Hi..Help Needed

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Hi..Help Needed

by NeVerbackdown » Sun Jan 20, 2013 7:24 am
I got accepted into the Teach For India fellowship earlier this week. This is a partner program of the Teach For America fellowship in which young professionals
and college graduates teach in low income schools for two years. TFI's description on their website says "Teach For India, a project of Teach To Lead, is a nationwide movement of outstanding college graduates and young professionals who will commit two-years to teach full-time in under resourced schools and who will become lifelong leaders working from within various sectors towards the pursuit of equity in education." I think it is a great cause to be a part of because it addresses the educational inequity problem widely prevalent in India. The confusion of joining TFI lies in the fact that my passion is in finance and that I definitely want to get an MBA in finance from a top 10 or top 20 B-school, say two years from today. So by joining this program do I restrict my options of applying for an MBA?

I have cleared two levels of the CFA examination and am due to take the third one in June 2013. The CFA charter requires candidates to clear 3 examinations and have 4 years of professional work experience in the investment industry before the title can be used against one's name. I'm still working with an Indian IT major since the finance industry has not been in the best of states since the past 6 months and hiring new candidates has almost come to a standstill. Basically I would have cleared all 3 levels of my CFA examination and would have no relevant experience to show for it. (Assuming that I do in fact pass my level 3 examination in June and that I accept the TFI fellowship). I spoke with Adcom members at an MBA fair held a few months back and they said they look at people who have cleared the CFA exams "favorably".

In other words my potential profile might look like.
Bachelors in engineering with two and a half years of experience. (Domain - IT)
Cleared 3 levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst program. (Domain - Finance)
Worked as a fellow in Teach For India for two years(Domain- Education/Social Sector)

An Adcom looking at this might see no clarity of thought. This is what I am worried about and hence want inputs.
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by milimbamission » Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:41 am
Hello,

I think you've raised a really good concern here. The only thing I think that works in your favor is that most everyone in India does undergrad in IT. You went on to work in IT, so that part is fine too. On the side, you took the CFA, thinking you may wish to transition to finance at some point... and then you applied for TFI and got the fellowship.

I would say follow your heart. Staying in IT is not going to make your profile any stronger. You don't have a finance offer to decide between, right? So seems like TFI is the way to get out of IT sooner rather than later. However, if you go this route, be sure you have a very clear career narrative that weaves the TFI/education in with the IT. I think you can leave the finance thing out of the story completely if it's not what you want to do, but if you do want to go into finance, then TFI might look a little strange... it's a very tough decision, but I think you should go with your gut on this one and either way, make sure your career narrative takes your path into account.

Good luck,
Mili

Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
https://www.mbamission.com
 
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Mili Mittal

https://www.mbamission.com

Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (16 individual school titles)

Download [url=https:// https://info.mbamission.com/MBA-Personal ... ent-Guide/]mbaMission's Free Personal Statement Guide[/url]

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