help in deciding which master should I pursue

[vxg]

So a little background:
- graduated in 2010 with 4 years finance degree from Melbourne University, average 87/100
- excellent grades for all maths/quants subjects I took
- has been working in a boutique investment fund (equity) for the last 2.5 years, career does not really go anywhere, I do not expect to stay in this job for long, will look for new job soon
- completed all three levels of CFA
- quite limited programming/ maths background (took some subjects about them back in uni, but I would not say that my knowledge is deep)

thinking to do master next year but I have a hard time deciding whether to apply for plain vanilla msc finance or economics (thinking of program in LSE, Oxford, Imperial) or quant finance program in the US

My heart says quant finance:
pros:
- I like mathematics. Indeed I often regretted that I took finance as undergraduate degree since it is not quant enough.

cons:
- I read that it is getting harder to get a job as a quant due to the glut of people with MFE degree
- more expensive than vanilla degree
- skillset developed is very specialised and is unlikely to be relevant for jobs outside quant field
- I do not have yet the required math and programming prerequisites so I have to study for these on top of my full time job

while the vanilla msc finance is safer:
pros:
- more generalist skills, could work in more areas
- cheaper
- I already have the necessary prerequisites to apply

cons:
- In my honours year I already did quite advanced theoretical finance and wrote a thesis (did not enjoy them too much), plus I completed CFA as well, so I am not sure if what I will learn in these programs will overlap with what I already knew


In a nutshell, I want to get into quant finance, but based on my research I feel that plain vanilla msc finance/economics is safer. I guess if the job prospect of the quant finance program is equal or better than say lse msc finance, then I will most likely go for quant finance, but apparently it is not so ? Thoughts ?

thank you

 

[fastrack]

MIT's Master of Finance program - Best of both worlds

 

[muttiah]

What do you currently do? Is it buy side research? I'm curious why you believe it's a dead end path.

 

[vxg]

What do you currently do? Is it buy side research? I'm curious why you believe it's a dead end path.

muttiah, I am indeed doing buy side research. I am not saying the job itself is bad, it's more the boutique firm I am working in. it's very small, and as you can understand there is limited learning opportunity working for a small company

Additionally, I always want to complete master before I am 30, so I thought might as well do it next year, rather than finding new job, and then do master after that.

 

[muttiah]

Perhaps MFE isn't the best route for you. You will be competing with engineers and math people, which means a lot of catching up on the math side. Work for a few more years and you pass the CFA work experience requirement. Why not network more and look for a better opportunity in the research side?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Yes, MFE isn't a golden ticket. It may work out for some not all and it's certainly not as good an investment as it was years ago. You have a job that pays a salary and somewhat relevant, try to explore internal options.

 

[vxg]

thanks for the reply guys, I am actually not doing MFE only because I want better position or more money, but because I do genuinely like the stuff, I did some subjects in undergraduate that taught you the basic of FE and found that I enjoyed the subject immensely and that I am also pretty good at it.

My two concerns are indeed what you guys have said:
-that I will have to catch up with the math and programming side of things. but for this I am thinking to do the c++ certificate of quantnet, and if I am comfortable with the material and score good mark, then I will pursue MFE

-the second is the job prospect, Andy I know there has been much more supply of financial engineers while demand is not growing, but is the situation that bad ? Is it much harder to get a job since I saw the placement rate for the good programs are still very high, or is it the case that the salary is less than few years ago ?

thank you

 

[Lamer Chrystle]

As far as I know, so-called top tier program (at most #9 on new ranking) most likely secure quality job in the United States, generally, even if you need work permits in the country. For other programs, it is all up to you. If you are hardcore worker with good communicating skill enough to make your own network, you will likely to secure a job.

Job market is getting better and better as time goes, but it is still harsh to international students.