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Jul 17, 2026 at 05:30 PM
Finance Careers 🔥 Hot

What Should i do

MBA Finance student targeting front-office IB in India (boutiques/Big 4 TS). Given the cost of CFA/FRM, is either worth pursuing before a Year 1 internship, or does it mainly pay off later (Year 3-5 lateral)? For someone self-funding, is there a sequencing that avoids paying for both, or should I skip them for now and lean on NISM/NCFM + a strong project portfolio instead?
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5 answers
1 month ago
A reasonable sequence could be: focus on getting a solid internship first, build a few financial models and company valuations, then decide whether CFA aligns with your long-term goals. That way you're making the investment once you know it supports your career direction.
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1 month ago
Between CFA and FRM, I'd only consider CFA if you're interested in investment research or asset management later. FRM is more specialized for risk roles. For investment banking, networking, internship experience, and financial modeling generally matter more in the early stages.
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1 month ago
If you re self-funding and looking for a Year 1 internship, I wouldn't feel pressured to do CFA or FRM immediately. Front-office IB internships usually value strong accounting, valuation, Excel, PowerPoint, and deal understanding. Those skills can be built without paying for expensive exams right away.
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1 month ago
Bloomberg*
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1 month ago
Try targeting firms which can pay for your CFA , many firms do have education stipend with them which will not help you completely but cover like 20k, other than that I will suggest at least try completing CFA level 1 then only you will be able to get into good IB firm, and for that start learning different skills NISM certification won’t be enough look for doing more projects, Bloombger terminal, S&P , or factsheet working model. Try to learn these things they aren’t free but worth it. Additionally network it will get you in interviews. Always ask for direct referral.
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