u/ExcellentExpert5056

I've been going back and forth on this for ages and would really value some outside perspective.

Background

I'm in Australia. Straight out of high school I got into a biochem bachelor's with a pretty high test score — picked it because I had PhD aspirations at the time. I could've done a finance degree if I'd wanted (scores and interest were there). The reason I went biochem was personal — someone close to me. I lost that person, lost the motivation behind the whole path, and basically finished the degree on autopilot.

Did a Master of Occupational Therapy as a "fresh start." Could've pivoted to finance at that point too, but again personal stuff pushed me away from it — otherwise I would have. Did well in the OT program — decent GPA — but the whole time I was looking at stocks daily and doing market research , and constantly wanted to quit the program. Finished it anyway, got good at it, and eventually started my own clinic, which now brings in enough to live comfortably.

Friends gave me the standard "treat the job as the thing that funds your portfolio" advice. I tried. I do manage my own portfolio well. The issue is I still spend hours every night on equity research, and my mornings doing OT feel hard because it just isn't what I actually love.

What I actually want

I've thought hard about this, not just chasing prestige:

• IBD — M&A doesn't really align with my passion, 
• Management consulting via MBA — logical pivot, but not what I want. That said, I'd do it as a stepping stone if it helps.
• Quant — It's cool. Not sure if the edge is still there with AI booming lately.
• Equity research, eventually a buy-side seat — this is it. I want to be one of the people generating ideas.

Where I'm stuck

I don't have a finance background, so:

1. MBA — I could probably get into a decent program . But if my end goal is ER, not consulting, will an MBA alone do enough? Most non-traditional ER pivots I've read about are pharma PhDs or MDs leveraging deep sector knowledge. OT doesn't map onto any major listed names, so my healthcare angle isn't really sector-edge. I imagine if I do go for the MBA path, I might need to do extra study using resources like Fundamental Edge to supplement my knowledge.
2. Master of Finance — on paper teaches me what I'd actually use in the job (valuation, modelling, accounting). But I'm not sure it carries the same recruiting pipeline as an MBA, especially for a career changer. However, it feels more related to ER, and also opens the door to quant.

In Aus the "target school" thing seems to matter less than the US/UK, but USyd / UMel / UNSW are the obvious names. Open to going overseas but leaning toward staying.

What I'd love takes on

• For breaking into ER from a non-finance background, what actually works better — MBA (with internships + self-study) or MFin ( with internships) ?
• Anyone here pivoted into ER from a healthcare/clinical background that wasn't pharma/MD? How did you frame it?
• Anything you'd tell past-you in this spot?

Happy to hear "you're romanticising it" — would rather hear that now than after stalling for another two years.

Been going back and forth on this for ages and would really value some outside perspective.

Background

I'm in Australia. Straight out of high school I got into a biochem bachelor's with a pretty high test score — picked it because I had PhD aspirations at the time. Could've done a finance degree if I'd wanted, the marks were there. The reason I went biochem was personal — someone close to me. Lost that person, lost the motivation behind the whole path, and basically finished the degree on autopilot.

Did a Master of Occupational Therapy as a "fresh start." Could've pivoted to finance at that point too, but again personal reasons pushed me away from it — otherwise I would have. Did well in the OT program, decent GPA, but the whole time I was looking at stocks daily and doing market research, and constantly wanted to quit. Finished it anyway, got good at it, and eventually started my own clinic, which now brings in enough to live comfortably.

Friends gave me the standard "treat the job as the thing that funds your portfolio" advice. Tried that. I do manage my own portfolio well . The issue is I still spend hours every night on equity research, and my mornings feel tough because it just isn't what I actually love.

What I actually want

Thought hard about this, not just chasing prestige:

• IBD — not quite into M&A
• Management consulting via MBA — logical pivot, not what I want, but I'd do it as a stepping stone if it helps
• Quant — interested, not sure if it gonna be good with AI booming.
• Equity research, eventually a buy-side seat — this is it. Want to be one of the people generating the ideas.

Where I'm stuck

No finance background, so:

1. MBA — could probably get into a decent program. But if the end goal is ER not consulting, will an MBA alone do enough? Most non-traditional ER pivots I've read about are pharma PhDs or MDs leveraging deep sector knowledge. OT doesn't map onto any listed names in a meaningful way, so the healthcare angle isn't really sector edge for me. I imagine needing to do a lot of extra study, taking courses from Fundamental Edge etc.
2. Master of Finance — on paper teaches me what I'd actually use in the job (valuation, modelling, accounting). Not sure it carries the same recruiting pull as an MBA for a career changer though. However it feels more tied to ER

In Aus the "target school" thing seems to matter less than the US/UK, but USyd / UMel / UNSW are the obvious names. Open to going overseas but leaning toward staying here.

What I'd love takes on

• Breaking into ER from a non-finance background in Aus — what actually works better, MBA (with internships + self-study) or MFin?
• Anyone pivoted into ER from a healthcare/clinical background that wasn't pharma/MD? How'd you frame it?
• Would I be better off just grinding CFA + applying to junior buy-side analyst roles while keeping the clinic running for income?
• If you've been in a similar spot, what do you wish you'd known earlier?

Happy to hear "you're romanticising it" — rather cop that now than stall for another two years.

I've been going back and forth on this for ages and would really value some outside perspective.

Background

I'm in Mel. Straight out of high school I got into a biochem bachelor's with a pretty high test score — picked it because I had PhD aspirations at the time. I could've done a finance degree if I'd wanted (scores and interest were there). The reason I went biochem was personal — someone close to me. I lost that person, lost the motivation behind the whole path, and basically finished the degree on autopilot.

Did a Master of Occupational Therapy as a "fresh start." Could've pivoted to finance at that point too, but again personal stuff pushed me away from it — otherwise I would have. Did well in the OT program — decent WAM — but the whole time I was looking at stocks daily and doing market research , and constantly wanted to quit the program. Finished it anyway, got good at it, and eventually started my own clinic, which now brings in enough to live comfortably.

Friends gave me the standard "treat the job as the thing that funds your portfolio" advice. I tried. I do manage my own portfolio well. The issue is I still spend hours every night on equity research, and my mornings doing OT feel hard because it just isn't what I actually love.

What I actually want

I've thought hard about this, not just chasing prestige:

• IBD — M&A doesn't really align with my passion, 
• Management consulting via MBA — logical pivot, but not what I want. That said, I'd do it as a stepping stone if it helps.
• Quant — It's cool. Not sure if the edge is still there with AI booming lately.
• Equity research, eventually a buy-side seat — this is it. I want to be one of the people generating ideas.

Where I'm stuck

I don't have a finance background, so:

1. MBA — I could probably get into a decent program . But if my end goal is ER, not consulting, will an MBA alone do enough? Most non-traditional ER pivots I've read about are pharma PhDs or MDs leveraging deep sector knowledge. OT doesn't map onto any major listed names, so my healthcare angle isn't really sector-edge. I imagine if I do go for the MBA path, I might need to do extra study using resources like Fundamental Edge to supplement my knowledge.
2. Master of Finance — on paper teaches me what I'd actually use in the job (valuation, modelling, accounting). But I'm not sure it carries the same recruiting pipeline as an MBA, especially for a career changer. However, it feels more related to ER, and also opens the door to quant.

In Aus the "target school" thing seems to matter less than the US/UK, but USyd / UMel / UNSW are the obvious names. Open to going overseas but leaning toward staying.

What I'd love takes on

• For breaking into ER from a non-finance background, what actually works better — MBA (with internships + self-study) or MFin ( with internships of course) ?
• Anyone here pivoted into ER from a healthcare/clinical background that wasn't pharma/MD? How did you frame it?
• Anything you'd tell past-you in this spot?

Happy to hear "you're romanticising it" — would rather hear that now than after stalling for another two years.