Engineers can absolutely target finance roles from an MBA but face higher entry barriers than commerce/CA/CFA candidates since finance recruiters prefer domain-relevant backgrounds. Commenters clarified this bluntly - finance companies "mainly commerce, eco, bba, maths, stats guys. They take guys from stem/eng but for tech roles or if they have relevant work-ex or have CFA and all." An engineer without any finance signals struggles for equity research, IB, and corporate finance shortlists while winning analytics/risk/quant-adjacent finance roles. The OP (engineer background) converted finance at 16.5 LPA by combining new IIM (Rs 14-16L fees, Rs 17 LPA avg) with strong acads and finance certifications. Playbook for engineers wanting finance:
- Clear CFA L1 before joining (non-negotiable signal),
- Take 2-3 NISM modules in first trimester,
- Target finance live projects and SIP at financial research startups,
- If possible, do 1 year pre-MBA work-ex at a big 4 assurance/valuation team,
- Maintain top 20% CGPA in finance electives. At IIM Calcutta (Rs 27L fees, Rs 34.23 LPA), engineers land PE/VC/HF roles regularly. At new IIMs, engineers mostly get risk analyst, treasury, or corporate banking relationship manager roles - capped at 12-16 LPA. If you are an engineer chasing frontline IB/PE/Hedge Funds, aim for BLACKI or FMS Delhi (Rs 2.43L fees, Rs 34 LPA) - new IIMs give limited access to those roles. For middle-of-the-road finance (retail banking MT, treasury, corporate finance), engineers at new IIMs succeed if they show genuine domain interest through certifications. Check your eligibility at collvera.com/eligibility