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allrighty Andy: Try this: 1. Open the attached "Examples(1)." (I rearranged it a bit). 2. download the attached XLA and install it. It should give you a toolbar w/1 button. 3. Select cells "A10: D39" on Examples(1).Sheet1 -- this is the data range minus the header. 4. Push the button. 5...

Thank you very much for the birthday greeting Claudia and Adolfo!

You and I have spoken in person and by e-mail, and you recommended I read Liars Poker and Accidental Investment Banker. Both books seem to paint a picture altogether different than what you painted for us at the career fair. I am intrigued and impressed that you would lead me to read books...

I know we usually talk about getting jobs or the industry in general, but I thought I'd ask a simple investing question I've been pondering since starting my education in finance. In the housing market, it is not uncommon to use 3:1 leverage for buying some rental properties and trying to get...

Excellent contribution! I'm glad to see that both the company and I see this progressing much the same way as you described (expectations management). First year will be all about meeting the contractual 40hrs of consulting + finishing the degree. 2 classes per semester x 3 semesters (Spring...

It kind of makes sense that my primary job would be the engineering role because their main business is filling contract slots for the Army. They get paid an hourly rate by the Army, take a fee out, and then pass the rest on to their employees. In exchange, they take on the responsibility of...

Hi, As some of you know, I am an engineer and an officer in the Air Force. I am half way through Columbia's online MFE and live in New Mexico. I have my resume posted on Columbia's MonsterTRAK and got a call from a small defense contractor a month ago wanting me to come work for them. I...

My boss has encouraged this decision. He told me, "You're too young to start giving up on your dreams. If your dream is to work on Wall St, then dammit, go work on Wall St!"

My boss at work "proctors" the exams. The University e-mails him the exam and he prints it out then faxes it back to them. He used to have to overnight the physical exam, but now only has to keep in on file for the rest of the semester in case the fax didn't work. If you live in NYC, the...

I'm half way through the Columbia Online program, and I must agree with all here on the disadvantages. $4k a class hits the wallet hard, and no networking is rough. However, you've all missed the tremendous advantages of online. (1) You can pause and rewind your professor. How many times...

...moreover as Taleb points out in both his books, society does not reward the preventer of disaster, but the repairer of disaster. If someone makes sacrifices to prevent a disaster (and the disaster never happens) then people get mad at him/her for wasting resources even though if the disaster...

Great read! Thank you, dstefan.

I worked as a salesman during undergrad, and on Black Friday I made twice as much money in commissions than in the previous three months combined.

I thought commodities always do well in times of crisis.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Wow, your story sounds just like mine. Replace "Astrophysics" with "Electrical Engineering" and "Medical Field" with "Military" and you're there. I am just a student (at Columbia online), so I can't answer your questions based on experience. I just interviewed for a prop quant trading firm...

This site leads me to believe that for CFA Level 1, "Three years of qualifying work experience must be obtained." This site lead me to believe that for FRM, one needs: A passing score on the FRM Examination. Active membership in the Global Association of Risk Professionals. A...

I thought you needed industry experience to get these certifications.

I thought you needed industry experience to get these certifications.

Thank you Andy!

Where is the guide? I'd like to read that as well.

I've landed half a dozen phone interviews so far this week as a result of the career fair (including some hedge funds)... and I learned that MFE can lead to broker... which might actually suit me best. I spent more than $500 on the career fair (with plane ticket and hotel rooms), but it was...

Andy, Is there a way to split off the second half of this thread into a new thread? There's some good info here for discussion buried in a post about finding a place to sleep.#-o

The MD of UBS Delta Americas, Tim Grant was there and he said that Sales & Trading gets a bad rap among quants for no good reason. He said the industry is changing and people need "mathematical wisdom" to truly understand the instruments. He said the "Princeton LaCrosse Player" image is fading...

Not that I'm aware of... The fair? I had two headhunters, a recruiter, and a MD tell me I should go into sales. :-k

What do you guys/gals know about small trading firms that are very "entrepreneurial" like DRW and EWT? On the surface, they seem like a really fun place to work and a place to be given responsibility and make a difference very quickly. What is the down side, and is it a good idea to take one...

Two weeks away and still I am homeless... Anyone? I'll compensate you if necessary... If there is a reasonably priced hotel near NYU that is also clean and safe, let me know. Thanks, Sam

It's $3716 per class. Still, it's the only option I have in New Mexico.

The particular program I'm talking about is Columbia's online program. However, the same is true for pretty much all of the MFE degrees that are taught by a school's Industrial Engineering or Operations Research Departments. I know some are taught by the Math Department and others are taught...

That's what I figured. The same is true for engineering. Small firms and small companies (like manufacturing plants) don't usually hire engineers straight out of college. They prefer you to work for a big company (or the military) for the first five years so that you can take advantage of the...

My particular degree, M.S. Operations Research, Methods in Finance, is very flexible. I can sell it as an MFE (which is really what it is) or as an MS in Industrial Engineering (if I were to go work for Fed Ex or something) or as an MS in management because after all management is the science...

I imagine that driving a car every day would be a nightmare, but how hard would it be to keep my car and just use it for weekend escapes? How much does a garage or safe covered parking cost? What about insurance and property tax? (I really don't want to give up my...

Newbie question: Do freshly minted graduates of MFE (with no prior finance experience) get jobs at Hedge funds or Private Equity?

Yes, but don't forget that Maverick did not go to Annapolis and it was a big chip on his shoulder. Memorizing Top Gun line for line is part of the admissions requirements. :D Oh, totally off topic, the best movie for seeing what the Navy is REALLY like... "Down Periscope." I was on a...

My primary reasons for wanting to live in Charlotte involve racing. I have been racing since 1997 and recently was Runner Up National Champion in an amateur league called NASA. I also absolutely love driving my Porsche every day. It's very therapeutic for me, and I know that in NYC, I...

I'm flying in for the Financial Mathematics Career Fair on the 26th. I would like to meet you guys in person, and I also might need a place to stay. I have a friend in Columbia who works at Morgan Stanley, but he lives on Long Island and has a family, so he is unsure whether I will be able to...

Someone hot linked a thread on GD. I found GD about a year ago when I was looking for a way to make a career out of being an analyst. I've made two posts on GD in 12 months, and neither post ever received a reply. I kind of like actual interaction in a community.;)

That formula is what these websites do. Except in addition to real estate, they also consider the food, utilities, transportation, and healthcare. But since we're all analysts here, let's investigate their model. I hypothesize that their model takes the relative costs of these areas and the...

Seeing that I am not a student at Baruch, and since I have been to both first tier and second tier schools, I have an opinion about the subject. After High School, I went to the US Naval Academy (aka Annapolis) which is the MOST SELECTIVE SCHOOL ON EARTH. Out of 65,000 applicants annually...

I am going to the MathFin Career Fair at NYU on the 26th, but I haven't quit my current job yet. I was just thinking about how much would be enough to draw me away from my current career. I'm considering living in NYC, Chicago, or my first choice: Charlotte. So, I went to several cost of...

What's been kicking my butt is Linear Algebra. I barely passed that class 7yrs ago and I'm really paying for it now!

Does BoA have quant positions in Charlotte? I really want to get back to the South East! I grew up less than 2 hrs from Charlotte.

I would think that academia would drive liberalism, but I guess wealth drives conservatism. It's funny how conservatism is the only thing that the rich and the poor have in common. I was under the impression that New York was very Democratic.

+1 Cristian, welcome!

I only had one probability and statistics course in my entire undergrad curriculum. The calculus and physics aspects of EE are crazy hard. You have to love it. I didn't. As for background, interestingly enough I have gained all of my "statistical intuition" from the workplace. I work in a...

I saw a doctor have to pass the hat. He didn't understand the stochastic anomaly of clumping and didn't have enough cash on hand to cover multiple unexpected expenses. There are lots of people making $300k a year and living paycheck to paycheck. Personal finance should be part of mandatory...

Of the virtual FE communities out there that I've found, this one seems to be the friendliest. That is greatly appreciated!

Hi, My name is Sam Harris. I grew up in a one red light town in South Carolina with dreams of being an astronaut. I went to the US Naval Academy which is about as intense as a Hedge Fund interview all day every day (plus extreme physical activity). After two years there, I realized that I...

You're right, it's called MS Operations Research, Methods in Finance, not MFE. However, there are 10 classes in the program, and 9 of them are the same as Columbia's MSFE program. Two of the MSFE classes are combined into one class that makes the 10th class. So, despite a different name, it's...

Why do I do MFE? Because it's fun! I'm a total math nerd since birth (took calculus at 6yrs old) and got lost along the way because the public education system in the US completely abandons those who are below or above average. I found myself in a decent but boring job as an Engineer and one...