Job perspective for MFE grads in the years to come

[myownstrategy]

Hi everyone
I intended to apply for MFE program this year but I failed both UC Berkeley and Oxford....
I admit my background is not of top notch so I am pretty ok with the result. Here I'd like to post some questions on the future of MFE grads.
The quants in my place are still hiring. However, most hires that I know of, 90% are exprienced people with a few holding a quiet descent phd degree. For other area such as research and trading, most new hires are previously trader or quants. The point is that everyone of them has very good working exprience.
Although I don't know much about current placement of MFE program, but I will be very surprised to see a good result this year..
Can someone please share your opinion on the following matter?
1. Will quant need more people in the future?
2. Is it worth for me to apply for MFE next year?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Predicting what's hot and to model your study after that is a crap shot at best. Don't over-specialize and put yourself in a hole.
http://www.quantnet.com/forum/threads/enough-quant-jobs-for-mfe-grads.8448/

 

[olgenue]

There are other areas where MFE skills can be put to good use. I am currently working in Asset-Liability Management, housed under Group Treasury of my bank. I had to use a lot Oracle SQL because my job requires me to work with large databases and do data-mining. Granted, I am not pricing options or structuring exotic derivatives, but I still get to play around with databases, use statistics, and learn how to manage interest rate risk.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Exactly what he said
http://www.quantnet.com/forum/threads/learn-sql.7554/

 

[purplyboy]

But you don't need to have an MFE to do SQL work. Can't you just have a computer science degree or sql certification and pass all CFA exams and do the same thing?

 

[olgenue]

SQL is part of the work. It is a tool I use to extract data. After which, I use statistics to analyze that data. I find myself frequently referring to the textbook "Statistics and Data Analysis for Financial Engineering" by David Ruppert. The material contained in it is standard MFE curriculum.