beyond help.. truly. Guess that's why so many posters use ET as a sort of free therapy site.

Ever heard these quips?

MBA = Master of Bugger All
MBA = Mediocre But Arrogant

They come from the hiring managers interviewing MBAs. I feel sorry for those who think they need to saddle themselves with large amounts of debt to get a good job.

I want to be more involved w/ the markets, but I don't necessarily want to do trading. I can trade on the side here and there, but I'm just like the average retail guy here that can't afford the time and money to day trade. Not to mention, having more losses than gains. That's the truth though. Everyone talks like they are some pro-trader w/ consistant profits that can pay their loans, but that's too far-fetched.

Trading today is very different from 10-20 years ago, and the approach is no longer the same. Chasing already narrow spreads make it very difficult to profit.

I'm at a point where I want stability, security and enjoyment. I don't need the fancy glitz and glamor that people attribute w/ 'trading'. I want to just be in a more dynamic environment and be a part of a team that's PROVEN in the INDUSTRY, not some guy behind a computer talking theories of life.

And I agree w/ the post about dismissing education. Why would someone do that? I"m not trying to get into debt, but this is the line in the sand for me. If I cannot get the financial aid, I'll reconsider the MBA, and focus my studies on the CFA.

I ultimately want the MBA, but I"ll see where I stand at my current position as a clerk. I've been a clerk for nearly 4+ years now, and expect a raise, and more guidance in my career growth.

 

[newwurldmn]

I still think a good job in Finance is research analyst: it has a good risk/reward and isn't too strenious and has a lot of longevity.

The second best job is risk manager. You get to work on interesting projects and have the ultimate career stability

 

[Ash1972]

Quote from newwurldmn:

While you are flipping burgers for your next $2000 forex account.

Seriously, all education is good. What you make of it comes from you. Clearly doing the CFA won't make you a worse trader. It might make you a better one. Someone who takes the CFA doesn't automatically become a good trader either.

But to dismiss any education as a waste of time is smallminded. If you are truly talented as a trader, wouldn't a great trade be going to a top MBA school which can get you to the big table where you can make millions instead of putzing around with a 10,000 account?

All valid points (apart from the one about flipping burgers - I'd probably burn them..) I cannot deny that some people have done extremely well out of an MBA, particularly those that got their timing right. I just tend to be sceptical about the mindset that thinks "I just need to get this great name MBA and I'm made for life". It is rather herd like.

PLUS the actual content of an MBA course may be detrimental to the unwary. MBAs tend to teach a plausible but totally incorrect approach to markets. The smartest MBA graduates would be aware of the need to "unlearn" certain parts of the course.

 

[Ash1972]

Quote from Froglet:

I want to be more involved w/ the markets, but I don't necessarily want to do trading. I can trade on the side here and there, but I'm just like the average retail guy here that can't afford the time and money to day trade. Not to mention, having more losses than gains. That's the truth though. Everyone talks like they are some pro-trader w/ consistant profits that can pay their loans, but that's too far-fetched.

Trading today is very different from 10-20 years ago, and the approach is no longer the same. Chasing already narrow spreads make it very difficult to profit.

I'm at a point where I want stability, security and enjoyment. I don't need the fancy glitz and glamor that people attribute w/ 'trading'. I want to just be in a more dynamic environment and be a part of a team that's PROVEN in the INDUSTRY, not some guy behind a computer talking theories of life.

And I agree w/ the post about dismissing education. Why would someone do that? I"m not trying to get into debt, but this is the line in the sand for me. If I cannot get the financial aid, I'll reconsider the MBA, and focus my studies on the CFA.

I ultimately want the MBA, but I"ll see where I stand at my current position as a clerk. I've been a clerk for nearly 4+ years now, and expect a raise, and more guidance in my career growth.

I honestly think you're in the wrong part of the economic cycle to count on an MBA qualification getting you into a good job.

Have you considered IT/programming within banking? It's an oft overlooked career path. If you can master a programming language (C# is the one I would recommend) and get to know a couple of business areas/product lines really well you could have a seriously rewarding career working directly with end users such as traders and risk managers. The beauty is you end up with expertise in two areas: the technology and the business domain.

 

[newwurldmn]

Quote from Ash1972:

All valid points (apart from the one about flipping burgers - I'd probably burn them..) I cannot deny that some people have done extremely well out of an MBA, particularly those that got their timing right. I just tend to be sceptical about the mindset that thinks "I just need to get this great name MBA and I'm made for life". It is rather herd like.

PLUS the actual content of an MBA course may be detrimental to the unwary. MBAs tend to teach a plausible but totally incorrect approach to markets. The smartest MBA graduates would be aware of the need to "unlearn" certain parts of the course.

Who cares about the herd? Have you done any business courses? The knowledge thought in them is very fundamental. It's not enough to make you a successful trader by itself, but it's important to understanding other aspects than your specialization.

Don't dismiss the MBA. It wasn't for me, but I can see why someone would do it

Regarding burning burgers the guy at the grill store said a ceramic charcoal grill males is hArder to burn stuff. I'm tempted to get a big green egg.

 

[Ash1972]

Quote from newwurldmn:

Who cares about the herd? Have you done any business courses? The knowledge thought in them is very fundamental. It's not enough to make you a successful trader by itself, but it's important to understanding other aspects than your specialization.

Don't dismiss the MBA. It wasn't for me, but I can see why someone would do it

But we've already agreed it's the NAME that matters. There are a thousand MBA courses that will teach you useful business skills, but when it comes to getting a prized job, it's coming from the top 5 schools (worldwide?) that matters. Hence we have an extremely narrow range of people making the key decisions in society. In fact
having a top tier MBA is necessary to show you belong to this club.

Nobody spending $150K on a Harvard MBA is doing it because the accounting or equity analysis courses are superior. It's to show they made it into the club.