Specific work experience before applying to MFE programs? And other general questions

[lexmonkey]

Hi. I'm a newcomer and I'm a economics undergrad at Oxford. MFE programs appeal to me mainly because of the 'hard' finance skills they teach, as opposed to the 'soft' skills at MBA programs. And I've always wished to do a job that requires a high level of technical skill, rather than simply networking/interpersonal skills. I plan to work 2-3 years in an investment bank before studying for a master.

1. How important iswork experience (specific to financial engineering) in S&T or risk management area for admission to top MFE programs (like Berkeley, Chicago, Princeton)? Although I plan to have a couple of years of banking experience, I hope to work in M&A first.

2. What positions in trading do MFE grads get? Derivative pricing? structuring? research? And what is the career progression like in general?

3. I remember reading somewhere that MFE grads have to compete with PhDs for quant jobs. But then most heads of divisions have PhDs. Does this mean that the career potential of MFE is somewhat limited?

4. Academic maths ability and work experience - which is more important in admission? Or is it something else?

Thanks everyone for your help in advance. Hopefully we can all benefit from the answers

 

[doug reich]

Many of your questions have been discussed on these forums before. Please take a look at the "MFE Candidate Profiles" in my signature, as that is where those answers tend to live.

 

[jascia shen]

I think depending on the schools. Some do favor previous experience in banking or similar. Some do not care that much. You can check individual program.

 

[lexmonkey]

Just to clarify my question:

My top choice program would be Princeton's. Is 2-3 years of banking experience prior to the master degree count as relevant work experience and therefore boost my admission profile?

or is only S&T (ie trading or structuring) or Risk Management relevant experience?

Thanks agains.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

According to our wiki, Princeton does not have any MFE program. It only has a Master of Finance program.
You should contact the admission officers at Princeton directly. In general, any experience in financial domain is helpful and a plus.

 

[Telecaster]

You don't need 2-3 years of S&T/IBD experience to get into any of the top MFE programmes. Coming from Oxford econs, all you really need to do is land a summer internship. I don't know which year you are in, but ideally you should do an internship before starting your final year. Either one of two scenarios will take place:

1) You will get a full time offer at the end of the internship. In that case you can ask to defer it (it works sometimes) for the following year and when you start your final year at oxford you can apply for MFE's and tell the schools that you have a job waiting for you next year. If you are on a good 2:1 or a first, it should be hard not to get accepted by the best schools.

2) You won't get a full time offer. You can then apply for MFE's and also for another internship when you start your final year at oxford and tell the banks that you are planning on doing an MFE the following year. With a bit of luck this time you will get the full time offer at the end.