New Quantnet members say hi

[hari]

Hi guys,

I am Hari. I am in electrical engineering at University of Toronto, Canada. I am in 3rd year right now.

I am trying to figure out if financial engineering is right for me or not. I'd really appreciate if you guys can help me with this. I am a very confused person right now!

So here is my background:
I love mathematics. I have taken three calculus courses, a linear algebra and differential equations course, and a probability course till now. I can take partial differential equations if needed. Plus in EE I am majoring in control systems and communications and DSP, all of which are math oriented.

Now I don't love programming, but I can do it if required. I have taken a couple of courses in it (java and C++). I have done webserver programming in C++ as well. What is the level of programming in financial engineering? Is it really high? Or is it doable for someone with 2-3 years experience of programming in C++? I have knowledge of MATLAB as well. I can also take an intro course in operations research if needed.

Through a mandatory economics course, I am being introduced to bonds and other basic concepts of finance. I find that stuff pretty interesting and in fact that's what spurred me to take a look at jobs dealing with it and led me to financial engineering.

So you guys think that I have the required background to get into financial engineering? And also how do I figure out if financial engineering is right for me or not? Or whether I should try for MBA?

And also do you guys know if the University of Toronto's financial engineering program is any good or not?

Thanks,

Hari.

PS: My plan to see if I like this field or not is as follows: During the summer I will get MS Joshi's book 'Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance'. If I am able to teach it to myself(assuming it can be done by an undegrad) and if I like it, I will try to get into the field. Otherwise...well I guess financial engineering is not for me .

[Terence]

Hi everybody,

My name is Terence and I am completing a masters in EE right now at Georgia Tech. I am having trouble figuring out a career path in EE that I'd like so I looked at other areas where I could apply my skills. I've always like math and enjoyed programming and kind of stumbled on to discovering the career that is a quant. I'm doing some research on it, looking through some related lecture notes on MIT OpenCourse, and hoping to apply in a MFE program Fall 2009 as well.

As another poster noted, this forum has been quite a blessing and I've gained (and likely continue to gain) a ton of beneficial information! So a sincere thanks to everybody on this board!

[LarryChang]

Hi, Everyone,

Just joined this site and found it a great place to be connected with you guys. I have a M.S. in Engineering with software dev experience in financial firm and try to get into quant.
Is self-study a way to get the 1st job? Are there any better recruiters in NorthEast in today's tought market.

Thanks

[Andy]

Hi Larry,
I already feel connected to you :)
Self-study is a way to gain knowledge, not necessarily the first quant job. To transfer knowledge into jobs, you have to market yourself. You have to be really out there: network, talk to recruiters.
By Northeast, I assume you mean NYC unless you include Boston. Chicago is midwest.
There are a few local recruiters here (Todd Fahey, TimZ, EricFlemmings) which you can represent yourself to.

There is also a growing trend of private recruitment that happens on Quantnet. There are hiring managers that visit Quantnet and privately contact members that they are interested in. I know that for a fact because several of them have contacted me to see if I know someone of such and such qualifications.

If you represent yourself professionally and positively, chances are somebody will contact you.

[luso]

hello Larry,
Networking is a very important thing.

[narasimhan]

On the intro note, I have recently joined the site as well. My background is a Bachelors from IIIT in Computer Science, and currently with a consulting firm.

Have always been an avid follower of macro-economics and capital markets, but got inspired on becoming a quant while doing extensive consulting for Prime brokerages. As an aspiring quant, I have found the posts here extremely useful, and interesting.

Kudos to Andy, John and other for their great work in keeping this forum bubbling!

[gautam arora]

Hi Guys,

On the introduction front, I am working with Nokia Siemens Networks, Bangalore, India as a software research engineer... with a longstanding interest in maths and finance, I hope to pursue a masters degree in financial engineering in near future. I am happy to have joined this forum where i can meet people with the same career interests and i hope to learn a lot from the experts here.

[jack ren]

Hi, everybody, this is jack from China.
I used to be majoring in math as undergrad. Currently working as an accountant in accounting firm.I'm planning for entering the MFE in 2009. Hope that will be true...:dance:
Thanks for so much info in this forum:)

[shanky]

Hello everybody ......
I am shankar here, just joined this community and would like to say hi to all :).

[qxcao]

Hi all,

This is really a very impressive forum. Threads are helpful, people are willing to help each other. That's why I decide to join.

I work as a Credit Risk Analyst in US BanK right now. I'm planning to apply for the MFE in 2009.

I believe I will have a lot of questions to ask.

Thanks to your reply in advance!

:D

[Albert Hung]

I am a new comer ! I found this forum when I searching for financial engineering related information. I wish I can find something about convertible bond or volatility trading!

[sergei]

Great forum. Looking forward to participating.

[Zahid]

I am a new comer! I found this forum when I was searching for Black-Sholes via Monte-Carlo Simulation related information.

[babyboss]

Hi my name is Jack, I have a great interest in Quant Finance

[freeasabird]

Hi everybody,

This is Piero from Italy, I just secured a place in the MFE@Berkeley for 2009/2010.

I believe networking skilss are just as important as your hard ones, joining this forum can do nothing but boost connections with people with similar interests!

Looking forward to sharing with you.
PB

[Yuriy]

Welcome :) hope you find here all you are looking for. And don't hesitate to ask questions or join discussions.

[Wenhao She]

Dear all:),

I am applying the Risk management, Master Program in Switzerland. They have one in Laussane University. I am writing the personal statement now and hope we will have good time together~

[Isaac]

Hi All,

I'm highly glad 2 join ur fold, wish I had met this forum earlier.

I just got my admission letter 2 rutgers MQF, also applied 2 ICMA centre(reading) for MFE (new course and Seftci also lectures there) though i'm yet to get a decision.

Look forward 2 working in NY/London for a couple of years then rtn 2 Nigerian.

Isaac:prayer:

[David]

Hello, everybody. I am currently a quant student and will graduate towards the end of this year.

[marcjuliano]

Hi guys,

PS: My plan to see if I like this field or not is as follows: During the summer I will get MS Joshi's book 'Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance'. If I am able to teach it to myself(assuming it can be done by an undegrad) and if I like it, I will try to get into the field. Otherwise...well I guess financial engineering is not for me .


Heya Hari!

seems we have some liked interests. altho, i am not an EE major or never thought of it. i found out about Financial Engineering while learning how to do Technical Analysis of stocks...and came about realizing alot of it has to do with math and calculus..etc. so with that in mind, i realized how much i enjoy technical analysis and am looking to become a Chartered Market Technician on top of getting a Masters in Quantitative Finance/Financial Engineering. what i hope by getting through this site is maybe a mentor to guide me.
In my opinion, i think you are on the right track. Not only would i read that book in Mathematical Finance I would read books on Technical Analysis and other books or articles on Finance, economics and how to invest or how to trade. All basic readings, and if you enjoy them and enjoy math.. then FE maybe the career for you as a Quantitative Analyst. but i'm as a novice as you are. I have worked in Finance already on a trading desk as an Asst. Trader and a Treasury Analyst. so i actually am starting school again Full Time this summer and plan on going to SUNY Stony Brook in the Fall of 2009 for their new Quant Finance program.
Also, to be honest with you, i never even thought of reading a "Mathematical Finance" book like you mentioned.. i'm going to Barnes&Noble now, today, to see if i could find one.. (Dont know why i didnn't think of that.. .so thank you!!) thats why i love this forum, we all could help each other... Back to the book... one thing i know for sure.. if you do not find that book interesting, you don't like it or you can't learn it.. do NOT let that be your deciding factor. . learning in a classroom, as you know is a big difference then learning on your own... just b/c you may not like that book wont mean you will not like finance or Financial Engineering..
Relating to you getting an EE and a MBA.. i think you maybe onto something there!!!
many companies also look for Electrical Engineering these days b/c of the similarities AND their are more EE's out there than there are FE's. In my opinion, if you do not do a FE program, I think an EE with an MBA is a fantastic idea...!! please let me know what you decide, as it may help me figure out what to do...
i'm looking to go back to school...(again) full time starting this summer as a Full Time student. i'm 30years old and actualy plan on living in the dorms again.. Yes, i am.. but i hate the idea of living with an 18year old freshman as i will be this adult transfer student. but being that i wouldn't have to worry about other things such as an apartment and paying rent.. i could put all my effort into studying which with this type of degree i think is important.. i plan on getting an Econ/Political Science degree and minor in math... or vice versa or some combination of those... i already have a 130credits towards a Bachelor's in Communications.. so im stepping back to move forward by getting those math credits and improving my GPA.
well, my friend.. good luck to you!

best regards,
jules

[marcjuliano]

hiya guys!
i am so thrilled to have found this site. as i was looking for some kind of mentor, i found this site to be a perfect fit to mentor me..! i have worked in finance for a number of years as an asst trader and a treasury analyst. i was injured (not on the job) became sick and disabled for five years. i'm turning 31 next month and looking to begin school FullTime starting this summer...(again). i have 130credits towards a bachelor's in communications. being that will not help me get into a Financial Engineering program.. i will be getting a degree in Economics/Political Science and minor in Math.. or vice versa, or some combination of those three.. I should be able to begin a Master's in Quantitative Finance starting in the Fall of 2009 at SUNY Stony Brook. their program, like many others is brand spanking new.. their first candidates began this past fall of 2007!
that will actually be my best, most logical, most affordable choice.. as I plan on applying to UC Berkley, NYU and Columbia.. i probably will not be able to get into any of them... let alone afford it.. but we'll se...!
if anyone wants to give me some pointers, advice or better yet.. tell me their stories... as the more and more people i hear from telling me what they did and/or are going thru.. it paints a better picture by hearing so called 'biographies' of Financial Engineering students...

[marcjuliano]

Hello, everybody. I am currently a quant student and will graduate towards the end of this year.

hey excel..!
congrats on soon graduating..! if you don't mind me asking, where are you graduating from? will you be getting your master's? or undergrad? or PhD? also, please accept my apologies for asking so many questions.. its just that i am first starting off.. i wont be starting a Master's until Fall of 2009 to give me time to get some math credits and a new undergrad in.. But i would like to know your exact degree title? Is it "Financial Engineering/Quantitative Finance"? Or, is it "Applied Mathematics and Statistics in Finance"? I only ask b/c i am wondering what the difference is, if there is a difference at all and if you know? I hear sometimes ppl saying that FE is typically a one year master's program and the Applied Math in Finance is a two year master's.

[David]

hey excel..!
congrats on soon graduating..! if you don't mind me asking, where are you graduating from? will you be getting your master's? or undergrad? or PhD? also, please accept my apologies for asking so many questions.. its just that i am first starting off.. i wont be starting a Master's until Fall of 2009 to give me time to get some math credits and a new undergrad in.. But i would like to know your exact degree title? Is it "Financial Engineering/Quantitative Finance"? Or, is it "Applied Mathematics and Statistics in Finance"? I only ask b/c i am wondering what the difference is, if there is a difference at all and if you know? I hear sometimes ppl saying that FE is typically a one year master's program and the Applied Math in Finance is a two year master's.

I am a part-time student in the mathematical finance master's program at NYU. I think FE, applied math in finance, computational finance, and mathematical finance are different names of the same field. The difference in time to get the degree is mainly due to the difference in the amount of course work required.

[Andy]

Hi Excel VBA,
Welcome to Quantnet.
Is your user name what you mostly learn/use in the NYU program ? No C++ or Matlab ?

[David]

Hi Excel VBA,
Welcome to Quantnet.
Is your user name what you mostly learn/use in the NYU program ? No C++ or Matlab ?

At NYU we use C++, Java, Matlab, R, and Excel/VBA to do assignments (some assignments have to be completed with certain languages to make sure students learn that tool). Overall, Excel/VBA is used more often than any other languages.

[Andy]

Thank you.
That's what I heard about the NYU program (lot of Matlab, VBA) but want to double check with someone who actually studied there.

What are the differences between the FT and PT programs there? Do they study the exact same materials with the same professors? Also heard that PT students don't get career placement help.

Thanks for all the feedback. You are the first NYU students who posted here so we'll try to learn as much as we can from you ;)

[David]

Your information is correct. at NYU FT and PT students attend the same lectures, do the same assignments, and take the same exams. When it comes to placement, PT students are largely on their own.

[BayesKid]

heyy everyone - glad to find this site! fairly recent graduate from UChicago's Financial Math program, workin at my first job, getting knee-deep in C# now.

Andy, thx for some of the great code u've put up here!! Especially creating UDF's in Excel using C# and VS2008. very verrrry helpful!!

~bayeskid

[Andy]

Hi BayesKid,
Welcome to Quantnet. Congrats on your first job.
It's interesting that you found us via a piece of C# post instead of tons of posts about quant, MFE program (U Chicago MFM among them).
If you have any question about C#, shoot us a question.

[nansverma]

Hi

Just dropped in to say hi to all !! I am a new member. I find this website extremely useful.
My background is Integrated Mtech in Mathematics and Computing from IIT Delhi.
No work ex.
2 internships in France Research Centres ( JAVA, C++).
Studying MS in Finance at IIT Stuart. So neither from Baruch nor NYC :)
I had nothing to do with finance before coming to US. But now I enjoy it to the fullest.
I am glad people at this forum are helping each other a lot
instead of trying to outdo one other...

Good luck to all for their endeavour !!

[BayesKid]

Hi BayesKid,
Welcome to Quantnet. Congrats on your first job.
It's interesting that you found us via a piece of C# post instead of tons of posts about quant, MFE program (U Chicago MFM among them).
If you have any question about C#, shoot us a question.

Hi Andy! Actually I found out bout quantnet.org thru wilmott.com ... but I was a lurker til yesterday. Had to thank ya for that C# code because it saved my life- exactly the sort of example I was looking for.

I work in Chicago, a small option marketmaking prop shop, but interested in some of the hedge funds in NYC ... looking to eventually do stat arb'y sort of trading that I did on my own before enrolling at UChicago.

[Andy]

I made that post after seeing someone on Wilmott asking for help and nobody helped him. Maybe a good tutorial but I doubt it actually saved anyone's life :)
Did you learn C++/C# in the UChicago program? Is your work very much involved with C#/Excel? just curious why you guys use C# instead of C++ there?

[bhargav]

Hi All

I am Bhargav from India. I visited couple of forums where discussion on quant finance programs takes place. Among these, Quantnet is undoubtedly the best where people are very amiable and give some real advice with lot of patience.

thanks to everyone who participates here.

brief background
Education : B.Tech from IIT Guwahati, 2006
Work experience : 1 year 9 months (Bank of America and Headstrong financial services)
CFA Level 2 candidate
I will most likely (99.99%) be attending Baruch this fall.
(I am posting my profile in an effort to help prospective students)

Thanks,
Bhargav R

[daveman]

Hi everybody!

I joined because from what I heard it looks like a good community, and found some useful information about programming here.

Quick Background: Final year Masters, Mathematics, Imperial College London, plenty of Matlab,R, and C experience. Knowledge of monte carlo methods, stochastic simulation, pdes, pattern recognition, financial management and lots more.

Look forward to posting more in this forum!

[alain]

HI daveman, welcome to Quantnet!!!

[Andy]

I joined because from what I heard it looks like a good community
Please tell us what and whom you heard it from :)

[Yoshi]

Hello, out to everyone on here. It's a pleasure to see so many active members constantly posting valuable information and getting to know each other. I'm currently and undergrad at Hunter college and I recently joined the forum upon researching MFE programs in the NY area. I'm not a math wiz or anything of the sort like I see so many ppl around these neighborhoods are. But I love mathematical finance and economics.

Now, I know I'm new here and I don't want to damper or reign upon the light of anyone else. But it seems like ppl are too focused on just the math side of things. Now don't get me wrong, mathematics/statistics is a wonderful tool to use in understanding and modeling concepts. However, where's the other side of things...the human side? Not everything can be quantified through numbers. Sometimes, ppl need to study the bigger picture as well. So this means trying to understand the behaviors of others and also trying to make sure the models are accurate, like in econometrics. This process is by no means an easy task. Which is why I feel that a team is better capable at doing this than any single person.

Also, no doubt I myself would like to enter into an MFE program, preferably, Baruch. But I see so many ppl that know the same stuff, whether it be black-scholes equations, stochastic processes, C++, Matlab, R, VBA, etc...how is any of this suppose to distinguish anyone person from the next? Shouldn't we also focus on developing OTHER skills that can tie all of this together and strengthen our individuality? Something that can set us apart from "the rest"?

I don't know, maybe it's just me being too cynical. Let me know what you think, especially those that have some experience out there because I'm but a novice 25 y/o, part-time nurse, who loves economics and the financial market.

[alain]

I don't think you are being cynical but a little bit naive. Quants tend to be mavericks who disdain the soft skills. The human side goes down the toillete because soft souls will get crushed in the market.

Of course people would want to distinguished themselve from the rest of the pack. How do you measure it? Simple, by the size of the wallet. It comes down to that. Market players want to perfect such skills that will make them the most money and you'll try to develop that edge to the maximum.

This is not a team game. It's more of an individual competition (maybe you can think of a team as an individual entity). Teams are good but, at the end, it comes down to how my team can destroy another team and get the most out of it. That's the reality in black and white.

[Yoshi]

All right, no doubt. I like your answer. And I can't disagree with you. After all, that's what capitalism is all about, right. And when I said "the human side of things". I didn't mean from a sympathetic perspective. I meant that we also have to look at other factors than just what the numbers tell us. Things like international factors, the different decisions that ppl make depending on what market your looking at, etc. So in other words, doing the math isn't the only thing that will help us predict something or understand something. We need to view things as a bigger picture.

But I was just tired of hearing a lot of ppl constantly boasting about the fact that they know black-scholes equation, monte-carlo, computer programming etc, etc. It gets a little boring hearing about how everyone knows the same stuff. This to me won't be getting anyone's "pocket's fatter". Especially when ppl can't differentiate themselves from the competition. If everyone knows how to count 5+5 and nothing different, then how can we claim to have a comparative advantage that can "destroy the competition"?

[Asish]

Hello,
I am a professional trader ,trading in Indian Capital Mkt since 2000,done my Graduation with Satistics as major in 1973 & completed MBA in 1978.
Came here to Learn.

Asish

[Suman]

Yoshi, are you trying to emphasize about having an 'edge' in the markets?
and perhaps that the edge does not comes from mathematical/computing skills alone which can be learned from few books ?

[Bridgett]

Hello,
I am a professional trader ,trading in Indian Capital Mkt since 2000,done my Graduation with Satistics as major in 1973 & completed MBA in 1978.
Came here to Learn.

Asish

Welcome, Asish! We look forward to learning from you as well!:D

[Aditya Chitral]

@suman

its not about emphasizing. Its just about putting one's perspective

@Yoshi

Everyone has his/her own traits. I am not sure if I am the correct person to comment on since I would be starting with my FE program this fall. But I feel that such formal things of mathematics and statistics give you a foundation on which you can justify your "human side". what makes one different is the usage of the knowledge that one has. One person may use the knowledge of black-scholes for doing something while the other may keep it in the bag forever.

[Mrudula K]

Hello guyz,

I am Mrudula and I have applied for MFE program at Baruch for Fall-08.
As abt my background, I hv completed my MBA in Finance and was working as Relationship Manager at HDFC Bank-India. Prior to that I completed my BE in Information Technology ans was working as a s/w engineer at Patni Computers. Thts abt me. I am glad i got to know abt quantnet. The posts are very informative and ppl here are friendly :)

Ciao
Cheers
Mrudula

[Yoshi]

@suman

its not about emphasizing. Its just about putting one's perspective

@Yoshi

Everyone has his/her own traits. I am not sure if I am the correct person to comment on since I would be starting with my FE program this fall. But I feel that such formal things of mathematics and statistics give you a foundation on which you can justify your "human side". what makes one different is the usage of the knowledge that one has. One person may use the knowledge of black-scholes for doing something while the other may keep it in the bag forever.

Hey, thanks for that remark. I can see where you're coming from with your explanation. I'm just a type of person that likes to see "fresh" ideas and thinking outside of the box you know. So I was just curious to see if anyone around here is practicing different things. Or using things in their own way. I'm not a financial engineer as of now but I want to learn more about what is actually going on in the field. Because school is one thing but work may be another.

BTW good knowledge with you FE program. So where will you be going to school this fall, if I may ask?

[ibukunakinloye]

Hi everyone,

My name is Ibukun Akinbola Akinloye and like to be called Ibukun or better still IBK.

My interests have always being in something that has to do with growth either living or non-living, from farming to learning new ideas and stuffs. When less busy i play more of board games, and am presently learning how to play lawn tennis.

With my little exposure of over 14months now in banking, my interest in Finance is growing everyday.
Well have being looking for a finance course at a masters level that will be able to accomodate my IT background and interest in learning finance before now until i came across this course through UC, Berkeley.

Am applying for the next session starting in march 2009 and before then i wont mind knowing and getting along and learning one or two things from you folks out there.

Waiting for the memory lane to be open, as i believe this is an experience, people and style of learning i will never forget.


Best Regards,

Ibukun Akinloye

[QQQQ]

Hi there!

I am not a quant. No PHD no Masters. No intention to get any. I am just a BSc in CS. But I am an algo developer in a sell side firm. Am I welcomed to join?

[Andy]

We welcome people with all level of education and expertise who wants to learn and contribute to our community.

[Icarus]

Hi everybody! I will be applying to MFE programs for 2009. I hold an integrated MSc in mathematics and computing from IIT, India and currently working for a US investment bank in the IT division. After reading a few chapters of J.C Hull and a few chapters from a book on technical analysis i became interested in furthering my career in quantitative finance... but my GRE score is very less 1310 (quant:800 verbal:510) and i don't have any financial certifications... could someone tell me what certifications might help me in both admission as well as it would make sense in the long run...

[DominiConnor]

Andy has a point about the reading list.
One thing I've been trying to research is the drop out rate at different programs.

I have absolutely no hard numbers, but people tell me of 25-35%, which is an expensive thing to go wrong. Since I don't know Kunal, I hope he won't be offended if I assume he is average, and thus ought to be as ready as possible.

[tonyk]

I'm a new comer to this field~ and I'm planning to start my career as a quant~
Glad to be your friend and learn more from this site.
Thank you~

[CREA]

I am really exciting to join Quantnet and hope to make great use of this community for my career
as well as provide useful information for those who want to work in finace field.
:)

[quirkfee]

Hi everyone,
I consider myself lucky to have found such an active forum for aspiring quants. I have found a wealth of insightful posts & references while browsing the forums the past few days, thanks to all!

I currently work in quantitative modeling on the proprietary trading desk for an IB, but am starting the full time MSCF program at CMU NY this Fall. I hope to develop my maths to a deeper level and continue doing some challenging work in the years ahead.

Glad to meet everyone here.

[Andy]

Quirkfee,
You must have found us via GD, right.
What the reason to study FT and not work and study PT? Is your current work something you see yourself doing in the future or you want some different direction? (By the way, what product is you currently on?)
If you prefer, send me a PM. I'm in a similar role as yours but about to graduate from the Baruch MFE program.

In any case, welcome to Quantnet. I notice that we have many recent graduates from the local MFE programs now posting Quantnet which is a great thing to see. Hope to see more discussion and info passing around here.

[parmendra]

Hi

Just dropped in to say hi to all !! I am a new member. I find this website extremely useful.
quick intro-i've done M.Sc.(physics), have taken admission to ms(finance) icfai uni..:-k
I am glad people at this forum are helping each other a lot
instead of trying to outdo one other...

Good luck to all for their endeavour !!
http://www.quantnet.org/forum/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif

[Dung Nguyen]

Hi everyone!!!

My name is Dzung Nguyen, I graduated with Computer Science major. Also, I like mathematics and finance. I am going to take economics course in future.

Nice to meet you all.

[larry jean]

Hello everyone!

my name is Larry Jean, a PhD candidate in Applied Math, with a MS in Pure Math and BS in Bioengineering. I'd like to first of all say that Quantnet.org is a great quant community, I have already found so much helpful information and received some useful advice within a few days of joining.

As an applied mathematician, I've always been curious to find out how math can be applied to different fields. I am absolutely hooked to mathematical modeling in finance after randomly coming across some option pricing models for a stochastic processes class. I have no experience in finance except a part-time job at a retirement strategies firm doing some IT stuff, but hope that's all about to change :)

Its exciting to find out that there's a whole new world out there for PhD level quantitative ppl.

Best of luck everyone, and nice meeting you all!!!

Larry

[Tomasz]

hello everyone,
My name is Tomasz(Tom) and I'm a student now doing two degrees , math(second year) and finance(first year). I hope to learn a lot from your experience :)!
See you around!

[liontrainer]

Hello everyone,

My name is Sevan. I am student at MFE in Istanbul, Bogazici University.

Mathematical Engineering and Information Technologies (BSc) are my degrees.

Perfect forum!

[zheng]

Hi there,

My name is Zheng. I'm a Ph.D. student of CS working on functional programming and high-level parallel programming language design and implementation. I'm not sure whether I can finally find a position in financial industry, but I'm trying. Nice to meet you all.

[Jhussain]

just saying hello to all the quants out there

[siddhartha]

Hi all I am also a new member here.

[Fitsume]

Dear all,

I am very grateful for being a new member of Quantnet Community, and i am highly aware the support that i will receive from you.
I am an Electrical engineer graduated from Addis Ababa University in 2003G.C. Since then i have an experience working in scientific computing and Construction companies as an a network Engineer and customs clearance agent. I have been always dreamed of studyinig Financial Engineering and working in Financial analysis companies that extensively use the Mathimatical tools.

And now i am an M.Sc in computer science , F-1 student in USA and ready to receive your kindest advice with gratitude so that i can switch to study Mathematical Finance which has been a very burning desire for me for a long time. With all my due respects to you all, i am waiting to hear from you very soon,
:)
Truly Yours
Fitsume Dagnew

[Esteban Gomez]

Hello Quants.

I am just starting my Bsc. and starting to gather info about programs with more advanced mathematics. this is a great site for prospective students, i have found a lot of useful information in here. Thanks for welcoming us:)

[Kornoelje]

Hello and thank all you veterans for the myriad of information I have found on the forum. I'm currently finishing my bachelors in finance with a minor in mathematics from Grand Valley State University in Michigan. Upon completion, I look forward to applying to many of the MFE programs across the country, and will continue to comb this and other sites for tips that can make me a competitive candidate against the field. Thanks again to all you veterans that help people like me plan their career goals. Cheers!

[Polik]

Hi Everyone ;)

I'm glad I have found such a wonderful forum where everyone is helping each other so much. I think this forum is really worthwhile for us, the beginners with the great topic of mathematical finance. I live in Prague, Czech Republic, and believe me when saying there is just a few people who know about what's really going on on Wall Street nowadays (I mean what kind of methodology do they use to get money). That's why I like it here. Much valuable information which help me to direct my energy and potential can I found!!!

Now I'm finishing my Bachelor study in Finance and in addition I would like to start with Mathematics next semester. I really liked the Math on high school but I wasn't sure about its practical use because management is considered as the best way how to earn big money in our country and "scientists" are starving. But now I'm glad to see that sciences brings also promising future and looking forward so much to get into very exciting Math like Probability, Stochastic Processes, Mathematical Statistics and so on.

Hopefully after I have finished my Master degrees in Math and Finance, I will join you there, on Baruch College.

See you all :tiphat:

[newjersey]

Hi everyone !

I just discovered quantnet.org. That's great !

I am currently a post-doc at Princeton University but:
1. I am bored and fed up with academia
2. I am fascinated by finance
3. I need to make more money :D

I am actively preparing myself to apply to quants positions on Wall Street (mainly reading books and solving brainteasers). My background is:
1. Diploma in engineering in applied mathematics (5-yr degree)
2. MSE in civil engineering
3. PhD in applied sciences (computational finite elements).

I am looking forward to contributing ! :)

[word]

Why hello everyone! I've just recently finished my first year of my Ph.d in mathematics at UT Austin. I'm considering a career outside of academia, and wanted to get a better idea of what all this quant business is all about.

[Andy]

To newjersey and word,
If you are looking into quant career coming from academia, I suggest that you get a feel of the industry by reading the first few free guides and books in my list (link in my signature)
There are 3 guides that you can get for free, by Dominic, by Joshi and by Michael Pages

[vxs]

Hi all,
I've trawled on this forum a lot, and decided to do something about the big yellow message on top telling me that I haven't posted a message yet. :)
I have a bachelor's in EE and an MBA (finance), and have two years of work experience in credit risk management at JPM. I will be joining Univ of Chicago's MSFM program this fall.
You guys have a great forum going =D>... I look forward to contributing constructively going forward.

[MidasCFA]

Hi everybody!

i have been a quiet follower of this forum for some time now, and i finally decided its time that I start to make myself heard and to contribute and feel more of a part of this community.

I studied economics in boston as an undergrad and did some internships here and there including one in risk management at Credit Suisse. My dream career would be on a quant trading desk, and I thought a MSMF would help me start off as a trading quant support. I'm good at math and follow the financial markets everyday.

I'm an entering student for the Rutgers MSMF program this fall. Posts will follow as school starts about this relatively new program. feel free to ask me any questions then.

[Andy]

Welcome to Quantnet.
We hope to see more of your contributions in the future and share with us your experiences at Rutgers MSMF either via the forum discussion or the wiki entry (http://www.quantnet.org/wiki/Rutgers_MF) of your program.
Glad to see more representatives of many local programs here.

[jiaxjesse]

Hi, everyone,
I am new here, and I am glad to find this forum.
I am a student in condensed matter physics. I am going to graduate soon, and currently I am looking for chances to become a quant.

[Isaac]

Hi Midas,

glad 2 see ur post. I'd also be joinin the msmf program @ rutgers this fall, so guess we'd be seeing then.

best!

[MidasCFA]

Hi Midas,

glad 2 see ur post. I'd also be joinin the msmf program @ rutgers this fall, so guess we'd be seeing then.

best!

nice. have you applied for campus housing yet?
what is your plan going forward?
I just read in another post that you got accepted to MQF at rutgers. or is it MSMF?

[Isaac]

nice. have you applied for campus housing yet?
what is your plan going forward?
I just read in another post that you got accepted to MQF at rutgers. or is it MSMF?

Got both actually, but i'v settled 4 the msmf program. thinking of gettin an off-campus accomodation... shd decide finally end of jun/early july.

[MidasCFA]

FYI, I got this from the GD forum:



"I am a current student at Rutgers Mathematical Finance .... i can answer most of your questions quite fairly .. i did post in other threads also if you would have used the search button you would have found most of the details anyways .. here are some details ...

As i am an Indian most of my interaction is with Indians here at Rutgers so my answers may be biased towards Indians..

We have only one Indian Senior and this is his last semester and he is still looking for a job. He did his internship(paid) in some hedge fund in NY. I do know a couple of other people but they were Maths PHds and are very well placed either in London or in NY. The Senior had interviews with all most all Big I banks and some small hedge funds and interviews are going on .. ( 2nd round, 3rd round etc) but still he has no offers. Other thing he told was in interviews he is being grilled on hard core C++ and he is really not looking out for that kind of job with so much coding involved... Thats all about our previous seniors ..

Now about current students....

About the course :-

Its still in developing stages. The thing is there is yet no separate department for Mathematical Finance Students so are in Maths Department. Now we take courses such as Numerical Analysis and Regression ( Stats Dept ). these course are very important but how we implement these courses as a Quant is not much clear. I am not sure about other universities but i feel application of these courses in Finance should be taught in these courses as well. Anyways things are changing. We have new courses in next semester which will be taught by industry professionals and which are much more relevant. This fall also we had a course on computational finance and it was taught by a street professional ( Prof Atkin) .. More details are on the website .. Also we have option of taking courses from nearly any department and also business school.

We do have info sessions from all I banks specifically for Math Finance students also. People came from different quant research groups.

Rutgers is a big university and nearly everyone in the industry knows Rutgers. I have yet to see any I banks not coming to Rutgers to recruit. As of now they come for CS/ EE graduates but we took advantage of this and all of us have interviews lined up for internships.
Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg, Goldman, Barkclays Capital, blackrock, Citi etc .. companies come late here ( feb and march ).

But the thing is these internships are not exactly quant internships but they can take you to quant groups once you get the intern. In the last interview one of us asked the interviewer that how would we be placed in the company. The interviewer told us that they have quant groups and they will put us with those goups 'if' we get hired. Same is the process for other banks also. They are quite happy to put us under quant groups. So we did take advantage of on campus hiring. As of now i haven't heard many poeple got calls for off campus interviewing except for one or two ( we are 9 of us here ).

The Course director is also working very hard for industry contacts. We have a major advantage here that is alumni in I banks.. and most alumni do try to bring their companies for campus hiring. You need to work hard but getting the jobs would not be as difficult . You will get interviews as you get in other schools so its up to you to crack it. Being close to NY ( only 45 min to Manhattan ) has its advantage and as miniarcade said in previous post if you are resourceful and ready to put in an effort coming here would not be a waste.

I think this will answer all your questions and still if you have any doubts send me a mail or just post here i do sometimes browse this y forum. And if you really decide to join Rutgers ( that is you didnt get an admit from any other Big schools http://www.global-derivatives.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif ) come prepared. If i were you and i had an Admit from schools like Claremont , IIT, or others i would definitely come to Rutgers. That being said we do have a transfer student from Claremont.

Course are very very tough and and i have seen people leave or get very bad grades. That do hurt in times like this. Right now in the class we have lot of PHDs ( Maths, Stats, Physics ) and its really not easy to get good grades but none the less its very challenging and i do personally enjoy the experience. Come prepared, brush up your MATHS .. Best of luck to all .."

[Francis]

Hey, Im currently a undergrad and Rutgers and was planning to apply for the MSMF program there among others. Do you know any stats on the competitiveness of the Rutgers program? Like how many students apply and how many get admitted? Also what kind of grades did you guys have (GPA, GRE, etc)?

[grivira]

I give my first post to this thread..

I am a junior in Math. I will be around here quite a bit after the application season for 2009 starts. Nice to see you all......

[mahesh]

Hello to all the members of this forum. I feel glad to be the part of your community

[Emmanuel]

Hi everybody

[Sanket Patel]

Hello, Emmanuel.

[MidasCFA]

Hello
Hi everybody

Hello, Emmanuel.



above two statements sound like the first code you learn to write in a programming language class.:)
conclusion: you guys must be programmers.

....ok i know its not funny.

[Poirot]

haha, it's funny, I laughed. :)

[Sanket Patel]

above two statements sound like the first code you learn to write in a programming language class.:)
conclusion: you guys must be programmers.

....ok i know its not funny.


Pretty funny actually. Reminds me of my very first program:

CLS

phrase$ = "Hello World!"
PRINT phrase$

ENDAhh...the BASIC language! :smt024

[ktoss]

Hello everyone,
My nickname is Mo. I am prospective student for MFE program at Polytechnic University in this fall 2008. I graduated from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology in Thailand in Computer Engineering field. Also, I got master's degree from the same university in Information Enginnering field.

So, I am really new in the financial engineering field. I've never been in NYC before in my life. If anyone got any suggestions for me, I would be grateful.

I feel so glad to join this community. If there're anything I could help, please tell me.

[mudit srivastava]

Hi,
I am Mudit,found this as a very huge and useful source of information for the players who want to try their hands in MFE arena.
Thanks to google for letting me know about quantnet.

cheers !!!!

keep learning .................

[gracenguiffo]

Hi everyone this is my first post in quantnet I couldn t resist (sorry...) I learned a lot more in this site about quants than anywhere else so far .I want to thank those of you guys who take some precious time of their busy schedule :smt024to answer wannabe quant's questions.
Thanks again
Have a great summer

[IEOR]

Greetings to all. It's a beautiful Sunday today. The sky is clear and blue. There is a lot of sunshine and the temperature is around 60s. It's a perfect day for outdoor activities, yet I am sitting here in my bedroom to write my very first message in this forum :D. So I guess you know the reason why. I find a good community here and tons of cool stuff on finance, which is one of my major research interests. I am doing a PhD in operations research and a concurrent master's in financial engineering. Hope to learn a lot from many big people in here. Thanks. :tiphat:

[Jerry]

Hello all,
I am glad to join this community. Hope I will make a lot of friends here.
I am looking for a position for quant and the job market now is ... I will appreciate if any one would help me to pass my resume. I am phd in math and master in stat.
Thank you,

:sos::sos::sos::sos::sos::sos::sos::sos:

[pjshapiro]

Hello--

I'm an aspiring quant who's thrilled to have found this site and all of its information. Thanks to all who contribute.

Peter

[Felix]

Hi,

I am also an aspiring quant very happy to find all this information.

Cheers,

Felix

[Jerry]

God, just one day so many replies!

[FerdinandPardede]

Hi everyone,

I was so surprised on how friendly everybody sounds in this community; very unlike other forums that I have seen.

I am currently working in a Fixed Income Technology (Securitized Products Group) at an investment bank in Tokyo, Japan. To be brutally honest, my position has been marked for elimination by end of July 2008, so I am now looking for other opportunities.

I have a Ph.D. in Computer Enginering and an MBA in Finance from the University of Arizona. I have spent the last 10 years of my career in the Technology side of the Financial sector, and am now contemplating to focus more on the Risk / Quantitative areas. I have been very involved in residential mortgage business in the U.S. since 1999; I was part of a team that built a proprietary rule-based online automated underwriting system (AUS) using Fannie Mae's guidelines and lender-specific risk-based pricing.

I do not have real experience as a Quant, just a bit of projects here and there. I would hope to learn from all of you about what being a Quant is all about.

Thanks for welcoming me, and I would hope to be a contributing member of this community.

Ferdinand

[sameer]

Ferdinand,

Yeah it is a great community, isn't it? I am pretty new to the community myself. Do you feel comfortable sharing which bank you work for? I know at least one ibank that is hiring for roles in Tokyo. Also, keep in mind that even though the larger banks (Lehman, UBS, obviously Bear) are shrinking, the stand-alone hedge funds (funds that aren't necessarily part of a big bank) are hiring -- there are opportunities in the US for sure.

[Dmytro]

welcome to QN, Ferdinand. look around, there are numerous forums that could be relevant to your situation. and, if you can't find something, ask away!

[JacekJ]

Hello All,

Just wanted to give a brief introduction.

I have been working for a major investment bank for 4 years now (1 year so far of full-time post university experience, 3 years part-time and internships). My role currently is in the equities technology world as business analyst.

My undergraduate degree is in computer science and I have recently decided to pursue my master in Financial Engineering. I am strongly considering applying to the program at Baruch within the next year or so.

I think I have a long way to go before I'll be ready for the program but I plan to work hard and stay focussed on my goals. I hope this forum will prove to be an invaluable resource during this process.

Thanks,

Jacek J.

[woody]

Welcome all. JaceKJ, now is a good time to start on brushing up your math skills. Seems like you are probably good on the finance and programming. A year or so of math classes or self-study (and GRE study) should be started asap. Maybe Dan's book is a good start. This 276 page gem is essentially what people starting the Baruch program should know *before* starting the first semester (it's covered in the 2-week refresher too).

[sameer]

Kunal, tell us more about entering the quant field -- what does that mean to you? Are you wanting to work as a quant? Or are you interested in working at a hedge fund or prop trading firm that uses algorithmic trading strategies? if it is the latter, you may be able to work as an analyst supporting a PM for instance, or a developer, or in some cases a junior trader. There are multiple ways of "getting in," if you will. Anyways, just food for though.

Icarus, this is slightly tangential but with regards to applying for jobs, I don't think your GRE verbal score is going to hurt -- the quant score is the one that matters. Now that might be different wrt applying for schools. And I understand the latter was where your question was directed.

[MattNolan]

I'm also going to be entering Rutgers MSMF this fall. I just graduated from Rutgers with an ECE degree, and am working this summer as a software engineer before I go to school full time.

My Profile is as follows:
GPA from Rutgers ECE: 3.42 (good enough for high honors from the engineering school)
GPA in the required course list: Approx 3.88
GRE: Quant 800 verbal 550 AWA 5.5

[IlyaKEightSix]

Hi there, my name is Ilya Kipnis. I am currently a rising undergraduate senior at Lehigh University with a major in Information Systems Engineering (aka Industrial Engineering+Mix of Computer Science) with my tech electives going to leadership, and free electives going to finance.

A little about me: currently I am working an actuarial internship at Watson Wyatt in Philadelphia, though I'm not getting to test my operations research or optimization skills or monte carlo skills, but instead learning how an office environment works and really getting to pick up on my squishy/soft skills.

Currently, I am about to take a bunch of finance courses and hopefully stochastic calculus (IF MY UNIVERSITY LETS ME IN THERE...it's a grad course and it's got 260 applicants to the program, professor is willing to teach no more than 40) and other MFE courses.

Sadly my programming background has been difficult, so I feel I will need to start learning C++ by myself from scratch, but I love math (passed 1st actuarial exam 1st attempt (probability) and am awaiting results for the 2nd (financial mathematics)).

I realized that I would very strongly consider a quant career while recently reading John C. Hull's fundamentals of futures and options markets 5th edition when I came across profit functions, and being able to create any sort of different profit formula with the right mix of options. My favorite professor in college is a financial engineer researcher, so I'm really into that.

Anyhow, I hope to learn even more on this forum.

[charlesdwright]

the business can always benefit from good people.

[IlyaKEightSix]

I hope I can jam myself into some small crevice sometime soon. I know it's extremely competitive, but Wall Street and Boiler Room already own my fire of ambition (not my soul, I leave that at home so I won't lose it =P). I'm just hoping to make up with all of the underhandedness in Boiler Room with legitimate quantitative talent and focused passion.

[bpkelley]

Greetings everybody,

I'm an undergraduate physics student at Rutgers, an aspiring quant and a huge fan of this website. So far it has proven to be a fantastic resource, and I'm sure it will even more helpful as I roll up my sleeves and dig into applications for MFE programs. Thanks for having me and I look forward to getting to know you all!

-Brendan

[gibacho]

hello,
is there any place for 'Indian IT Male' in this forum...
if it is - here's me flagging a big and warm hello to everyone and especially to the moderator for keeping this wonderful forum alive and kicking!

i brief background about me: got a masters degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Bombay, India.. working in the field of Finite Element Analysis for past 3-4 years.. Will soon be 28 yrs young.. Just wondering if it is too early {:p} to enter in the field of finanicial engineering? got some standard test scores in place...

interested in working and making big $$ in NYC in near future, also to make some contribution to the field of numerical analysis in financial engineering - please take these two as my motivation to do a MFE course.

tata
gibacho

[CGP]

Nice website, just found you guys yesterday and wanted to say hello.

I've been in us equity quant asset management space for 7 years, as an analyst & apm out west, and I have my CFA, but after last August and the slow painful demise of my current employer, I'm thinking of going back to school and get an mfe. I was just wondering if there are any other quant guys out there who went back to school and wether it was a good decision for them.

I've been looking for a new job for the past six months, but its hard to get traction somewhere new without a masters or phd these days... All you MFE'ers ruined it for everyone, :), so I figured if I can't beat them join them.

I was also wondering if anyone knew how admissions weighted real world quant experience vs gpa & gmat data points.

[kaydeechecksin]

Hello Everyone !
I am a civil engineer (MS in Structures) working in Southern California from past 4 years, and thinking about a serious career change. I am just getting started to study the various courses offered at various universities and weighing my options.

This community looks great and I really look forward to sharing my thoughts with everyone.

Just wondering, is there anyone who is (or has been) in a similar situation like me ?

Ken

[brookstone]

hi,everybody!I am an IR derivative trader in Shanghai,China,any good ideas and suggesitions are welcome;)

[Pasion]

Hello all,

I am a college sophomore studying software engineering. I am very interested in scientific areas such as scientific computing, modeling & simulation, management science and others such as finance. Quantitative research and other similar technology focused areas within IB's and hedge funds seem really interesting at this time.

Without knowing exactly what I want to do in the future at this time, could anyone give me tips on what to do now to keep doors open? By how much will I be limiting opportunities by not taking extra PDE and probability classes? Should I focus my coursework on numerical or finance related applications?

More specifically, am I looking too far forward? Grad school seems a few years down the road.

[yezhang]

Hi, everyone

My name is Ye Zhang, an international student from China. I am going to study MFE at UM this summer. I have soooo much to learn from you guys. Looking forward to meet you in the future. :)

[swindler]

Hello all! I am a Actaurial Science major from UCF and am hoping to make the move to the other side of the coin.

[IlyaKEightSix]

In case I haven't properly introduced myself, I'm Ilya Kipnis, an Information Systems Engineering Major from Lehigh University (Industrial+Computer Science mix), concentrating in finance and taking whatever MFE courses I can (already hacked random processes/applications)

I'm really interested in this field of using math+finance skills combined with algorithmic understanding to do amazing things. Since I am a Russian immigrant in the states, I think Global Finance/Global Derivatives and Options would be a great field for me, but what do I know? No experience in anything, but I'm hoping to find some!

[halfpiper]

hello all,

i have a BS in EE from cal poly pomona in socal. i have worked a couple years in the automotive industry as a project/sales engineer and about a couple years in the logistics industry as a software engineer(limited experience). i was laid off last month due to the business not taking off(start up co.).

i am contemplating a career change because following and investing in the stock market is my hobby. i'm thinking about pursuing a MS in math(my strong point) and using that as a stepping stone to get into MFE because my gpa in EE is not so good.

anyhow, nice to meet you all. i hope to get some advice and learn a lot from all of you.

:tiphat:

[amodelfactor]

Hello all, hello to the quantitative realm and community. I wanted to quickly introduce myself, and put myself full bore into this community by saying that I am happy to be here. I look forward to remaining a part of this place for a long time.

A little about myself:
I am a highly specialized quantitative financial recruiter for a company in New York City called C.Bridges and have been very successful of late in placing the most qualified quantitative analysts and financial engineers. Thats about it, besides the fact that I love all art and investigation that is analytical; that is to say that I thrive on the quest for knowledge and count curiosity as a virtue.

The expectation:
I would invite any and all on this network to contact me (robert.tumas@cbridgesa.com) if you are in need of quant related job advice, or wish to explore new opportunities within the vast realms of quantitative finance. I know there has been here-say that the market is flopping like a cod and the staggered graph lines are plunging, but nay! Tis all false, or at least in part. The only movement I have seen that is positive in the last few months has been in the quantitative arts and risk management, every respectable company must have a PhD driving the recovery effort. You could be the one. The next great Taleb.

Think about it, get in touch.

Long live the algorithm.

A Model Factor
:dance:

[Samstar]

this is a new quant, say hello to everybody!

[manoletgo]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Manolet Go. I just finished my master's in Financial Markets (concentration on Financial Engineering) at IIT, Chicago. And, I am currently looking for a quant developer position in the job market.

Prior to my master's, I was an IT consultant with some experience in programming in Excel VBA. With my master's degree, I acquired other programming skills such as C++, Matlab, Python, etc and some quant skills. Although I finished a degree that I could describe as not as pure quant as it could be and having no prior experience in the finance field, I am still hoping that I could land an entry level quant job, capitalizing on my IT experience and some quant finance I learned from school.

I was wondering if there is someone out there who has the same profile as mine or someone who sympathizes with me. That we could share some ideas on how to be successful in the job market, especially now that the US economy is slowing down and not many jobs are available as before.

[yoyo]

hi everybody!
I'm yoyo from Shanghai, China, looking forward to get in the field of the core field of financial market. The intensiveness of FE attracts me a lot, I'm planning to get such a programme in the recent years, based on my economic background and Computer Science education during undergraduate study.:)

[REN]

hi everyone

[guess]

hi to all the members...
i pray that you all achieve excellence in all ur efforts.
cheers :)

[sitar]

Hi Guys,

I am a new member at this forum and would like to wish everyone success in whatever their trying to achieve by becoming members of this forum.

I am looking for an opportunity to switch careers from Operations Research/ Optimization to finance. I have a PhD in Operations Research, BS & MS in Applied Mathematics, and BS & MS in Computer science all from top universities. I have been working for the past 4 years in Math programming for a very reputable company and prior to that I was a postdoc.

I have a level of mathematical maturity where I can quickly learn almost any kind of mathematical concepts. However, areas where I am currently focussed in my job are in discrete optimization techniques. I have in depth knowledge in probability theory (not the measure theoretic type) and some areas of stochastic processes such as Markov decision processes, algorithms, optimization (mostly linear but some level of non-linear as well), intermediate level of experience in statistics. I am well versed in C, Matlab, and SAS. I have done some self learning in finance by covering most of John Hull's book on derivatives and some other materials related on finance available online. This is pretty much my academic preparation in a nut shell. As for my age I am in my mid 30's.

I am seriously looking for some career guidance to help me prepare myself for an interesting career transition to finance. My main motivation for this move is because:

1. I am feeling a certain level of stagnation in my current job and
2. My deep interest in the working of the financial markets and my analytic bent of mind has attracted me to consider a quantitative finance position
3. I am sincerely hoping to lead a very interesting professional life in the finance industry


My drawbacks as I perceive it : I don't have experience working in the finance industry or having taken any formal training in financial mathematics. Everything I know in finance comes from self study and some seminars. My exposure to areas like PDE's, stochastic differential equations, stochastic calculus and advanced stochastic processes such as martingales are quite limited. As I mentioned before, I can learn these things on the job if it is required, but I have very limited exposure in these areas.

I would like help by getting to know where I might fir in the finance industry and in what capacity: junior quant or in a more senior capacity? I welcome any advice to help me get a better picture of quant job requirements.

Thanks very much to all of you. God Bless

-Sitar

[selvae]

Hi Dude and Dudettes

i am working as software developer in one of the major investment banks. Developing trading system for them. Got mitivated by the traders(Clients), planned to pursue my master financial engineering.
i want to explore the world of finance and strategies in algorithmic trading.
i feel so glad to join this forum.

Tx
Selva

[Dorin]

hi everybody,

I am a Finance undergrad (Junior) at Rutgers University. I am planning on getting a MFE or a masters in a quantitative field. At the moment I work full time for AIG in New York City as an intern. I am currently learning the basics of C and C++ on my own and with the help of others.

Since I am a finance student I am wondering weather to double major or minor in math or computer science. I don't know exactly which would be more important at the moment. They both have their benefits, but I don't want to be an undergrad for 6 years. I am also thinking of just sticking to my major (finance) and taking many math/statistics courses, along with a few computer science related. If anybody has any advice, please don't be shy. I am a straight shooter so I want people to be honest with me and lay it out. I look forward to speaking with many of you.

Also, I'd like to wish everybody good luck in their careers.


Thanks,
Dorin Pislaru

[IlyaKEightSix]

From the sounds of it, it seems all of the quants here learned C++ on their own. Download bloodshed C++ and then go to www.cprogramming.com (http://www.cprogramming.com) is what I'm doing, since I'd get destroyed by the C++ course taught in my university (it literally weeds out would-be comp sci majors).

As for a math major, I would advise against it. I know that at Lehigh, if you major in finance, you can take a financial mathematics track, which has you taking basic prob n stat, theory of ODEs, and I believe theory of probability (I had all three--the last one WAS PAINFUL...C+ for first time with proofs), and then there's another track which had you taking a pair of Operations Research courses (and the high level ones) and one was an MFE course (I also took both...the deterministic one was with my optimization professor who is an FE researcher, and the MFE course everyone got like 50% at best...I got a 44 and it was a B =P...it was the most fun I've ever had :D)

I think if you just use your electives to seek out the quantitative courses, you'll be in good shape.

Heck, I know I can get into my school's MFE program--but it'd cost me another year and $50,000 in debt! :cry::cry:

[doug reich]

1. If you major in finance, it'll say Finance, not math or CS on your resume. Remember that its purpose is just to get interviews.
2. If you have your foot in the door, the most important thing is ability. Material you actual learn in your courses, regardless of major, is what counts.
3. If you go straight into a degree, I don't think it matters what your major is; admissions committees have the ability to look past the name of the degree earned to see the material actually covered.
4. C has similar syntax with C++, but you should regard it as a historical curiosity.

I won't answer your questions directly, but I think you should evaluate them with (the first three) points I gave in mind.

hi everybody,

I am a Finance undergrad (Junior) at Rutgers University. I am planning on getting a MFE or a masters in a quantitative field. At the moment I work full time for AIG in New York City as an intern. I am currently learning the basics of C and C++ on my own and with the help of others.

Since I am a finance student I am wondering weather to double major or minor in math or computer science. I don't know exactly which would be more important at the moment. They both have their benefits, but I don't want to be an undergrad for 6 years. I am also thinking of just sticking to my major (finance) and taking many math/statistics courses, along with a few computer science related. If anybody has any advice, please don't be shy. I am a straight shooter so I want people to be honest with me and lay it out. I look forward to speaking with many of you.

Also, I'd like to wish everybody good luck in their careers.


Thanks,
Dorin Pislaru

[donghuizz]

Following Andy's suggestion I'm here to say hi to everyone in the group. My background is in CS -- CS Ph.D. and CS faculty (since 2002). I have strong quantative skills and programming (C++, Java). I'm now learning quant-related financial knowledge, e.g. by reading the Hull book. From reading the posts here it seems that I'm older than most of you who are at the door of the quant position. Does anyone think I'm already too old for this career change?

[walid sghari]

HELLO
I just joint this form and it look interesting. I am an applied math student graduating this summer. I am taking a class "analysis of Finanacial Data". It is a challenging class.
I hope I find some help and advise from you guys...

[maxrum]

Does anyone think I'm already too old for this career change?

How old are you? :)

[angela]

Hello, everybody here! This is Angela.

Thank you for being offered such an opportunity to learn from you. :D

I am very interested in financial engineering, and I have learned more information about quant since going through this website which I am always looking for, even got the very different and wonderful experience of quant here. I am eager to become a quant someday.

Whenever somebody mentions Wall Street, every cell in my body will be activated. I do have got the great place following my heart and soul.:smt024

That is my summary of background:
I have got a bachelor degree of mechanical Electronic engineering in China. However I didn’t have a top GPA. I was engaged in a system engineer for the past 6 years.

So I just live in Toronto right now. To be a quant, I would like to go to the University for studying a related program with quant in Canada. I mean that is my second bachelor degree. This probably can be an assets of being a quant. However, I have no idea which program in the university can better match the quant. How about Computer/Math? So, does anybody give me some advice on it? Or do you have some good deals that I can study in financial engineering in New York based on my educational background and experience as soon as possible. I am getting in trouble about it.

Thank you so much for your help.:sos::prayer::wall

[maxrum]

Why do you want to get a second bachelor degree? Go for Masters program in Financial Engineering or in Applied Math for Finance. There plenty of programs in New York and Toronto as well.

[angela]

I guess good GPA in University is one of the factors that make sure to access to the top university of pursuing financial engineering in the United States. I only worried about my poor GPA.:-ss

Why do you want to get a second bachelor degree? Go for Masters program in Financial Engineering or in Applied Math for Finance. There plenty of programs in New York and Toronto as well.

[doug reich]

I guess good GPA in University is one of the factors that make sure to access to the top university of pursuing financial engineering in the United States. I only worried about my poor GPA.:-ss

As others on this forum have pointed out in the past, you should let the admissions committee at your programs of interest decide your candidacy. Don't waste your time speculating about whether or not you'll get in. Instead, fill holes in your resume (through work, classes, or self-study), contact the admissions people to see if they have any suggestions for you, and apply where you would like to go.

Furthermore, having 6 years of work experience makes your undergrad GPA fairly ancient history; they have much more interesting recent information about your ability to go on. It's basically unheard of for a person to get multiple bachelor's -- you should pursue a master's.

[maxrum]

I only worried about my poor GPA.:-ss

If your test scores are perfect, you shouldn't worry about GPA. Just explain in your personal essay why your GPA is far from perfect.

[rocket]

Hello, everybody here! This is rocket :) I am in Boston now and may move to NY later

[buddyforall]

Hi Sitar as I see your educational background.I see you definatively have the aptitude of being a quant that too a highly paid few years into the job.What I can suggest with my limited knowledge is that you should take a 1 year break from your job and pursue a Master in Financial Engineering.Almost all programs would welcome you.I can understand that it means an investment of time and money.But considering your background you can easily get into a top FE or Quant Fin programs.It would fill your necessary gaps in knowledge both in Finance and Stochastics and else.Moreover you can easily be recruited by a top recruiter at the end of the program.In nut shell this program would act as a launching pad into the world of quantitative finance.Everything said above is true only if you are totally sure to be a quant.



Thanks













Hi Guys,

I am a new member at this forum and would like to wish everyone success in whatever their trying to achieve by becoming members of this forum.

I am looking for an opportunity to switch careers from Operations Research/ Optimization to finance. I have a PhD in Operations Research, BS & MS in Applied Mathematics, and BS & MS in Computer science all from top universities. I have been working for the past 4 years in Math programming for a very reputable company and prior to that I was a postdoc.

I have a level of mathematical maturity where I can quickly learn almost any kind of mathematical concepts. However, areas where I am currently focussed in my job are in discrete optimization techniques. I have in depth knowledge in probability theory (not the measure theoretic type) and some areas of stochastic processes such as Markov decision processes, algorithms, optimization (mostly linear but some level of non-linear as well), intermediate level of experience in statistics. I am well versed in C, Matlab, and SAS. I have done some self learning in finance by covering most of John Hull's book on derivatives and some other materials related on finance available online. This is pretty much my academic preparation in a nut shell. As for my age I am in my mid 30's.

I am seriously looking for some career guidance to help me prepare myself for an interesting career transition to finance. My main motivation for this move is because:

1. I am feeling a certain level of stagnation in my current job and
2. My deep interest in the working of the financial markets and my analytic bent of mind has attracted me to consider a quantitative finance position
3. I am sincerely hoping to lead a very interesting professional life in the finance industry


My drawbacks as I perceive it : I don't have experience working in the finance industry or having taken any formal training in financial mathematics. Everything I know in finance comes from self study and some seminars. My exposure to areas like PDE's, stochastic differential equations, stochastic calculus and advanced stochastic processes such as martingales are quite limited. As I mentioned before, I can learn these things on the job if it is required, but I have very limited exposure in these areas.

I would like help by getting to know where I might fir in the finance industry and in what capacity: junior quant or in a more senior capacity? I welcome any advice to help me get a better picture of quant job requirements.

Thanks very much to all of you. God Bless

-Sitar

[buddyforall]

I would say one thing dude "Heroes Rise, Heroes fall,Rise again win it all".Every big guy today has labored and toiled.Just keep up your fight."Success made me a boy,failures made me a man"


Hi Everyone!

My name is Manolet Go. I just finished my master's in Financial Markets (concentration on Financial Engineering) at IIT, Chicago. And, I am currently looking for a quant developer position in the job market.

Prior to my master's, I was an IT consultant with some experience in programming in Excel VBA. With my master's degree, I acquired other programming skills such as C++, Matlab, Python, etc and some quant skills. Although I finished a degree that I could describe as not as pure quant as it could be and having no prior experience in the finance field, I am still hoping that I could land an entry level quant job, capitalizing on my IT experience and some quant finance I learned from school.

I was wondering if there is someone out there who has the same profile as mine or someone who sympathizes with me. That we could share some ideas on how to be successful in the job market, especially now that the US economy is slowing down and not many jobs are available as before.

[buddyforall]

In 4,5 yrs you can get a PhD why go for a second bachelors.


I guess good GPA in University is one of the factors that make sure to access to the top university of pursuing financial engineering in the United States. I only worried about my poor GPA.:-ss

[Rijksuniversite]

Hello guys.I am a Chinese student from University of Groningen(Rijksuniversite (http://www.quantnet.org/forum/member.php?u=8012) Groningen in Dutch),majoring Economics.I am a freshmen this year(2008-09),willing to make friends like you guys with ambitious.:dance: Join this great forum is my first step to MFE....

[Rijksuniversite]

In 4,5 yrs you can get a PhD why go for a second bachelors.
haha...no no..I am 19 years old....This is my first bachelor life.................=D>

[bcampana]

Hi!

I'm a new member too...

I'm French, master graduated in Financial Engineering from the University of Nice (UNSA) in France (also named the university of sun!!!), and I passed a Bachelor in Economics and Management at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), Canada.

I'm 25 years old.

Just to say hi!!:D

Bru

[vishaleee]

Hi
I am a financial engineering aspirant from India .Just appeared for GRE and got a score of 1350(550 V + 800 Q) .Just let me know if these scores are good enough to get admission to a descent US university probably with financial aid. I have good academic record and hold 2 years of experience as a software engineer.

[cstassen]

Hi

I'm a new member. I have an econ/math background, am currently working at goldman sachs and will go to princetons MFin next year!

[udit]

Hi all,
Just registered on Quantnet.I did my Master's cum bachelor's in Mathematics and Computing from IIT Delhi(India).I have been working for the past one year in an analytics firm.This forum looks like a great place to discuss quant.
Hoping to participate actively.

[maxrum]

Just let me know if these scores are good enough to get admission to a descent US university probably with financial aid.

You have a very goode score, but the score is not the only thing that matters.

If you are going to apply to Masters program, there is usually no financial aid available. PhD is a different story.

Good luck!

[eddiew]

Hi all,

My name is Eddie. I got my PhD on Speech/Voice processing at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. I am interested to be a quant after reading the book "My Life as Quant". I am targeted to work at my home town: Hong Kong.

[ashishg]

hi all,

My first post on this forum...just started on a new role as a business analyst on OTC derivatives. Have found this forum very helpful so far. Hope to contribute one way or the other.
Future plans: looking to apply to CMU MSCF next year. Have around 8 years of IT exp in Finance area. Hoping to get to know more about this program and similar programs.

thanks,
Ash

[arcong]

Hi, My name is Clement from Sydney, Australia. I graduated as an actuarial study degree from Melbourne University. Currently thinking to do a master degree with actuarial study or financial mathematics.

my msn is arcong@msn.com

[Hajer]

:D I am a new quant, still an intern in quantitative research team in citi..I will probably need your help in the few days comin :-\"

[ljp99]

Just curious -
which quant research team?

[Hajer]

commodities

[jbn]

I have been a computer hacker since fifth grade. I bought my first stock around the same time. I have been doing financial research and modeling since tenth grade (2001). I suppose this was inevitable given my two passions: investing and programming. My research has yielded some interesting results and I currently am trading based on the outcome of one specific experiment.

Hello, Quantnet! (Goodbye, zero-post nag.)

[chenchen]

Hello, I'm new here! Hope we have fun and make friends.

[TIFFY]

hi everyone,
i have some problems with the Pre-requisite for the MFE program. since i didn't take many calculus during the undergra years at Baruch, i have to take the math classes now in order to apply for the MFE program at Baruch. i plan to take Linear Algebra, and introduction to probability at Baruch. however, the Intermediate Math is the pre-requisite for Linear Algebra and intro for probability. that means i have to spend one semester (Fall 08) to take the intermediate cal and will take the other two calsses on spring 2009 so that i could apply for the MFE for the Fall 09 semester. it seems that's not a problem. but i am working full-time and i am afraid that i have conflict between the class schedule for math on Fall 09 and my working hours since Baruch does NOT have classes on weekend. can anyone help me out here?:prayer: any advice will be appreciated:dance:Thanks!!

PS: let me talk about my profile. i graduated from Baruch College with a major in Finance and Investment. i had a GPA of 3.7+, but i got a C+ at the Options class, will it be a problem when i apply for the MFE program? i passed the CFA level I exame, and currently working at a bank.

[anandp]

Hi,

I am a pharmacist looking for a career change. At the moment, I am wrapping up my pre-requisites (Calc II/III, Linear Algebra, Diff Equ, and probability and statistics) for Georgia Tech's Masters in QCF program.

My two biggest concerns in my quest for a quants career:

1) Limited to no exposure in programming; however, I have used VB and SQL extensively.
2) My age---I am 35 and will be 37 when I complete the Masters Program.\

Any thoughts or comments?

[Lloyd]

Hey everyone,

My name's Lloyd. I'm a recent Economics-Mathematics graduate from St. Lawrence University. I am currently taking a break and golfing every day :). I'm working towards a CFA, took the level 1 in June. My current plans are debating between a masters or getting some work experience.

[hanzi]

hi, everyone. I am a new comer.
I will have my MSCF at CMU NY campus this August.
My bachelor is mainly in actuarial science. Now I have enter a new area with both excite and fear.

[Barum]

Hello,
I am Barum. I am currently stuyding at University of Toronto in Canada, specializing in economics and mathematics. (It's a combined program.)
Found this forum while searching for information on MFE programs and what courses I should take in preparation during undergrad. (I am picking courses for my third year now) Looks like I found the right place. :)

[Navestax]

Hi, I have a degree in Actuarial Science and currently studying a MSc in Risk Administration (its similar to a financial math masters, just with a little bit more on risk)

[Tae-woo]

Finally, I am posting my greeting.
I am Tae Woo Son, who will be in the class of 2008 at Baruch's MSFE. I majored physics in undergraduate. I should have said hello to all early, but I totally forgot saying hi. Anyway, I am so glad to see you all.

Have a good day.

[rhea]

Hi I'm newbie in this forum. I'm working in telco Industries. I found this forum from google and actually I expect to learn something about stock option and trading from this forum. Any information regarding this is appreciated.

[maxdama]

Greetings All,

Just finished my first year at UC Berkeley undergrad (but I have senior standing somehow). I will most likely declare a double major in Business Administration and Computer Science when it comes time. Besides that I do indoor rock climbing 4-5 times a week, manage a website, and do fraternity stuff (Beta Alpha Psi).

I just started automated trading but I've been actively investing in equities for two and a half years. Love how it combines math with wealth-generation.

[anjana]

Hello All,

I came across quantnet recently and decided to join! Better late than never!

I am thinking of applying to the Baruch program, however I am worried that I do not have the C++ background...

I have a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a Masters in Business, all from Indian universities...

[Stefan Zota]

Hello everyone!

I am Stefan, starting the MFE Program at Baruch this year. Catching up quickly on some primer notions. I am more and more convinced that I have made the right decision.
Other than that, CS masters from UNC-Chapel Hill and systems/networking/OS focus till a few years back, Math background ..

I gotta catch up with the forum activity too ;)

[tskuan]

just saying hello.

[menalcas]

Helllo everyone...:)

I am new to the Quantnet community. I am an undergraduate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in Singapore. I recently got interested in Financial Engineering. I have some talent in mathematics and programming and it would serve well if I become more interested in this field and eventually do a graduate degree in this.

I find the posts and threads interesting from what I have read so far. I hope that this Quantnet community will guide me well.

Thank you.

[Yamh]

Howdy folks,

My name is Yonis and I am lucky to have stumbled upon this site searching for FX Derivatives pricing equations. A little about me, ISE and mathematics grad. just took CFA level 1 this past June and frankly found it a little too didactic. Looking into actuary now and possibly MFE.

I am hoping quantnet folks will help me with the FX Derivatives inquiries I have as I juggle my boring mundane day job and await July 29th. We shall see. :dance:

Pursuing MFE as I clear CFA or actuary whichever it maybe it an option also unless of course I hit the Jack bot and sell one of my patents for at least $40m:D

Cheers mates.

[Yamh]

Greetings all,

Potential quant here. Ciao

[KirillShaman]

Hello.
I am writing from Ukraine.
Just finished university majoring in economics with a C average , looking to go into investment banking.
Exploring my alternative with CFA, maybe will have a go at my 1st level by January 2009.
Currently registered here in Kyiv with MBA programe from New Brunswick.
The big question for me if I am too old to start a carrer in investment banking.

1.My anyalytical skills are less then mediocre, and I am 29 years old.

2.My personal vision is that I lack the experience, and I am currently looking to switch jobs. Which jobs would accomodate the best to get me ready for the industry.

3.I also know that untill I get my CFA1 the probability of getting to the job in investments are slim.

Any comments to my story would be really appreciated. THANKS.

[MikeK]

You are not too old to start anything, but with "less than mediocre" analytical skills perhaps you should look for other areas. Most good jobs in investment banking or investment management require top-notch analytical skills. That is why there has been an influx of mathematicians, computer scientists, etc into those fields.

[KirillShaman]

Most good jobs in investment banking or investment management require top-notch analytical skills.


Thanks for reply, MikeK.

But can those skills be aquired? Yes I understand it will take longer then usuall.

Where would I start? Which books to read on the beggining level?

Is programming becoming a real part of any investment expert? This is kind of new to me.

[Andy]

Welcome to Quantnet, Kirill
You probably will love the free guides we have on Quantnet. (look at the first part)
Master reading list for MFE - Quantnet.org - Financial Engineering Forum (http://www.quantnet.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1336)

It's a whole new world out there and the guides will help you navigate.

[gmassey]

Hello All - Greetings from suburban Philly.

[Shawn]

Hello everyone, this is Shawn here.

Good to be a new member in this forum. I found it very very interesting after just a quick browsering over the forum.

I have a background of electrical engineering with my PhD work mainly focused on signal processing for speech enhancement. I am living in London, UK and I have started looking into quant industry since last year. But very unfortunately this is not a good time for people looking for quant jobs (at least in UK it is so, but not sure how's job market in the US). After reading through a few threads in this forum I am motivated again. Hope everyone in this forum who's looking for quant job will have his/her dream come true:)


Hi all,

My name is Eddie. I got my PhD on Speech/Voice processing at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. I am interested to be a quant after reading the book "My Life as Quant". I am targeted to work at my home town: Hong Kong.

Hmm.... Looks like we have something in common.....;)

[mckibbinusa]

Hello to all. I'm looking forward to being an active member of this website.

Regards,

William McKibbin

[anittah]

Hello everyone,

Although I currently work for a company that builds trading floors (Sapient), I'm actually in the MS Stats program at Baruch but am applying to PhD programs in Economics. I know it's monetarily irrational but I look forward to quartering my salary =)

I will mostly be a lurker so TIA for letting me lurk.

Anittah

[KirillShaman]

Welcome to Quantnet, Kirill
You probably will love the free guides we have on Quantnet. (look at the first part)
Master reading list for MFE - Quantnet.org - Financial Engineering Forum (http://www.quantnet.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1336)

It's a whole new world out there and the guides will help you navigate.

Thank you very much Andy for your reply, I looked through the link but most guides from U.S. and have to be ordered through Amazon, unfortunatly Amazon does not ship to Ukraine, do you know of any other online resources that I can start on, or maybe where these books are posted for downloading?

Thanks again, I really appreciated.

[Andy]

I looked through the link but most guides from U.S. and have to be ordered through Amazon
1) What do quant do ? A guide by Mark Joshi. Download (http://www.markjoshi.com/downloads/advice.pdf)
2) Paul & Dominic's Guide to Quant Careers Version 2.0 Download (http://www.quantnet.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2078)
3) Career in Financial Markets - a guide by efinancialcareers. Download (http://www.efinancialcareers.com/images/fuseads/inhouse/cifm_us.pdf)
4) Interview Preparation Guide by Michael Page: Quantitative Analysis. Download (http://www.nuclearphynance.com/User%20Files/96/Interview%20Prep%20for%20Junior%20Quants.pdf)
5) Interview Preparation Guide by Michael Page: Quantitative Structuring. Download (http://www.nuclearphynance.com/User%20Files/96/Interview%20Prep%20for%20Junior%20Structurers.pdf)

[doug reich]

Thank you very much Andy for your reply, I looked through the link but most guides from U.S. and have to be ordered through Amazon, unfortunatly Amazon does not ship to Ukraine, do you know of any other online resources that I can start on, or maybe where these books are posted for downloading?

Thanks again, I really appreciated.

Surely you can get English language books in the Ukraine? Amazon isn't the only place out there selling books. Perhaps a bookstore can help you out; perhaps you can get them through Ebay dealing with an individual (who is more flexible); perhaps you can work something out with someone in the states (or elsewhere) to buy the books and ship them to you.

Don't give up so easily.

[KirillShaman]

Thanks a lot Andy and Doug for your prompt replies. I really apprciete it. Will try to work something out with ebay.

[kmohamed]

Hello everyone - I am Kamil interested to moving into developing trading systems. I have more than 12 years experience as a Software Engineer (9 yrs C++(telecom), 3 yrs C, JAVA) My education background is BS in Electrical Engineering and MS in Computer Science. But it's been many many years since I have done algebra, calculus and things like that. Are there finance companies out there would be willing to consider candidates like me given my C++ development experience though no background in the finances (though I have a investor who is investing my money in options and things like that ;) ).

Any guidance on what kind of books should I pick on, courses, etc is appreciated.

[kadambari]

hi everybody this is kadambari i ve completed my degree in electronics and communication
and want to persue MFE and so i m here to join u wonderful ppl:) i m currently wrkin at a firm which creates software for technical analysis similar to metastock please lemme kno what r the prerequisites

[Todd W]

Just found this site. Looks very interesting. Is this really just a forum for Baruch students or is it a more general quant site? I am about to finish my MBA from Seattle University and current employed as an equity portfolio manager. I am hoping to get some good book recommendations or if anyone knows of some other good resources on bloomberg, specifically automating functions. Why reinvent the wheel.

[doug reich]

or is it a more general quant site

You're here, aren't you? :)

[rigken]

Hello All,

I am working in an IT services company in India. I have a mechanical engineering degree. I am 29 years, and have around 7 years of IT experience and am designated as Project Manager. I don't have strong technical skills (except SAS, on which I have even trained others) as I have mainly worked on support projects doing bug-fixes (old technologies) and then leading the same team. I am trained in Java, C etc although not worked much on them.

Project management is not really my strength and I don't enjoy it. I love to do analytical work and I have very strong analytical skills. I am looking for a change now and was looking into MBA programs as the obvious next step. But a friend who is going to UC Berkely for MFE suggested I consider MFE. I was totally unaware of this course, but as I am researching more, I am getting more interested! It combines my search for an analytical job with my interest in Finance.

Although I don't have a formal education in Finance, I have learnt trading on my own and I trade Futures and Options for my personal account. Even greeks are not greek for me as I have read about them.

I am definitely doing more research on this, but what do you guys suggest? Does MFE look right for me? And is "interest" enough to get me in the program, and then to get a job?

[samiam]

Hi new guy here.

33 years old guy in LA area. No background in math, or comp sci.

I have a BS in finance from UPenn, and worked for 6 years in equities. I started off by being a day trader on 499 Park avenue in the Bloomberg Building for two years. Later went to Seoul Korea and worked 4 more years as a equity research analyst and then equity sales trader.

I think I have a good understanding of discretionary market trading. I also believe that no model or computers will ever be able to substitute for human intuition and instinct. If all trading was done by programs, then trading would not be profitable any longer imo.

So why do I want to get an MFE? To learn about derivatives more than what I know about simple stuff like a straddle or strangle, and learn some crazy stochastic, time series, markov process, monte carlo, crazy stuff. Stuff I keep reading about but never figured out in depth.

Anyways, good to be here and hope to learn a lot.

Oh, I'm targeting the best schools I can get into. Some other guys GD suggested programs like USC, Rutgers, or Stevens (heh what's Stevens??).

I hope to get into the best programs I can get into. I am applying to the best