Hi all,
To provide some background I'm working in a Fund administration company for the last 12 years and in the specific Industry with the last 15 years after I attained a Bachelors degree in Accounting and Finance. In my current role I work in a Team that provides support to Fund Accounting. Since I moved into that role almost 5 years ago the nature of the job and what I do has changed considerably. Now I would be more inclined to call it a techy sort job and very much removed from finance - I really struggle in certain aspects. Moreover even if I was to excel in the role through experience its just not for me - definitely not a type of job that gets me excited in any manner. There is also a lack of support from my Manager which exacerbates my frustration.
I suppose I need to accept there is big change happening in the specific industry though and don't want to side track too much from the questions I have. I have applied for a considerable number of jobs online and have received little or no response for the most part. The usual automated kick back mail and nothing to follow for the very most part and not even an interview yet. Part of the problem may well be that I have pigeonholed myself but at the same time there are many skills on my CV which would be very much transferable to the positions I am applying for. Considering there is an apparent abundance of jobs I am getting a very poor response to my applications - much poorer in fact than when I was applying for jobs as a fresh graduate after leaving college. I get the impression that many employers are either looking for fresh graduates only that they can mould or individuals who are extremely skilled and qualified in a specific area with not too much in the middle.
Either way I really want to get something else and would like to get into investments/ mortgages/ lending/ pensions - probably something that I should have done many moons ago or even after leaving college if I'm honest. Certainly do not see myself where I am forever and would in fact rather get out sooner rather than later.
In hand with the area's of employment I would be interested in I have being considering QFA and also CFA. It seems to be a bit of a minefield to me and getting impartial information on the courses is not proving too easy. At Christmas I was chatting to a guy that works in the same company as me and I moreso know him as he is married to a friend of my sisters. He strongly recommended against the QFA mentioning that its a waste of time which was a bit of a surprise to me. Was chatting to him in a social setting when drinking so didn't want to draw him too much on it on his night out. Was thinking after it may be a waste of time to him in his chosen career path but not necessarily a waste of time to me who would be more leaning towards a career in commercial banking at this stage.
Sorry for the long winded post and any advice on the pros and cons of QFA versus CFA would be much appreciated. Would be particularly interested to hear from people who completed either course and how it assisted them (or didn't) in their careers as they progressed through it. My goal here is to fast track my career in the right direction as quickly as possible and appreciate I will be taking a cut in salary at the outset etc. Any constructive advise and pointers is much appreciated. TIA.
To provide some background I'm working in a Fund administration company for the last 12 years and in the specific Industry with the last 15 years after I attained a Bachelors degree in Accounting and Finance. In my current role I work in a Team that provides support to Fund Accounting. Since I moved into that role almost 5 years ago the nature of the job and what I do has changed considerably. Now I would be more inclined to call it a techy sort job and very much removed from finance - I really struggle in certain aspects. Moreover even if I was to excel in the role through experience its just not for me - definitely not a type of job that gets me excited in any manner. There is also a lack of support from my Manager which exacerbates my frustration.
I suppose I need to accept there is big change happening in the specific industry though and don't want to side track too much from the questions I have. I have applied for a considerable number of jobs online and have received little or no response for the most part. The usual automated kick back mail and nothing to follow for the very most part and not even an interview yet. Part of the problem may well be that I have pigeonholed myself but at the same time there are many skills on my CV which would be very much transferable to the positions I am applying for. Considering there is an apparent abundance of jobs I am getting a very poor response to my applications - much poorer in fact than when I was applying for jobs as a fresh graduate after leaving college. I get the impression that many employers are either looking for fresh graduates only that they can mould or individuals who are extremely skilled and qualified in a specific area with not too much in the middle.
Either way I really want to get something else and would like to get into investments/ mortgages/ lending/ pensions - probably something that I should have done many moons ago or even after leaving college if I'm honest. Certainly do not see myself where I am forever and would in fact rather get out sooner rather than later.
In hand with the area's of employment I would be interested in I have being considering QFA and also CFA. It seems to be a bit of a minefield to me and getting impartial information on the courses is not proving too easy. At Christmas I was chatting to a guy that works in the same company as me and I moreso know him as he is married to a friend of my sisters. He strongly recommended against the QFA mentioning that its a waste of time which was a bit of a surprise to me. Was chatting to him in a social setting when drinking so didn't want to draw him too much on it on his night out. Was thinking after it may be a waste of time to him in his chosen career path but not necessarily a waste of time to me who would be more leaning towards a career in commercial banking at this stage.
Sorry for the long winded post and any advice on the pros and cons of QFA versus CFA would be much appreciated. Would be particularly interested to hear from people who completed either course and how it assisted them (or didn't) in their careers as they progressed through it. My goal here is to fast track my career in the right direction as quickly as possible and appreciate I will be taking a cut in salary at the outset etc. Any constructive advise and pointers is much appreciated. TIA.