u/JimboBuckets38

Hi all, I recently started in private WM as a family office associate. Really love the role and find it super interesting, it’s what I wanted to do out of college and figured I would do the rest of my career in either a BD role or an oversight day to day role.

During my time in this role I have seen a couple friends with similar experience move into corporate banking roles dealing with liquidity events, M&A, capital markets & structure, etc.

I know it is a much different, financially technical job, so I am curious if this is a common move. And regardless if it is or isn’t, would one recommend it?

Thanks in advance

Hey everyone,

Trying to decide between a full-time/one-year MBA or grinding the CFA while working. Here’s my quick pros/cons breakdown:

MBA Pros:

• Broad skills (strategy, leadership, marketing, ops)

• Strong alumni network + on-campus recruiting

• Easier career pivot or move into consulting/tech/corp roles

• Good placement support at top schools

MBA Cons:

• Very expensive: $230k–$275k total for top programs (one-year still ~$110k–$175k)

• High opportunity cost (1–2 years out of workforce)

• ROI drops sharply outside top 20–30 schools

CFA Pros:

• Deep technical finance knowledge (investments, valuation, portfolio mgmt)

• Cheap: ~$4k–$8k total

• Study while working, keep earning

• Highly respected for asset management, research, PE/hedge funds

CFA Cons:

• Brutal pass rates and lonely self-study (~300+ hrs per level)

• Narrow focus — mainly investments, weak for leadership/general management

• No built-in network or structured recruiting

Really curious to hear anyone’s thoughts and appreciate any insight.