Hi RQH, and welcome to the forum!

an MBA is always a good Idea, and usually boosts ones career - it doesn't really matter what field you are, as any one can benefit from getting a deeper understanding of business and(i case of an MBA) of business practice.

a few things you should consider before you choose the right program for your needs are:

what are your career goals - are you planing to stay working for the same company or a re you planing to switch? this is important, as it may effect the choice of school. if you are staying in the same company, then you may consider schools that are not highly ranked and maybe know only locally(this doesn't mean considering a bad school - you should always check the school program and its reputation). if you are planing to use the MBA to find a new job, then is the importance of ranking cannot be stressed enough, as they are also know by recruiters and used to evaluate the quality of the candidates education.

you should also think about the focus of the program - do you want to take a program dedicated to your field, or would you rather like to go for a general program/a program focusing on another field in order to expend your horizon.

you should also try and evaluate your profile, in order to see what schools you can realistically target, and what you can do to increase your chance to being admitted(for example - did you do take a GMAT test? if so, is the score high or maybe you should take it again?)

you should also consider the type of program - are you interested in 1 year full program(may be problematic if you want to hold a job), or are you more into a part time, or even distant MBA programs?

I hope this would help you a bit with your decision!

A.

<blockquote>Hi RQH, and welcome to the forum!

an MBA is always a good Idea, and usually boosts ones career - it doesn't really matter what field you are, as any one can benefit from getting a deeper understanding of business and(i case of an MBA) of business practice.

a few things you should consider before you choose the right program for your needs are:

what are your career goals - are you planing to stay working for the same company or a re you planing to switch? this is important, as it may effect the choice of school. if you are staying in the same company, then you may consider schools that are not highly ranked and maybe know only locally(this doesn't mean considering a bad school - you should always check the school program and its reputation). if you are planing to use the MBA to find a new job, then is the importance of ranking cannot be stressed enough, as they are also know by recruiters and used to evaluate the quality of the candidates education.

you should also think about the focus of the program - do you want to take a program dedicated to your field, or would you rather like to go for a general program/a program focusing on another field in order to expend your horizon.

you should also try and evaluate your profile, in order to see what schools you can realistically target, and what you can do to increase your chance to being admitted(for example - did you do take a GMAT test? if so, is the score high or maybe you should take it again?)

you should also consider the type of program - are you interested in 1 year full program(may be problematic if you want to hold a job), or are you more into a part time, or even distant MBA programs?

I hope this would help you a bit with your decision!

A.</blockquote>

Thanks for your reply! Really appreciate it.

Regarding my career goals, I am definitely more inclined to look for a new job that enables me to get more exposure to different products; while at the mean time, I'm still pretty much 50-50 on which program I should target for.

Going for a more general MBA program is attractive, since it does help to expand my current credentials, but going through a platora of quant /accounting modules is....torturing haha. I am currently also checking out the electives my Master program is offering and might make a decision in the coming months.

Anyway, can't say enough of this, but thanks again for your advice.

<blockquote>Hi all, I'm currently working as a finance trader in Malaysia and would like to expand my career internationally/regionally, so I was thinking of enrolling in a MBA program at a good regional B-School(to boost my lousy credentials)

If my intention is to continue with a career path in trading, is MBA actually a good idea? Or should I just continue with a Master in Finance or the equivalent to get over it?

Thanks in advance. Great forum here.

</blockquote>
Hi,

My apologies, but I found the previous poster's advice to be WAAAY too general (no offense, very sorry). But to the original poster--an MBA would not benefit you if you want to progress in your career as a trader. An MBA is not as quantitative a degree as a Master in Finance. If you're looking for a degree that can actually help you as a trader (i.e. finance models, prediction models, etc), then forget the MBA. Speak to traders, and many of them will tell you that the MBA was a waste of their time. The main reason why a trader may get an MBA is to get a promotion, or as you said, expand your credentials---- but a Master in Finance from an impressive school will do the same. If you want exposure to a lot of products, what you need is a better network with financiers or a good specialist subscription (check out www.iiderivatives.com), not the generalist network you'd get from a 2 year MBA