Quant apply for MBA, reasonable?

[vendetta]

HI, all

I m a quant in i-bank and wanna apply for MBA programs to shift my career into PE/VC/HF, or more front in financial industry.

It's generally said that b school welcomes ppl from various backgrounds but in my circle, i see few MBAs with quant background.
So i wonder whether b-school actually recruits quant for MBA programs, instead of MFE/MSF.

Does anyone here share something about this puzzle or offer some advice abt my career development? Thank u very much.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Why not take the CFA exams and be done with. Are you trying to move from technical to more management role?

 

[vendetta]

Hi, Andy. Thank you for your reply.
Yes, i m taking CFA exams, but not gone thru with them.
R u implying that quant is more likely to get enrolled into MBA programs with CFA certificates, as a proof of willingness to shift the career?

Thank you very much.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I'm not saying anything about MBA programs. I'm just trying to understand the logical explanation to go back to school and get MBA degree.
Are you saying you can't get into the field of your choice without MBA?
I don't have MBA or know anyone with one so maybe you can get better advice from some forum that the MBA crowd frequents.

 

[thatsku]

vendetta,

Andy raises a good point. Why are you contemplating on pursuing a MBA? If you're looking for financial knowledge, I would say the CFA is much more beneficial to you... and obviously if you're looking for studies in quantitative finance, then a MFE would be best...

I wouldn't say quants or people with a quantitative finance background has a lesser chance of getting into an MBA. Are you aware that there's a quantitative finance and MBA joint program at NYU?

IMO, MBA admissions come down to your work history, your contributions to your professional team, your ability to grow within the organization, your capacity for leadership, etc... Hope this helps.

 

[eric]

It's not unreasonble to do an MBA "post-quant", but know what you want before you commit your time and money.

PE, HF and VCs are very different animals, and just simply doing an MBA will likely not directly get you into any of them. Find out what you want to do. Do you want to work for non-banks as opposed to banks? If you do, do you want to apply your quant skills in a corporate setting (financial modelling, valuations, etc ...)? Or do you want to do things that are entirely qualitative (e.g. gasp ... Integration/HR)? OR do you want to work in the financial markets for asset managers (PE/HFs)? Or for banks (Prop desks)? Or do you want to be a "front-line" staff aka salesperson?

I see you want to work "more front in financial industry" but I'm not sure I know what that means ...