Bank of America QMAP

[werfty]

Does anybody have any insight into this program? Is it a possible alternative to a Masters degree in Quantitative Finance? What are the career opportunities like after the program?

I didn't come across much, so any information would be appreciated.

 

[Ken Abbott]

I ran the QMAP program for four years. It's a rotational job program, not a classroom experience.

 

[werfty]

Thanks!

What kind of careers did people go for after completing the program?

 

[Ken Abbott]

Trading, Treasury, Risk, primarily.

 

[werfty]

Suppose I were to get accepted into a top tier Financial Engineering program at CMU or Columbia or NYU, etc, as well as Bank of America's QMAP. Considering the immense cost of some of these Financial Engineering schools, would you recommend QMAP over them?

 

[Ken Abbott]

If you're a quant, you'll need graduate education. Without experience, however, you're just spinning your wheels. Best bet: go to work and get your firm to pay for you to go at night. I did 2 graduate degrees at NYU that way. With some experience, you'll find your motivation is MUCH different.

 

[shadefaliam]

If you're a quant, you'll need graduate education. Without experience, however, you're just spinning your wheels. Best bet: go to work and get your firm to pay for you to go at night. I did 2 graduate degrees at NYU that way. With some experience, you'll find your motivation is MUCH different.

@Ken Abbott

I see that BoA also recruits for QMAP from the top quantitative masters program (MIT/ UC Berkeley etc) . What is your opinion about somebody joining the QMAP after a MS degree? I mean what do you think are the career prospects for master's students joining QMAP compared to graduates from traditional quant programs like CMU/NYU/Columbia? Thank You.

 

[Ken Abbott]

It's been 8 years since I left B of A, but I'd imagine that the prospects are more or less the same for any MS students with a quant background. There's less differentiation at the workplace than many people seem to think. Either you can count to eleven with your shoes on or you can't. That mean 3 semesters of calc, some linear algebra, and some statistics. If you want to do model review, you should know PDEs. If you want to do risk management, you should do time series.