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tl;dr - "Which program has better math and programming? Which city is better for aspiring FO quants?"
The cost is comparable, but I'm not too concerned with that anyway. I just want the best program for me in order to reach my goals.
I've been reaching out to the schools. Still, I would appreciate advice, especially from people who either have first hand or second hand knowledge of their curriculum, and the knowledge about the industry in Boston vs New York. I think the investment community can provide better advice about careers in those cities as opposed to career placement staff. I'm not knowledgeable about it myself.
My Background:
B.S. in Finance. CFA Level 3 Candidate. 4 years work experience as financial analyst in retail firm. So, no real relevant experience. Been trading equities in personal account for 8 years. Took C++ online course on this site, and completed typical math prereqs for grad programs, but I lack as extensive a math background as many applicants, since I was a Finance major. So, my finance is really strong, but no finance experience. My math grades are good, but I don't have a ton of math classes like engineers or applied math majors. I've been using MATLAB in college and C++ for the Baruch online pre-MFE program. No further programming experience. What I lack in formal math and programming experience and education, I make up for with a passion for TRADING!
My Objective:
Always wanted to get into trading. I'd like to get as close to a front-office quant as possible, or portfolio manager. I know front-office positions are highly competitive, so I'm interested in perhaps risk management or model validation type positions in the back-office right out of college. I want to be in a highly technical, fast paced position utilizing a great deal of programming.
I'm looking for the program with stronger math and programming classes. But, I also want to weight that against the job markets in Boston vs Manhattan for the type of positions I seek.
Are there any current or former Boston MSMF or Rutgers MQF students? Or has anyone spoken or worked with students from these programs? Boston seems stronger in math, particularly stochastics and optimization. I'm concerned whether their time series curriculum is strong enough. MQF seems a little more finance focused, but offers time series electives and seems to have many programming classes.
Also, which city is better for my career objectives?
Thank you!
The cost is comparable, but I'm not too concerned with that anyway. I just want the best program for me in order to reach my goals.
I've been reaching out to the schools. Still, I would appreciate advice, especially from people who either have first hand or second hand knowledge of their curriculum, and the knowledge about the industry in Boston vs New York. I think the investment community can provide better advice about careers in those cities as opposed to career placement staff. I'm not knowledgeable about it myself.
My Background:
B.S. in Finance. CFA Level 3 Candidate. 4 years work experience as financial analyst in retail firm. So, no real relevant experience. Been trading equities in personal account for 8 years. Took C++ online course on this site, and completed typical math prereqs for grad programs, but I lack as extensive a math background as many applicants, since I was a Finance major. So, my finance is really strong, but no finance experience. My math grades are good, but I don't have a ton of math classes like engineers or applied math majors. I've been using MATLAB in college and C++ for the Baruch online pre-MFE program. No further programming experience. What I lack in formal math and programming experience and education, I make up for with a passion for TRADING!
My Objective:
Always wanted to get into trading. I'd like to get as close to a front-office quant as possible, or portfolio manager. I know front-office positions are highly competitive, so I'm interested in perhaps risk management or model validation type positions in the back-office right out of college. I want to be in a highly technical, fast paced position utilizing a great deal of programming.
I'm looking for the program with stronger math and programming classes. But, I also want to weight that against the job markets in Boston vs Manhattan for the type of positions I seek.
Are there any current or former Boston MSMF or Rutgers MQF students? Or has anyone spoken or worked with students from these programs? Boston seems stronger in math, particularly stochastics and optimization. I'm concerned whether their time series curriculum is strong enough. MQF seems a little more finance focused, but offers time series electives and seems to have many programming classes.
Also, which city is better for my career objectives?
Thank you!