Advantages of going to Uni in Big Financial hubs - Chi/Nyc/SF/LA etc

[Joy Pathak]

So I was wondering...

What are some of the advantages or maybe disadvantages of going to universities located n major financial hubs like Chicago and NYC?

People say.."great opportunity to network...etc".. What does that mean? Do you just see random people at Starbucks and say hi...I am so and so..whats up..do you work in a big bank?...

I am just trying to figure out some of the major advantages... I am moving to Chicago to goto uni there for Masters and was wondering what are some things I could do to increase my chance of getting a job there.

I was thinking some of the possible advantages are:

1) Proximity to a range of events that would be taking place. Conferences/career fairs/seminars...etc. be able to network at such events.
2) Greater chances of running into people working in Finance at social events (clubs...bars ...etc) and networking from there?
3) Having the ability of literally going up to the office of some firms and handing in resumes personally. I am not sure if this would even be allowed or possible?
... Just some things I could think off.

Disadvantages:
1) There are millions like you there?
2) Cost of living.
...


Would love to hear more inputs from people who have lived/live in Chicago..NYC...etc or have gone to school there and have generally benefited from the fact that they were in these cities and would not have been exposed to similar situations if they weren't there.

 

[IlyaKEightSix]

Networking means this:

Your school is a 5 minute train ride from any which firm. Tons of firms will go to your school to recruit its students. You then present yourself to these firms and try to make connections with their employees.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

The question is phrased in such a way that it sounds to me that you are interested only in career aspects so I'm not going to discuss things such as "college life".

I can't say much about Chicago or other big cities since I only live in NYC.
One of the best about NYC is the abundance of opportunities to do things. You literally have to choose what events to not go to. At any day during the week, you can select whether to go to a free seminar by Peter Carr at Bloomberg, a quant finance talk organized by Columbia, Courant, Baruch or any other banks, software firms (Numerix, etc).
You can join a casual meet and drink organized by the local members of WM, NP, QN. If you live in the middle of nowhere, forget about these.

That said, the networking advantage is a bit overestimated in my opinion. Given the busy schedule of a student doing MFE full-time in NYC, it is very difficult to take advantage of these available opportunities since they are often set during evening where courses are in session. In my own estimate, a student can go to about a handful of these events if they manage their time wisely.

If you are one of those who can work the networking scene, you can't beat what NYC can offer. No matter where you turn, you will always turn into someone who works in finance.

NYC is very fast paced. Time seems to zip by and everyone in NYC seems to be in hurry. That's just the lifestyle here and many people from small town have a hard time to cope.

 

[Joy Pathak]

Yeah. That's what I figured. As someone said on another thread to me... If you go on the street and hand out resumes half the people would be financial people.

Regarding College life... I would assume it's pretty amazing. I have been to my share of parties in Chicago and NYC. Pacha NYC used to be my place to be.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

You probably won't have a life, let alone social life, when you start these programs. If you have too much time to party, you are at the wrong program. Many people learn to sleep 4 hours a day to keep up with the study.
Big cities have its exciting nightlife but you can wait till you done with studying. Once in a while during break, you can go out with colleagues and NYC is an amazing place to be.

Just take a look at the many photo I put up during my MFE time.

 

[Joy Pathak]

oh yeah. I have got all the partying out of me. I am trying to see if I can start earlier actually (summer semester). Just want to get in swinging already.

I will be attending school in chicago, so not sure how often I will get to goto nyc. Just trying to see how I can milk the big city in my favour for career and educational prospects.

 

[bigbadwolf]

The financial engineering departments at places like Baruch and Columbia have working relationships with people in finance, including their own alumni. Placement with cutting-edge firms is a real possibility. Additionally, people in the industry come to these departments to talk, which affords you the opportunity to remain au courant with what's going on and to strike up a conversation. You won't find this in Swampwater where they think it's a big deal to teach you the Black-Scholes formula. Of course a hub like New York (or London) is more competitive, with the best and brightest flocking there. But that's because there are real stakes involved.