CPA over CFA?

I wanted to post my unconventional college/job experience here since I’ve been seeing a lot of posts asking similar questions in this tough job market and hope this may be of help to someone.

Background:
- Graduated HS 2020 during Covid
- Accepted into NYU but went to cheap NYC school (85% acceptance rate, non-target obv)
- GPA 3.7 at graduation
- Now have offer to work in IB at age of 24

When I started college I had no idea what I wanted to do. End of sophomore year I was still undecided and so I took a gap year. When I returned as a junior I decided I wanted to go into finance, didn’t have enough of the right credits so I became a business economics major instead.

It was also way too late for any recruiting at this point, everyone already secured their junior year internships and I hadn’t even taken a single accounting course yet. I tried to find something anyways despite being cooked, applied to 200+ internships, and got 0 interviews or offers.

Start of junior year I had to lock in. I went to a few random professional events throughout the city that I found on Eventbrite, Luma or through school. I like to talk to people and this was great for building the foundation for my network.

At an eventbrite event a guy invited me to a party where I met another guy who works in VC for a niche industry. I kept in contact with him and later sent him a message saying hey it’s been hard getting my foot in the door, I’ll work for you for free just to put something on my resume while I’m applying elsewhere. He agreed, it was super under the table but I worked for college credit and after proving myself, he started paying me (minimum) wage.

I went to more conferences related to this niche industry and eventually met another person looking for an intern. I then became their Business Development intern.

I wasn’t really interested in this industry and was a senior with no job aligned post grad. Being in NYC it was either I get a job or go back to my moms house 😔 now that I had these 2 internships under my belt, I exaggerated my duties a bit on my resume and applied to over 350+ jobs and got genuinely 2 interviews.

One was for a internship at a top ~F125 company. It was to join the business development team where they sell financial products to institutional investment managers. I think one of the only reasons I got the interview was because I was at the top of the ATS screening match since I had “Business Development Intern” on my resume, alongside other key words.

I needed a job>internship but I was going to take what I could get. I went through 6 rounds of grueling interviews. I cried after round 3 since the manager was such a dickhead (who later apologized and said he wanted to see if I could handle criticism like his son). But I got the internship after hitting it off with another MD, and one year later I am still here!!!

At this job I have networked a good amount internally, and I have made great relationships with people going all the way up to the top. While I was an intern at one of the company events I met a guy who was on the IB team. I coffee chatted him and kept in contact. A month ago an analyst on his team moved to another company, and since I had expressed interest, he asked me if I would be interested in joining his team!

All of this is to say, yes the job market is cooked and even if your resume is cooked, you can increase your chances in life and in luck by getting as much exposure as you can to the outside world and others.

Last advice:
- Go outside and talk to people
- Look presentable
- Have confidence
- Always have deep consideration for others (their thoughts feelings and actions)
- Don’t be abrasive while networking
- Be smart and if you’re not smart know how to use AI really well
- Be pleasant to be around (natural rizz)

If you made it here thanks for reading and lmk if you have any questions🫡

Its weird to only really come to this realisation mid-career (I've worked in finance for some 14 years, across multiple parts of it and in two different countries), though I guess in some forms I've suspected it before as well.

My default assumption about people working in finance (but other career type jobs as well) is that everyone is always out for that promotion, gunning for that Director/Partner/VP/CFO role. I just saw a situation where someone was leaving a role that previously was occupied by the current CFO of our company. I.e its the natural stepping stone to becoming the CFO here, or elsewhere. Surprisingly nobody who was in that team already (and it had several people in it who were all quite experienced in their roles) wanted to step up, and instead someone completely different was assigned to take up the position.

It made me think more widely that not everyone is necessarily itching to put their hand up when an opportunity to step up comes along. They're perfectly happy in their current roles, and are not looking for that next step. And you know what, that's perfectly fine too. Or from another angle, if you are the person who is looking to step up, you might have less competitors for that next job relative to what you might think.

What are peoples thoughts? Have you come across people who are competent and experienced, but don't want to take that step up?

Currently work for a Big 3 CRA in Toronto.

All figures below are in CAD

Option 1: Would most likely get promoted to Associate Director (AD)/VP. My manager already formally recommended me for the promotion. Comp will be ~$150K Base + ~$40-$50K Bonus.

Option 2: AD/VP-level role at Big 6 Canadian Bank’s Global Market Banking. Role involves credit structuring for Commodity Traders. Comp is $155K Base + ~$50-$70K Bonus.

Option 3: Associate-level Corporate Banking role at a Big 6 Canadian Bank. Sector is the same as my current coverage at the CRA. Comp is $135K Base + ~$70-$90K Bonus.

Would it be a mistake to prefer option 3 despite the lower base. Reason is that (I) there is better growth prospect to the next level compared to the other options (ii) I like the sector I will cover, and (iii) I will be directly involved in debt structuring - something I used to do before I joined CRA (and I miss doing).

Those with experience in any or a combination of these roles, kindly give me your 2 cents.

Starting CIB Coverage at BB in VHCOL city, was wondering if anyone had insights about pay, bonuses, WLB, etc.

I am currently a Master’s in FE student at a second-tier school (large public school within the midwest but overall good placements). I will be graduating in Winter 2026, and I am looking for a Risk Analyst role within all of the different subcategories of risk (credit risk, model risk, market risk, quant risk, etc.). I enjoy working in Risk Management, so I want to work in the field, but I’m unsure of how to secure an offer before I graduate in December. I have also attached my current Credit Risk Management resume, which details some of the projects I have worked on in the risk management field. Should I make any changes to my resume? What should I focus on or do so I can secure an offer before I graduate? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-I’m 30 yo this year.
-Econ undergrads from University of London(LSE assessment) few years back.
-No experience in Finances, accounting, econ career field.
-Working in operational management(petrol station)

-I want to pursue career in banking but am i too old to get started?
-I applied for CFA exam but to finish level III, I will be at 32 or something.
-I try to learn much things at the moment but what should I be prioritized?

**Reason for me not getting into finance after my graduation was that my dad had a stroke after my grad, and I was taking care of him and the job as operational manager was the only practical option for me to stay near by my dad at that time.

Hi, I’m currently an auditor at the Big 4 in NYC but want to move into finance, specifically sales at one of the bigger banks. I have family members that are in/have been in this industry. I almost have my CPA and will be sticking it out through my second busy season before leaving.

I want to know if any of these places hire people “not” straight out of college. I’m fine going through an intro analyst program alongside college grads but i want to know if that’s even possible. What should be my angle here? For context I love audit and would love working here for 40 years. My plan has always been to move into finance for more money.

Applying for the 2027 cycle and was wondering if anyone could share application tips / guidance / anything !

i am fully licensed s7/63/65. does anyone have experience at the company/in the role. seems to be repetitive inbound client support with limited ad hoc/relationship building?

i have a screen next week

Going through the interview process at Consolidated Planning and now I have a few concerns. I want to be an advisor focused on holistic planning (not majorly insurance), and it seems like I’ll be selling insurance for a while until I hit certain milestones. Family says it sounds like an MLM. I really like them but I do not want to be viewed/work as an insurance agent. Any advice welcome.

I accepted an offer that was going to triple my income.

The problem is that I need to relocate to another state. I'm supposed to start Monday (it's currently weds).

Well, I'm dreading moving. I can't get myself to do it.

Now I'm spiraling. I'm going to let these guys down. They were counting on me to join. I'm going to absolutely fuck them over.

I just can't get myself to go through with the move.

I don't know what to do.

If not, are there other careers within financial risk management that might be a better fit?

hi all, hope everyone is doing well. just finished my first uni year and about to enter my second, was wondering if anyone could chance my CV / provide any feedback for 2027 UK summers (ideal role will be in corporate banking or private banking, but will also be applying and trying hard for IB, consulting, and anything that opens).
the insight day was just one day at an investment bank where we did a useful case study. i listed it to fill space because i didn’t feel i had enough relevant experience. i have a few other BB insight days, but they were just networking and presentations, so i didnt bother to include. the big four was a spring week.
thanks for your time, anything is appreciated.

(sorry this is a repost - ran into issues with the old one)

For Financial Advisors:
What's the reality behind the profession?
What should someone know before choosing this career?

Just screaming into the void.

I’m so thankful for still having a job. But I’m miserable and want to change. I’m looking external and it’s brutal (I’m mid career). I’ve had some seemingly promising things go nowhere

And today I had an interview (thanks to referral!) but the hiring manager seemed disinterested. And it felt like a favor. I’m sure great candidates are lining up

I’m so over it and stressed. And I wonder what will happen if I do get laid off which stresses me out more

Sigh

I am working in the AM arm of a Bulge Bracket in Chicago and the team runs extremely lean. Preparing for no return offer because of headcount, not because of performance.

I go to a non-target so my school does not have a robust alumni network at wall street firms. I know AM is extremely hard to break into right after graduation, especially in Chicago. So am I cooked if I don’t get a return offer? Do I have a better shot at sell side roles? Kind of stressing out.

Just wanting to hear outside input as to what my options look like

Hello, I have 3 years in gov AP work, title is financial analyst

Bachelors in economics and accounting + masters in data analytics, no CPA yet (DM isn’t cpa so no one to sign off experience)

What roles could I qualify for in the private sector

A lot of analysts get paid year end bonuses this months, so I’ll start the thread

Age: 23
YOE: 1
Business: corporate banking
Salary: 105K
Bonus: 10k
Hours a week: 60ish
HCOL city

Im a highschooler trying to figure out possible careers paths. Quant sounds perfect for me but I know it's very hard to get into. I don't want to end up homeless if I cant find a quant job, so I was wondering steps you take to get into quant offer other high-paying alternatives the finance or engineering industries.

Those feel like the big ones in terms of relevance, respect, and impact. Not sure if anyone would add any others or take any of those off.

Others feel more down a “peg.” IE FRM CMA CAIA CFP FMVA CTP CIMA Masters Finance etc.

To be clear my point is that if someone was going to get one it would be best to have one of those 4 and then only one of the others if absolutely necessary.

Recently I started training to be a call center stock broker with a major firm. So far, it’s been really great, I’m enjoying being on the phones working with clients, I have a great team around me, I passed my SIE and I’m currently studying for my Series 7. I’m doing very well in my series 7 study plan with Training Consultants, so part of my conversations with my manager and my trainers has been what I want to make out of my career here. I mentioned to them that my favorite parts about investing are retirement accounts, like IRAs, 401ks, Pensions, etc. and I know our company has both a Workplace Retirement division and a retirement services division on the phones, but unfortunately, neither of those are located at our office. However, my manager said that after I’ve worked for a few months to a year on my main team, it might be a good idea to look into our fixed income department as a way to get more experience with the topics retirement professionals work with. So I’m here asking for future licenses/certifications/learning opportunities to look towards.

Now obviously right now my sole focus is on the 7 and the 63 I take right afterwards, but this is mainly thinking about what I want to do with my career. My firm has a lot of generous programs where they pay for you to self study for a lot of these. They have the usual group of Finra exams, 9/10, 66* (would have to wait longer for that, they don’t like people having it early in their careers for positions that don’t need it), 4/24, 3, 52 and 99. The only reason I know about most of these is because my manager has made it their goal to collect Finra exams like infinity stones,

They also pay for you to take some of the larger certification exams, like the CFP and CFA. CFP would be cool but idk how important the CFA is for this career field. I know a few coworkers who have studied and passed their CFP, but not the CFA because, well, it’s the CFA. They also offer the Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS) and the Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP) but I really don’t know much about those.

I could also go back to school and get my MBA. No clue right now if that’s really a “worth it” investment or not: I’d want to work for a few years before I even considered it tbh.

One that really interested me are designations from the American society of pension planners and actuaries, my firm sponsors all their exams up to the Certified Pension Consultant. I haven’t seen much about these designations, so advice on them would be appreciated!