Recent content by herron

  1. R syntax

    I always check here first: RSeek.org R-project Search Engine
  2. BlackRock or Credit Suisse?

    No firsthand knowledge on either of these (I am still in school), but I have heard both sides of the coin re BlackRock. A downside might be work hours. Do they still work Sundays? Before I decided to return to school to ease my transition from engineering/military, I interviewed at BlackRock...
  3. Book on Unix Fundamentals

    I am a Ubuntu/Mac user, so no firsthand knowledge, but my first stop for everything tech is slashdot.org. I would go there and search for "unix books". The commenters are awesome and there is pretty sophisticated promotion system, so it filters out the "FAIL" posts and whatnot. My other bit of...
  4. Career options after Ph.D in Finance

    I think the price tag on PhDs from top 25 programs is a little bit higher (near $200K). But there's a little more risk in going for the PhD. Since someone else is paying your tuition and living expenses, there tends to be little less tolerance for shortcomings at any point along the way (thus...
  5. Can anyone talk about the Phd in Finance of Vanderbilt?

    I don't know much about the program, but Vanderbilt is a great school. I imagine that it perennially falls in the top 20 in undergrad rankings. I expect that the B-school falls at about the same spot, maybe a little lower. PhD program ranking can diverge from the MBA ranking, but not too much...
  6. What are the practitioners' thoughts on R

    I am familiar with the first two, but I haven't heard of (\texttt{tawny}). I will have to check it out. Beat Army! -- Richard
  7. What are the practitioners' thoughts on R

    I see a lot of chatter about VBA. C#, and C++, but nothing about the statistics. I am on the academic side (finance PhD student -- so I use R frequently and have yet to use my C++) and I'm really curious if many are using R and, if so, which packages, resources, and tricks you find most useful...
  8. applying to MFE out of undergrad?

    Why do you need an MFE? Why? Isn't an MFE for career-switchers who want to get intro finance knowledge (you have) and integrated math/finance/comp sci knowledge (you also have). Or for those who want to trade up their school's brand name to a known quantity for hiring managers or get career...
  9. The Ultimate Quant Prep

    Planning for FE from freshman year? I see many on here planning on an MFE from freshman or sophomore year... I always say the MFE/MSCF as a career-switcher's degree. A crash course for strong physicists, mathematicians, programmers, engineers, etc. to start a new career at finance. Because...
  10. Wharton Team Wins Financial Engineering Case Competition

    Do Wharton and U of Chicago have MFE programs? Or did this competition include PhD candidates? Everything I've read hear suggests that MBA programs don't teach the skills for generation of pricing models.
  11. MBA vs MFE for trading jobs

    Maybe I should point out the 800 lb gorilla in the room. The HBS MBA and the UCB MFE are almost mutually exclusive sets. Top MBA programs like high GPAs, but they really want leaders with strong interpersonal/communication skills. MFE programs want mathematicians/engineers who can code. The MFE...
  12. GRE vs GMAT

    OK, to highjack this post... What is the community's thought on the GMAT? If I have a 770, but only a 49 quantitative, is it worth dropping the $100+ on the GRE? I already have solid grades in undergrad/grad (3.9/4.0 BS & 5.0/5.0 SM). Thanks.
  13. COVER LETTERS

    When a firm asks for a "cover letter" what exactly are they looking for? I've given them a resume, but now they've asked for a cover letter. Any suggestions? I'm assuming that they're looking for a more robust objective statement than I have on my resume. Thanks!
  14. EE Ph.D. seeks advice

    I'm not sure that I understand this bit here. Does an MFE/MSCF not prepare you for algotrading? How do the two roles (straight quant and algotrader) differ? Thanks for the endless wisdom.
  15. WHAT DOES IT TAKE (TO GET IN)?

    What could make this a trap? I'm all about the "wisdom of crowds"... wouldn't I have to be if I wanted to work in finance? I'm most interested in ultimately getting into portfolio management. It seems that the CMU program provides the crash course on the mathematics and applied computer program...
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