Results of sixth survey

CFA or MBA (or both)?

Number of readers of my blog ask me whether it is a good time now to start CFA or MBA degree. In this post I will discuss pros and cons of starting any degree program at the moment.
As you know markets are stagnant now, there is informal hiring freeze and in fact short-term prospects are really bad. No one knows when markets will be back to previous state again. It maybe a year or even three. This timing is the biggest risk for your decision whether to move into further education or not.
If the markets rebound quickly, its pretty save to start let say 1-year MBA. When you finish your degree you will be in a good position to get on board in major investment bank. On the other hand if you decide to quit your current job and start your MBA now and if the markets are stagnant when you graduate you may be really unhappy that you did it.
So the solution is as follows: If you really believe that the downturn will be short go for good MBA program (you even still have time to apply). If your expectations render to be correct you will be in perfect position to accelerate you career when the markets rebound (this time with MBA). If you think that downturn will be longer, or you really don’t know think rather about CFA that will allow you to improve your qualifications while still on the job. In comparison to MBA CFA is much more flexible and much more cost-efficient, but you must remember that finishing CFA is minimum 2,5 year now.