and thats kind of the rub. Say youre a recent graduate with a masters degree in civil engineering from Cal-Tech. Statuatory requirement for attaining a PE license will still likely require minimum of 3 yrs work under other licensed PEs (in most states). Thus, if an opening you’re pursuing is requiring a PE license, someone who has attained that license (whether or not being college degreed) stands a better chance in pursuing said opening, despite your pedigreed academic credentials.

The employer requiring a license is more than likely looking for the experience that comes with having attained the license (the apprenticeship aspect). Again, I’m not talking software or proprietary certifications, but state sanctioned licenses, which is what a CPA is – if that is what the OP was referring to.

thanx KC

Maybe there isn’t a single “better” that applies to everyone. It would depend on their personality and learning style, among other things.

If we push everyone into a single mode, are we then missing out on some valuable talent along the way? Would some of these “different style” folk be able to bring a fresh perspective to business that would otherwise be lacking?

For example, a person can become a Professional Engineer (PE) without going to engineering school or getting a degree. I know PE’s who got their certification without going to college; I also know what they went through to prepare for the test. A lawyer can take the bar exam without law school. (Good luck.) This stems from the history of certain professions, at a time when college was not the path. Apprenticeship was. You’d go work with a lawyer (or accountant) who would train you, then you’d sit for the exam.

Almost makes you wonder: What’s better? A structured degree, or a few years’ apprenticeship, on the job training, one-on-one guidance and some book study – or a classroom for 4+? years?

Maybe the right angle is somewhere inbetween.

I think this is a key point:
** It becomes an exclusionary qualification, allowing computerized resume screens and HR junior staff resume reviewers to make the submitted resume pile smaller without regard to the job relevant experience or training**

If you want to consider how to defend yourself from being rejected inappropriately, you have to stay away from HR and the processing system. Always ask yourself, does my method of approaching this company enable it to judge me using an arbitrary or automated rule?

I’m referring to the CFA. Have experience with both and wouldn’t downplay the rigor of the CFA title, as I mentioned before.

But if you’ve taken the CFA we both know, that year 1 is multiple choice, which I aced without particular difficulty. Year two got a little sticky with some stuff on leasing which I ignored (not seeing the relevance). And the section on ethics seems to give many candidates problems because it doesn’t appear to be very quantitative but subjective. The topics on fixed income, currency and macro, I just took a quick glance at. So level II took 2 tries. After that it was smooth sailing since year 3 is portfolio management, which is not complex. After level2, the pass rates generally go up to 65%/70%

The books are excellent and very clearly written, by the way, and I still keep those on quantitive issues and valuation close at hand for quick reference.

Is obtaining a CFA a solid achievement? Of course it is. No doubt. But when you’re in a tier 1 MBA program, the preparation and the sacrifice to get in is tremendous, the academics are deep, you grow tremendously with your peers and you can obtain another view and understanding of the world around you given the breadth of the program.

My view is that companies can benefit in multi faceted ways from those employees who’ve taken the top MBA route.

Best, sm

Employers want to make job requirements easy to understand, both for the applicant and the HR professional who has to screen the resumes and cover letters before the interviews are offered. Of course, reducing the requirements to listings of certificates or licenses will exclude potential candidates who cannot meet those requirements. The ideal candidate will look at what it would take to meet any certificate or license requirements and obtain any they can.

Did you mean a CPA or a CFA?

The three-year CFA course is one of the toughest courses around, and many MBAs end up failing it (close to fifty-percent failure rate in the first year).

Many doors in the Investment Industry won’t even open for those without a CFA — even if they have an MBA.

The CFA course concentrates on subjects specific to the investment industry; so if you are referring to the CFA, that would be why it doesn’t cover the same depth as your MBA might have done.

MBA degrees have become a dime a dozen, and the value further depends on someone’s MBA major.

The swell of MBA’s in middle management is because there will never be enough executive jobs for them, and most of them do not have the potential to make it to the executive suites in any event. They end up settling for middle management.

I don’t have an MBA, but I spent approximately seven years completing all my various investment and finance designations, while working in the industry along side many MBAs. I have sat in meetings with MBA’s, wondering what on earth they did during their two years in MBA school.

Someone with industry designations and experience in the investment industry is far, far more valuable than an MBA out of college or with just a few years of experience.