CFA®vs MBA

One of the toughest decisions to make for those pursuing a career in finance is which program to pursue after an undergraduate degree to stand out from the competition and boost their career prospects. We believe that the decision should be made with factors other than having an excellent title next to your name that describes your qualifications.

Some individuals may opt for the认证的公共会计师（CPA）认证, while others may undertake theCertified Financial Planner (CFP) accreditation。Arguably, the two most popular programs that finance professionals undertake are the特许财务分析师（CFA）program and the工商管理硕士（MBA）program.

Both have their advantages and are catered towards professionals in different industries, so if you're deciding on which one to choose, you need to determine which of those will best meet your goals, considering your circumstances.

没有一个明确的答案，即哪个胜过另一个。这完全取决于个人情况以及您作为个人想要从这些备受推崇的认证和学位中实现的目标。

Both programs address very different disciplines and offer very different skills and knowledge. This article will explain what each of these programs has to offer, how they compare to each other, and which might be the best option for a career in specific areas of finance.

是什么CFA?

CFA是由全球认可的专业称号CFA Institute, a global not-for-profit professional organization that provides professionals in finance with a highly rigorous education.

它是银行和金融方面最知名和享有盛名的名称之一。该认证授予证明有能力的候选人投资分析andwealth management。

TheCFA课程基于三个级别的研究。I级研究portfolio management, financial reporting and analysis, and资产评估。II级focuses on tools for asset valuation, such as quantitative methods and economics. Finally, level III emphasizes portfolio management and performance attribution. The topics covered and their weightage in the curriculum for each level in 2022 are illustrated below:

CFA课程

话题	Level I	II级	第三级
道德和专业标准	15% - 20%	10％-15％	10％-15％
定量方法	8% - 12%	5% - 10%	0%
Economics	8% - 12%	5% - 10%	5% - 10%
财务报告和分析	13 %- 17%	10％-15％	0%
公司发行人	8% - 12%	5% - 10%	0%
Equity Investments	10％ - 12％	10％-15％	10％-15％
固定收入	10％ - 12％	10％-15％	15% - 20%
Derivatives	5％-8％	5% - 10%	5% - 10%
Alternative Investments	5％-8％	5% - 10%	5% - 10%
文件夹Management and Wealth Planning	5％-8％	10％-15％	35％ - 40％

要了解有关CFA的更多信息，请查看我们的专门文章Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®)。

什么是MBA?

MBA是专门从事商业和管理的国际认可的硕士学位。它为学生提供了广泛的知识和了解业务的基本方面，例如营销，金融，人力资源和会计。manbetx3.0手机客户端许多学校甚至允许学生量身定制其MBA课程，以满足他们的兴趣和职业目标。

The program is mostly offered to students with anundergraduate degree。However, some universities may allow you to apply to their MBA program without one. The admission requirements for an MBA program are pretty difficult but may vary based on which business school you apply to. The most common admission requirements include:

• 您的简历/简历以及个人声明。
• 四年bachelor's degree。
• Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)score over 600.
• 英语水平的证明，通常是通过Test of English As Foreign Language (TOEFL), where international students are tested on their ability to understand English as it is spoken, heard, and written.
• Agrade point average (GPA)of at least 3.0.
• Minimum of 3 years work experience.
• 两个专业推荐信。

However, these are just the一般的admission requirements and vary from college to college. For example, admission into the top 10 US business schools is much more complicated and has a low acceptance rate, as shown in the table below:

Acceptance rate from the Top 10 US Business School for an MBA, 2021. Source: topmba.com

Rank	Business School	2021 Acceptance Rate
1	Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania	23.10%
2	Stanford Graduate School of Business	6.90％
3	MIT Sloan School of Management	14.60％
4	哈佛商学院	11.50%
5	University of Chicago Booth School of Business	24.20％
6	加州大学伯克利分校商学院	17.70%
7	西北大学凯洛格管理学院	27.00%
8	Columbia Business School	16.40％
9	加州大学洛杉矶分校安德森管理学院	30.50%
10	耶鲁管理学院	25.20%

了解中位数候选人的资格是有帮助的，该资格被接受为MBA课程以查看如何比较。以下是从哈佛商学院MBAAdmissions website:

• 平均GPA为3.69
• Average of 5 years work experience.
• 730 GMAT得分的中位数。
• 中值定量评分为164，言语中位数为163研究生记录考试（GRE）standardized test.

接受MBA课程的录取非常艰巨，但值得接受。

Completing an MBA from a top-rated university comes with the benefit of a highly prized network and getting placed through campus placements. Hence, obtaining an MBA can greatly enhance one's career path and help land a high-paying job in a management position, especially in areas of technology, consulting, investment banking, insurance, and health care.

CFA vs. MBA: Time Commitment

CFA和MBA课程所需的时间承诺非常大。但是，两者的承诺结构都大不相同。

MBA课程通常是全职进行的，候选人休息了大约两年的全职工作。但是，有accelerated programsthat allow students to complete an MBA faster, typically in 10 to 16 months. More information about the top ten one-year MBA programs can be found这里。

MBA课程中大约有12个课程（36个学分），具体取决于您参加的大学。典型的要求是在四个学期的四个学期上学习12个三学分课程，全职2年才能完成MBA。一些学生还可以选择兼职完成MBA，这将比平常更长。学生在兼职时完成MBA的典型时间约为3至4年。

The CFA program, unlike the MBA, is a part-time program that students usually undertake while working full-time. Candidates either study before work (early birds), during breaks at work (efficient employees), or after work (night owls). It is generally challenging to find the time during the day to study for a CFA for those working a full-time job.

There are specific registration dates for all three exams, and if a CFA candidate were to pass all three exams on the first try (fastest possible), it would take 18 months. However, according to the CFA Institute, it takes on average 4 to 5 years to complete the CFA exams.

One more thing to note is that completing the CFA exams does not make you automatically eligible for aCFA charter。还必须完成工作经验requi之一rements, which are having at least 4,000 hours of work experience completed in 36 months. This experience must be directly related to the investment decision-making process or producing a product that informs or adds value to that process.

必须在参加CFA计划之前，期间或之后获得这种经验。

Along with course duration, another important factor to consider is the time spent studying for these designations. For an MBA, the recommended amount of time students is told to study is around 10 to 15 hours weekly, equating to around 1,040 to 1,560 hours of study across the 2-year program.

但是，对于CFA，每次考试学习的建议时间约为300小时。实际上，根据CFA研究所最近的2019年候选人调查，每次考试学习的平均时间是

• Level I: 303 hours
• II级：328小时
• 第三级：344小时

因此，平均而言，学生在所有三项考试中学习大约975小时，平均每次考试323小时。

Both the MBA and CFA programs require a significant time commitment, and candidates must account for this while choosing between either program.

执行任一计划的成本可能是为什么个人可以选择CFA而不是MBA，这是因为完成MBA的成本极高。

An MBA is among the most expensive degrees a student can pursue. And for a good reason. It teaches various subjects in the field of business and management to mold future managers and entrepreneurs. It also provides practical training, a prized network of intelligent and accomplished individuals, access to top recruiters, and much more.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvaniahas broken down the first-year budget for their MBA program, a top 10 US MBA program, which costs around $115,464. The cost includes

• 学费（$ 83,230）
• Room and Board ($21,720)
• Books, Supplies, and Miscellaneous ($6,640)
• 健康保险（3,874美元）

您可以阅读更多有关此的信息这里。

Therefore, the total cost of obtaining an MBA from Wharton, a 2-year course, would be around $230,928, making it out of reach for many students.

Also, unlike the CFA, most MBA candidates leave the workforce to focus entirely on obtaining their MBA. This means we must also factor in the opportunity cost of obtaining an MBA, which is 2 years' worth of foregone income. To be conservative with the calculation, $70,000 will be used as the average after-tax income of an MBA candidate before leaving the workforce to pursue the program full-time.

这相当于$ 140,000的置换收入机会成本。这使MBA课程的总成本达到了370,000美元左右，其中23万美元是自付费用。

On the other hand, the CFA is a much cheaper alternative to the MBA. When a candidate registers for the CFA program, there will be a one-time enrollment fee of $450. There is then an exam fee every time you sit an exam, which may vary depending on when you register for the exam. These are:

• Early bird registration fee: $700
• Standard registration fee: $1,000

As the average candidate will take 5 exams before passing all three levels, the average cost, including the enrollment fee, ranges from $3,950 to $5,450, depending on when you register for your exams.

However, most students also purchase notes and enroll in classes to understand the material better, which might add to the cost of completing the program.

When comparing the two programs regarding their costs, CFA is the clear winner, being much cheaper to obtain than an MBA. However, this number may change due to individual circumstances, such as which school you decide to pursue your MBA program or whether you decide to purchase materials to study the CFA.

CFA vs. MBA: Salary

The salaries of professionals in the workforce are highly dependent on the job, the experience of the professional, the size of the company, job location, and the professional's performance. This is why it isn't easy to directly compare the average salary of a CFA charterholder and an MBA graduate. However, one of the main reasons for pursuing these designations is the salary increase that may come with it.

由于CFA计划主要集中在财务上，尤其是在投资和财富管理方面，因此由于其奖金，他们可能会赚取更高的薪水。CFA特许持有人的平均工资为180,000美元CFA Institute website。

On the other hand, the pay range after an MBA is tough to quantify. For example, completing an MBA from a top-tier program might bag you $100,000 to $150,000, while a not-so-top-tier one might not improve compensation levels at all. Hence, it is essential to compare apples to apples based on where you are looking to apply.

If you need help figuring it out, please refer to our company database, which has salary details across many different universities.

因此，在薪水方面的比较高度依赖您的职业道路，您选择的学校pursue an MBA来自和你的资历。

CFA vs. MBA for Private Equity?

私人产权(PE) is an替代投资类，只关注private companies（即，未公开交易的公司纽约证券交易所[NYSE]or other exchanges). The PE industry is composed of large funds (equity and/or debt) that directly invest in and purchase private companies. Typically, PE firms engage in杠杆收购（LBO）, and these deals tend to be medium-term investments.

Now, what if you wanted to get into PE? Many people in the financial industry have conflicting ideas about whether to服用CFAor the MBA to further their career within private equity. So which one is the best one to take? Although there is no one clear answer to this question, there are different advantages in taking one designation over the other it aims to land a position in this industry.

A major requirement in trying to land a job in PE is networking, networking, and networking. Therefore, growing your network is extremely important as these networks might be able to connect you to people in your targeted firm.

这给MBA候选人带来了令人难以置信的优势，因为他们获得了与CFA宪章持有人相比，他们可以访问大量的专业人士网络。实际上，根据JobsearchDigest.com, 41% of people landed a job in private equity because of their network.

Further, an MBA allows you to be connected with top-tier recruiters trying to headhunt star students.

要注意的另一件事是，尽管CFA课程中的内容非常广泛，但它并不能为您提供如何构建模型的实践经验，这是PE公司的大多数初级和中级专业人员所做的。

在PE的职业中，MBA是最喜欢的名称。

CFA vs. MBA for Investment Banking?

许多人想知道CFA或MBA是否是其未来的正确投资。有人说，MBA会给他们带来“更好”获得投资银行业务（IB）工作的机会，而另一些人则坚持认为他们应该选择CFA。万博app网页版

While both education options are valuable, each has its pros and cons. It all depends on your goals in the long run and what you feel you can achieve through either option.

So, how to decide which one is best suited for you?

万博app网页版投资银行本质上是一个销售头寸，需要业务和营销技能才能达到顶峰。这都是关于建造的financial modelsat the junior levels quickly and efficiently. The CFA designation, unfortunately, does not cater to these skills.

However, an MBA might help you progress in an IB environment, as it gives access to a vast network of professionals required to succeed in the field and the technical skills needed as part of case study lessons.

因此，毫无疑问，攻读MBA将在这一职业道路上开放进步，与CFA宪章相比，这是不费吹灰之力的。

Should I complete both the CFA and the MBA designations?

许多专业人士对他们是否应该获得MBA或CFA表示怀疑。但是，如果您决定采用其中的任何一条，这两个不同的道路确实可以帮助您在职业生涯中。在确定最适合您的道路之前，必须考虑您的个人目标。但是完成两个指定呢？完成两个程序而不是一个程序是否有优势？

Again, it depends on your individual circumstances. For some, taking both programs is just too much time and money. The MBA takes 2 years when completed full-time, with 1040 to 1560 hours of study and a total cost of $370,000, including机会成本from lost收入。那些也想追求CFA的人必须比普通候选人更加坚定，并有效地管理他们的时间，并负担得起这两个计划的极高成本。

Added to this is the fact that they cater to two different groups of people. While the CFA curriculum caters to portfolio managers and investment advisors, MBA is catered to those looking for sales or business management positions.

话虽如此，与其他候选人相比，追求和获取这两个名称可能会给您带来极富竞争优势的优势，因为您拥有这两个程序提供的技能和网络。

尽管分别完成两者可能太耗时了，但各大学合并计划的概念使其更加实用。此外，商学院还结合了CFA课程的多个方面，以便学生在完成其MBA课程的同时完成大多数CFA要求。

While this reduces the time commitment had they been done separately, it should be noted that the cost remains the same, and you would be paying for both courses.

因此，决定完全指定的决定取决于个人情况。虽然这两种名称都将大大促进您的简历，但要选择另一个名称，就必须在成本，时间承诺和职业野心方面进行充分的思考。我们希望本指南有助于使您的决策过程更轻松。

更多资源manbetx3.0手机客户端

To keep advancing your career, the additional resources below will be useful:

• 特许商业估价师（CBV）
• 纳斯巴
• CPA与CFA®
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®)