GUEST COMMENT: I am a young and talented analyst fallen upon hard times

Hannah, sorry, you are way too sad, bet you look like a hippo!

I would advise sitting the CFA. I have recently finished CFA level 3 and have found the whole process very enlightening and rewarding, not to mention a lot cheaper than an MBA and a lot more focussed in terms of syllabus. As the old phrase goes: CFA is an inch wide and a mile deep; MBAs are a mile wide and an inch deep. If you still want to be an analyst, CFA is the qualification to do. I also find the fact that the CFA pass rates are so harsh adds credence to the qualification, and feel that if you pay 30k - 40k for a qualifcation like an MBA, then they are unlikey to fail you (lower pass rates make for a more desirable and prestigous qualification). As regards a strategy for getting a job - apply for positions and tell them you are prepared to work for 25% less than the other candidates going for the position. In my opinion, in this market, it is vitally important to keep your skills up-to-date by working, and not suffer the skills depreciation that comes with long periods of unemployment. I would predict that we will see the contraction of fincial services from 10-15% of GBP in the UK to a much smaller figure. My advice: get back into employment fast.

So what ? as long as they make $ , who cares if they can design some fandango derivative which can only profit from some illegal OTC market

Has anyone noticed how Henry's tone is changing? "mate" - he would never have used that before, a lot more down to earth than the typical foppish comments. I think the facade is ending - which recruitment company is it again Henry?

Good luck to this guy - my suggestion would be to either go abroad (Asia) and get some life and work experience for c.2 years. Then look to come back to the UK market if thats what you still want to do.

Time definitely does fly, and you will be looking back at this difficult period before you know it. I would take this opportunity to try something different. So what if it ends up not being THE best decision you could have made. If you don't try, you'll never know - and it beats sitting at home stressing about the whole situation.

My good friend, believe me when I say time flies. You'll look back and wonder, where did all that time go? Apart from working for BBIB's and HF's what have I done? With your credentials, opportunities will be abound when the markets pick up tomorrow, and yes, they will pick up.
Do something else that will make you develop as a person, it may not necessarily be an MBA. But if it is, do it in a world renowned institution in a foreign country. You'll probably benefit from doing an MBA at INSEAD. The plusesoutweigh the minuses by far, i.e.
- You'll be throwing yourself in the deep end, so you'll learn to swim rather than sink
- You'll get to immerse yourself in a new culture
- You'll learn to speak fluent french in the process
- You'll get your MBA

Good Luck