Best MFE for NYC placement

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Yann

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Hi all,

One of my objectives is to start my career in New York. A lot of placement figures are shared online but I reckon that not everyone ranks NYC as their first choice so I cannot really rely on those.

Even if this question is a bit "vague", I will ask it anyway :
  • What MFE is the most likely to lead to a FO position in NYC?
Here are more specific questions:
  1. What MFE has the strongest alumni network in NYC?
  2. Do you think that MFE's location plays an important role in job location? Is there as much chances of getting hired in NYC if you hold a MFE from Columbia as there is if you hold a MFE from Berkeley?
  3. How do you think MFE's graduation date impacts the placement? Is it better to graduate in June before the summers and graduate programs or in March because there is less competition at this period of the year?

Thank you in advance for your help.
 
MFE's location plays a paramount role in job location. If you want a job in NYC, go to school in NYC.

Several NYC programs have excellent placement statistics - Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, Baruch and NYU Courant. I would assume all have strong alumni networks. Take your pick.

Graduation date doesn't impact placement. You will go on interviews your entire last semester. Most in these programs graduate with offers on the table, waiting to start.
 
Thanks Alexei Smirnov for your answer,

Are you saying that I have less chance to be placed in NYC if I go to Haas?
 
Yes. You will miss out on all NYC networking opportunities, and will have a much harder time getting interviews in NYC, since you would have to be flown in for a face to face interview (and there are plenty of Baruch, Columbia, CM, NYU graduates in the NYC area that do not have to be flown in and are just as good).

I recently had an interview with one of the larger companies on the street. The managing director of the group I was interviewing with confessed that they had a lot of haas graduates working for them - but all in California. None in their NYC office (at least in this particular group).
 
Yann said:
Are you saying that I have less chance to be placed in NYC if I go to Haas?
Click to expand...

location.jpg


Source
 
They did one year for their MFE program (not MSOR).

I don't think anyone can comment on networking opportunities at Princeton... they release absolutely no information...
 
Alexei Smirnov said:
Yes. You will miss out on all NYC networking opportunities, and will have a much harder time getting interviews in NYC, since you would have to be flown in for a face to face interview (and there are plenty of Baruch, Columbia, CM, NYU graduates in the NYC area that do not have to be flown in and are just as good).

I recently had an interview with one of the larger companies on the street. The managing director of the group I was interviewing with confessed that they had a lot of haas graduates working for them - but all in California. None in their NYC office (at least in this particular group).
Click to expand...

Do not follow this advice. My suggestion is that if you have the chance of attending Berkeley's MFE, do it. The only time location should be a consideration for you, is when you are deciding on flip-flops and sunny weather vs. frosty wind gusts and unwelcoming crowds!

In seriousness, you can see from Andy's post that about half the placement is in the northeast. Where - oh where - in the northeast do you think that possibly is? It's definitely not Maine!

For credibility, I'll tell you that I am a current student in the MFE program and i see plenty of opportunities that come to us from NYC. I see the weekly lists of students selected to interview and alumni placement records - it is strong. FYI, I am also looking for NYC placement and, although I've only been here 3 months, I have interviewed with 3 major NYC i-banks.

If there is a lack of NYC opportunity somewhere, it's definitely not at haas. The main poster was probably referring of that other school down in Palo Alto...
 
I'd say Cal's MFE program is just highly regarded as those in NYC. I'd argue that Cal's MFE program is probably the best in the West Coast.

captn sounds like a die hard Cal fan.
 
Thank you captn for you insight!
Is there an important proportion of your class aiming to be located in NYC?
Is the repartition of Haas MFE limited by the opportunities (not everybody could be placed in NYC)? or is it due to different location wishes (some people going in HK, London, etc could have been placed in North East)?
 
@ Yann

Some students just do not wish to work in NYC from the beginning. There are other students who might have wanted to work in NYC but when presented with say Blackrock and the Bay Area, they change their minds. Also, many students are international students who may wish to work in Japan, Germany, France, Hong Kong, and Signapore for personal reasons.
 
Yann said:
What MFE is the most likely to lead to a FO position in NYC?
Here are more specific questions:

  1. What MFE has the strongest alumni network in NYC?
  2. Do you think that MFE's location plays an important role in job location? Is there as much chances of getting hired in NYC if you hold a MFE from Columbia as there is if you hold a MFE from Berkeley?
  3. How do you think MFE's graduation date impacts the placement? Is it better to graduate in June before the summers and graduate programs or in March because there is less competition at this period of the year?
Click to expand...
The role you get will most depend on your background. Everyone wants to be in FO and I doubt any program can make everyone happy. Any program you look, there will be people who are not happy where they end up.
And with the little of information available, I doubt we can answer this question with any certainty. People who work in MO would like you to believe it's FO and so on. Often times, it's impossible to determine where one belongs.
  1. By strongest, do you mean the largest number of alumni? Then look for some of the oldest programs like CMU, Columbia. If you mean the alumni where there is active mentoring, recruiting, networking among the graduates of the program, then you have to really be one of them to know. Just ask the programs to see if they have any alumni associations and what activities they have. Quantity does not always transfer to quality.
  2. It's answered above. Location plays an important role but nothing stops someone from Hawaii from getting a job in NYC. It's certainly much more expensive and difficult but this is a decision you ultimately made.
  3. There are pro/cons. For a program to graduate in off-cycle time, the administrators know the pros/cons well and work hard to take advantages or work around these issues. Wall Street hires year round and if you are very good, you will get a job. If you are not, it does not matter how much you pay, which brand name program you study from, graduation date is least of your concerns.
 
Alexei Smirnov said:
MFE's location plays a paramount role in job location. If you want a job in NYC, go to school in NYC.

Several NYC programs have excellent placement statistics - Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, Baruch and the real NYU (not NYU-Poly). I would assume all have strong alumni networks. Take your pick.

Graduation date doesn't impact placement. You will go on interviews your entire last semester. Most in these programs graduate with offers on the table, waiting to start.
Click to expand...

CMU NYC actually sends a lot of people abroad compared to the other programs you listed.
 
Some of that is by choice.and the same thing happened last year. But when it came to full time, kids mostly ended up in nyc.
 
Of the 2009-2011 Baruch MFE graduates, 81% found employment in the financial industry in the NY area; see page 4 of the Employment Report.
 

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