What Ca. institution is the best place to start as a Commercial Credit Analyst?

With 8+ years as a Mortgage underwriter, 6 years as an Auto Finance Credit Buyer & 3 years as a Collections Rep & most recently 1 year as a Group Medical Insurance Underwriter but no college degree which institution is the most open minded about picking up good trainable talent to train as a Commercial Credit Analyst or Underwriter?

Please, with ALL DO RESPECT, don't respond if your only advise is, "Get a degree."

I have been a commercial credit analyst for a little while now, and like you, was in the mortgage industry as an underwriter then a processing manager but only four years vs. eight for you. A recruiter/hiring manager is going to look at your resume and see "HS Diploma" and will automatically rule you out as a canidate. It is unfortunate because it is a position you could probably learn and be successful at regardless of having a degree. I'll say this though, residential mortgage underwriting is kids stuff compared to commercial underwriting. A typical file takes a whole day to underwrite, the appraisals are 150-200 pages long, you actually have to understand how to analyze tax returns not just calculate income. It sounds like you are qualified but a degree would certainly help your case.

Jim in Las Vegas, Nevada said:

Hey thanks Jim for your wisdom I appreciate it! It may not be a lost cause though. I underwriter Group Medical Insurance which makes bank underwriter looks like kindergarten stuff. It's very much Actuarial based & I like it a lot! But I'd rather be back in the banking arena to be truthful.

Also, they hire mainly college grad's or underwriters with degree's & I beat out 350+ applicants so I'm not ashamed to say I pat myself on the back for that one! LOL

I'm going to keep trying because I figure maybe someone out there will take a chance. But I certainly appreciate your candid thoughts because most people won't come right out & say that about an industry.

Although MRI Network did consider me twice but then with ONLY residential at the time on my resume it was always a no go! I'm hoping with the Insurance Underwriting which is infinitely more difficult than mortgage underwriting & they should actually already know that (I didn't have a clue how hard it was) maybe they'll give me a shot in the future.

Wow! I don't know what happened to that post but it came over with your info...

Hey thanks Jim for your wisdom I appreciate it! It may not be a lost cause though. I underwriter Group Medical Insurance which makes bank underwriter looks like kindergarten stuff. It's very much Actuarial based & I like it a lot! But I'd rather be back in the banking arena to be truthful.

Also, they hire mainly college grad's or underwriters with degree's & I beat out 350+ applicants so I'm not ashamed to say I pat myself on the back for that one! LOL

I'm going to keep trying because I figure maybe someone out there will take a chance. But I certainly appreciate your candid thoughts because most people won't come right out & say that about an industry.

Although MRI Network did consider me twice but then with ONLY residential at the time on my resume it was always a no go! I'm hoping with the Insurance Underwriting which is infinitely more difficult than mortgage underwriting & they should actually already know that (I didn't have a clue how hard it was) maybe they'll give me a shot in the future.

It sounds like you are in good shape right now. Why do you want to make the switch if you like it a lot? Most banks looking to hire a credit analyst are going to want at least a 4 year degree in finance, accounting, etc (some even a masters) and experience in commercial underwriting/analysis. I got lucky and a company was willing to take a chance on me and things could not be better right now. I bet the combination of residential and insurance underwriting would help your case but the unfortunate thing is that the second they see no college degree they will most likely automatically disqualify you as a canidate. If you REALLY want to get into this position the best thing I can say is to maybe go for some type of commercial processing position and work your way into the analyst position. It was kind of overwhelming at first but i'm getting the hang of it but in all honesty it will take years to really master this stuff. Good luck!!

Hey Jim thanks for the info! I guess I just don't have the passion in Insurance to be honest. It's just a place to pay the bills for now. The insurance industry in many ways is still operating 20 years behind the times.

They rely to heavily on Excel & true manual calculations (which I have no problem with since I love math & excelled in it in school) but in my honest opinion I believe it compounds the possibility of human errors, especially if you have people that aren't that comfortable with math itself.

I feel like I'm in a meeting almost everyday about something that could have just been handed out through email or inter office mail. I've heard it's not just my company but the industry in a nutshell has a ton of "wasted movement", it's just very inefficient & lacks the proper flow.

There is a very short way for you to earn a degree. If you have the motivation, you can earn a BA degree in 4 weeks. Go to www.bain4weeks.com

Try to work your way in the above site and go through every single page and I am sure you will be able to do it.

Good luck