- Joined
- 2/7/13
- Messages
- 3
- Points
- 11
I am in the MS - Financial Mathematics at TAMU. I tried all this past semester to get a Quant internship, with no luck. From what I can gather, my program is not well-received. Looking at the alumni, most end up being teachers or actuaries. Some end up in Finance PhD programs.
Admittedly, the program seems to be focused on moving on through academia, possibly actuarial science. It resides in the Math department, and focuses on financial versions of mathematics, as opposed to focusing on how finance can be understood/explained with mathematics. That may be vague, but basically I have taken 3 courses on probability and stochastic calculus, but nothing on how these are used. (Not that I don't understand how these are used.) From what I gather, at CM or UCB or Baruch, the focus is specifically on how these various methods are used in financial markets, and are focused on developing workers for the industry. (Is this distinction making sense?)
My question is - Do I stand a chance becoming a quant? My finance prof last semester told me I was at the wrong place, and to apply to other programs. I did, and was rejected by Baruch, waitlisted by BU, an I have not heard back from UCLA or UNCC (my (hopefully) "sure-thing" application).
After this past semester of rejection, I am tempted to rage-quit and just take the actuarial exams. (On the plus side, I spoke to a P&C actuary this semester, and he seemed to do a lot more financial-engineering-type tasks than I would have expected... But being an actuary seems so damned BORING!)
Any thoughts?
Admittedly, the program seems to be focused on moving on through academia, possibly actuarial science. It resides in the Math department, and focuses on financial versions of mathematics, as opposed to focusing on how finance can be understood/explained with mathematics. That may be vague, but basically I have taken 3 courses on probability and stochastic calculus, but nothing on how these are used. (Not that I don't understand how these are used.) From what I gather, at CM or UCB or Baruch, the focus is specifically on how these various methods are used in financial markets, and are focused on developing workers for the industry. (Is this distinction making sense?)
My question is - Do I stand a chance becoming a quant? My finance prof last semester told me I was at the wrong place, and to apply to other programs. I did, and was rejected by Baruch, waitlisted by BU, an I have not heard back from UCLA or UNCC (my (hopefully) "sure-thing" application).
After this past semester of rejection, I am tempted to rage-quit and just take the actuarial exams. (On the plus side, I spoke to a P&C actuary this semester, and he seemed to do a lot more financial-engineering-type tasks than I would have expected... But being an actuary seems so damned BORING!)
Any thoughts?
