If you want to have a stab at the financial industry, you need to arm yourself with some financial credentials to make yourself look credible. For me, I had a strong interest in finance, did an MBA and now doing a CFA. Had a choice between finance or management roles in MNCs, chose finance and turned out to be a much better decision. But everybody's path is different and you got to choose one that suits you.. However, I did only have 2 years of engineering experience before I changed my career. I would imagine it gets harder and harder to switch your career if you have more years of irrelevant experience. I believe in constant upgrading and hate to be in a comfort zone, coz once you're in a comfort zone .. your career life pretty much ends there and then.. Good luck!