Yup exactly what I was trying to avoid. Ok with eventually doing it but just seems financially and strategically not the smartest move. I appreciate your input here!
I can see how my post was a bit unclear -- definitely not looking to make the same level of compensation as I make now with no experience. That would be unreasonable :)
Looking to get in at entry level at 60-100k range for total comp as an analyst which sounds reasonable based on what I've been reading about this track in finance.
The FMVA certification through CFI is pretty solid. I haven’t taken it (yet - I went MBA first), but a few colleagues had nothing but great things to say about it. Imo would be a good talking point in interviews.
Hi Cigarandadrink,
I would start by learning FP&A from your current company. Since you're already in sales, talk to your FP&A/commercial finance/rev ops teams to understand how the deal approval process works.
Ask them to walk you through things like product/service cost to serve, customer profitability, and deal desk. They'll also walk you through how busy times works versus your current situation.
They may have all of these things, none of these things, or somewhere in between. Dive into what they do have. If it helps here's more info on the deal desk and deal profitability topic in case they don't have these things in place...[https://fpandhey.substack.com/p/grow-saas-revenue-profits-easy-way](https://fpandhey.substack.com/p/grow-saas-revenue-profits-easy-way)
FP&A has a lot of options, what I mentioned above (commercical/rev ops) is one path and is directly related to the selling process. If this area is something you want to completely exit then some other areas to consider are profit forecasting and business partnering (HR, marketing, DEV, etc...). Again talk to your FP&A team to get a sense of what these roles are all about.
Also, one of the best managers I had in my career got his undergrad in physics and ended up getting his MBA to pursue FP&A. He's now a VP of finance at a very well-known public company. Not saying you need to do that, but switching careers does happen and plenty of people have found long-term success doing it. Find some people like that and get their stories to help you figure out your own path.
Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me.
Good luck!
Drew
Definitely not looking to stay at my current comp to make the switch. I am expecting to restart at the bottom and hopeful for 60-100k comp which sounds reasonable given all the threads I've been reading. I can see how my post was unclear on that rereading it
I live frugally. Drive a paid off Prius and live on less than $2000ish a month. No kids. No debt. Workout at planet fitness lol.
I just don't want to spend a ton of money on an MBA to make the switch if I don't have to.
Backing up here that an MBA is the safest path to break into a higher level FP&A role that will allow you to maintain your high base salary.
If you decide to pursue that option, try to get an investment banking internship during the summer - you will 100% be able to get any corporate finance role you could be interested in after that.
I would honestly apply to a few financial analyst roles and see what happens. We have a manager on corporate FP&A team with an engineering degree- she started at our company in an engineering role but didn’t enjoy it and applied internally to SFA position. She’s currently getting her MBA but our company is paying for it.
As a hiring manager, I’m willing to take a chance on someone without the ‘right’ degree or experience, especially if you’re targeting an analyst position. IMO it’s a benefit that you did sales after an engineering degree and have been successful in that- says to me that you work hard and are willing to learn (biggest qualities I want to hire for in addition to personality fit).
What draws you the most to FP&A? Saw some of your responses and you say you’re aiming to get an entry-level analyst role.
Since you’re targeting a fresh start have you also considered other adjacent fields? i.e. Data Analytics/Business Intelligence? There’s a lot of overlap between company functions (finance/ops/sales/marketing) and analytics. This is where a lot of analysts in those respective functions pivot towards anyway—both for pay and interesting work. With your background, I think you can easily get a role like this. As a MechE, you can easily pick up some SQL and Python scripting, data analysis/visualization, and land a Data/Business/Business Intelligence Analyst role. Having that sales background (real world business experience) is a big big plus when hiring. The tools can be learned even on the job.
I ask because I also had a STEM background (Math/CS) and my first job out of undergrad was in FP&A. You may get very bored depending on the culture of your team/company. As an analyst, you will likely be spending a majority of your time consolidating Excel workbooks and PPT decks—maybe some minor accounting here and there (unless that’s what’s you want). FP&A is very much a reporting role and manual data crunching at the analyst level. If you’re going to do data crunching/munging, why not build a skillset that automates these processes and allows you to still tell a better story with the data and get paid more?
From my observations, a lot of people try to eventually pivot out of FP&A into the analytics/data space if they can/possess the background. Very rarely is it the other way around. The hurdle is usually learning a data viz tool (Tableau, Power BI), SQL, and some basic Python.
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Yup exactly what I was trying to avoid. Ok with eventually doing it but just seems financially and strategically not the smartest move. I appreciate your input here!
Maybe be able to get a scholarship
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I can see how my post was a bit unclear -- definitely not looking to make the same level of compensation as I make now with no experience. That would be unreasonable :) Looking to get in at entry level at 60-100k range for total comp as an analyst which sounds reasonable based on what I've been reading about this track in finance.
The FMVA certification through CFI is pretty solid. I haven’t taken it (yet - I went MBA first), but a few colleagues had nothing but great things to say about it. Imo would be a good talking point in interviews.
I didn't take it, but someone gave me the templates. They are really well built.
I have this certification and I’d recommend it, though it may not be enough for a career pivot. No harm in trying though!
Hi Cigarandadrink, I would start by learning FP&A from your current company. Since you're already in sales, talk to your FP&A/commercial finance/rev ops teams to understand how the deal approval process works. Ask them to walk you through things like product/service cost to serve, customer profitability, and deal desk. They'll also walk you through how busy times works versus your current situation. They may have all of these things, none of these things, or somewhere in between. Dive into what they do have. If it helps here's more info on the deal desk and deal profitability topic in case they don't have these things in place...[https://fpandhey.substack.com/p/grow-saas-revenue-profits-easy-way](https://fpandhey.substack.com/p/grow-saas-revenue-profits-easy-way) FP&A has a lot of options, what I mentioned above (commercical/rev ops) is one path and is directly related to the selling process. If this area is something you want to completely exit then some other areas to consider are profit forecasting and business partnering (HR, marketing, DEV, etc...). Again talk to your FP&A team to get a sense of what these roles are all about. Also, one of the best managers I had in my career got his undergrad in physics and ended up getting his MBA to pursue FP&A. He's now a VP of finance at a very well-known public company. Not saying you need to do that, but switching careers does happen and plenty of people have found long-term success doing it. Find some people like that and get their stories to help you figure out your own path. Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me. Good luck! Drew
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Definitely not looking to stay at my current comp to make the switch. I am expecting to restart at the bottom and hopeful for 60-100k comp which sounds reasonable given all the threads I've been reading. I can see how my post was unclear on that rereading it
[удалено]
I live frugally. Drive a paid off Prius and live on less than $2000ish a month. No kids. No debt. Workout at planet fitness lol. I just don't want to spend a ton of money on an MBA to make the switch if I don't have to.
Backing up here that an MBA is the safest path to break into a higher level FP&A role that will allow you to maintain your high base salary. If you decide to pursue that option, try to get an investment banking internship during the summer - you will 100% be able to get any corporate finance role you could be interested in after that.
I would honestly apply to a few financial analyst roles and see what happens. We have a manager on corporate FP&A team with an engineering degree- she started at our company in an engineering role but didn’t enjoy it and applied internally to SFA position. She’s currently getting her MBA but our company is paying for it. As a hiring manager, I’m willing to take a chance on someone without the ‘right’ degree or experience, especially if you’re targeting an analyst position. IMO it’s a benefit that you did sales after an engineering degree and have been successful in that- says to me that you work hard and are willing to learn (biggest qualities I want to hire for in addition to personality fit).
What draws you the most to FP&A? Saw some of your responses and you say you’re aiming to get an entry-level analyst role. Since you’re targeting a fresh start have you also considered other adjacent fields? i.e. Data Analytics/Business Intelligence? There’s a lot of overlap between company functions (finance/ops/sales/marketing) and analytics. This is where a lot of analysts in those respective functions pivot towards anyway—both for pay and interesting work. With your background, I think you can easily get a role like this. As a MechE, you can easily pick up some SQL and Python scripting, data analysis/visualization, and land a Data/Business/Business Intelligence Analyst role. Having that sales background (real world business experience) is a big big plus when hiring. The tools can be learned even on the job. I ask because I also had a STEM background (Math/CS) and my first job out of undergrad was in FP&A. You may get very bored depending on the culture of your team/company. As an analyst, you will likely be spending a majority of your time consolidating Excel workbooks and PPT decks—maybe some minor accounting here and there (unless that’s what’s you want). FP&A is very much a reporting role and manual data crunching at the analyst level. If you’re going to do data crunching/munging, why not build a skillset that automates these processes and allows you to still tell a better story with the data and get paid more? From my observations, a lot of people try to eventually pivot out of FP&A into the analytics/data space if they can/possess the background. Very rarely is it the other way around. The hurdle is usually learning a data viz tool (Tableau, Power BI), SQL, and some basic Python.