When is too late to become a Junior Analyst 25- 35?

Question

Hi, I have couple of questions regarding becoming an analyst:

1. when is too late to become one

2. the main difference between an Equity analyst, and a Credit analyst is Equity requires research skills, and Credit requires serious accounting skills?

3. and what kind of analyst should i start from to become an Economist or a Fund manager in the future?

4.what kind of excel skills i need; do i have to write formulas? what are the most popular functions in used?

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

I think anyone in the range you mentioned (25-35) has a good chance to become an equity analyst as long as they truly focus and concentrate solely on attaining that career choice.

Equity research is a discipline that usually has two entry points. The first being a candidate who attends a top school and displays great potential. These candidates are usually brought in right away as "associates" and groomed to develop as an Analyst and so on. The second group involves veterans of specific industries who have a great deal of knowledge about their sector, which allows them leverage their prior understanding to forecast the future direction of their sector. So, while a graduate at 25 can become an associate, so too can a seasoned candidate from a certain industry.

That being said, knowledge is not enough by itself. In most cases, you are required to have post-graduate educational qualifications (especially in Finance or Applied Mathematics). Further, you probably will have to pursue the CFA designation. And even after that, the opportunities that you are exposed to will result from your networking abilities.

Of course, you will be required to have in-depth Excel skills (yes, it includes writing high level formulae and developing complex models).

Its a tough industry to break into, and there are thousands of candidates, both young and old who will challenge you for those Associate roles. But as long as you persevere and get the requirements taken care of, you shall do fine.

The roles and Economist and Fund-Managers are different, but you generally have the same starting point. You should look to start as an Associate. If you cannot get the role of an Associate (which most people cant), get a job within the sector that allows you to be in proximity of the industry and absorb as much as you can in that role. That would be a good starting point..