The definitive test to determine whether you should be doing an MBA

An MBA is to an investment banking career what goggles are to swimming: not imperative, but it will probably improve your performance- as long as you can be bothered to get out of the pool and spend some money.

Banks are definitely back in the market for MBA's. This year, the proportion of Harvard MBAs going to Wall Street remains high. But as we've cautioned before, an MBA is not always a career curative. It will only work in certain situations.

To help establish the likely usefulness of studying an MBA as a route into financial services, and after discussions with banks' MBA recruiters, we've put together the following test as a guide. Please answer as truthfully as is feasible.

1) I am intending to do my MBA at...

· Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, NYU Stern, MIT - 25 points

· London Business School, INSEAD - 20 points

· IMD, Said, Judge, IESE - 10 points

· Manchester - 5 points

· Anywhere else - 0 points.

2) When I finish my MBA, I want to work in...

· Operational strategy (in an investment bank) - 20 points

· M&A and corporate finance - 15 points

· Wealth management - 12 points

· Sales and trading - 7 points

· Asset management - 5 points

3) When I finish my MBA, I will be aged

· 28-34 - 20 points

· Less than 28 - 15 points

· 35-40 - 10 points

· More than 40 - 0 points

4) Prior to studying my MBA, I gained several years' experience in:

· An investment bank - 25 points

· A top strategy consultancy or private equity firm - 20 points

· A Big Four accountancy firm - 15 points

· A blue chip corporate - 12 points

· A French ski chalet - 0 points

5) When I finish my MBA, I will be willing to:

· Work more than 80 hours a week: 10 points

· Work 70-80 hours a week: 7 points

· Work 60-70 hours a week: 2 points

· Work no more than 60 hours a week: 0 points

Results

80-100: Yes, you should definitely do an MBA. You appear to be a perfect financial services candidate and should go a very long way.

60-80 You're not totally perfect, but with a good internship and carefully nurtured business school contacts, your chances of success are reasonable.

40-60: Unfortunately, an MBA will not guarantee you a job in financial services. But you will get to meet lots of interesting people and spend a few years' contemplating matrices.

Less than 40: Sorry, but you may be better off spending 30k on a recipe for turning turnips into gold. Either that, or take the test again and pick different answers.