C++ Online Programming Course Testimonials

[Felix Kotey]

I completed the course yesterday and I am very excited to be done. The course was demanding and this really aided in the learning process. APalley and Trev were active on the forum with regards to answering various questions and this was very helpful. As a full time employee, combining work with this course was challenging. I work 12 hours per day when offshore and had to squeeze sometime out of my schedule to enable me complete my assignments. All in all, I am glad to have completed the course and I am looking forward to working hard to build on the skills I have developed.

 

[Han Solo]

Hi,
I've just joined. I'm about to finish my PhD in theoretical physics and I've been looking around for a quant-related job. I've gained some experience in programming through the sci projects I was running but I definitely should make that knowledge more solid (especially the object oriented part that is very limited) before any interview. I read your programming course testimonials and got quite interested. The thing that bothers me, however, is whether the certification that you offer gets any recognition among employers? In other words, do you have any reliable feedback stating that having the QuantNet certificate would make my CV look somewhat special? The reason for my question is basically the money, i.e., I'm thinking whether the course is really a better investment than one of the C++ books that you recommend. Another question regards the time that I'd have to spend doing the course. Naturally, I suppose this depends mostly on the amount of time I can spend learning but is there any fundamental limitation from your side? Thank you in advance.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

QuantNet certificate would make my CV look somewhat special?

I think the QN C++ is the most rigorous.

disclaimer: I am the originator.

 

[Han Solo]

Thank you Daniel for your opinion.
Would be happy to hear any other insights, most preferably from the participants.

 

[xuanhahala]

For everyone who's interested in the time needed for this course: I started doing my level 1 HW at the beginning of January, and I submitted level 9 HW in the middle of February. The typical hours I spent per day on reading materials, doing HWs were about 5 hours at least and weekend was all about c++. I learned python and little C++ before I started the course. However, without the help of my TA, the materials and the forum, I was not able to complete it.

 

[KevinM]

This class is very rewarding and the sheer magnitude you learn over the course is very impressive. The course is rigorous, it takes time, but you will learn a lot from Dr. Duffy and the TAs. My TA APalley (still not sure I got his real name..) in particular was terrific, quick to respond to questions and always helpful.

 

[Haomiao Zhai]

Hi, I completed the course today.
Firstly, I am extremely grateful with what I have learnt from online C++. This comprehensive and elaborate course equips me well with programming skills. It paves my way to future study in financial engineering. Secondly, I could highly appreciate the help from Avi. Avi is very responsive and smart. Every question from mine gets an efficient and effective answer. Finally, the online course makes share of contribution to help me get the admission from MSCF@CMU. Thanks!

 

[Wojciech Witowski]

Hi all,

I just completed the course after ca. 9 weeks. I was able to finish first 7 levels in ca. 5 weeks, but then I went on 3 weeks holidays and lost my concentration. I work full time, so most of my course work took place on the weekends (at least 8 hours of work per day). BUT, since this is a very exciting and well build course (thanks to the great work done by Andy Nguyen and prof. Daniel Duffy), I did spend most of my free time working on the programs, trying to learn as much as I could about any given topic.

My TA, APalley was very helpful and his comments on my homework assignments helped me improve. The forum was another great source of knowledge, and many of the questions you might have, are already answered.
The exam is quite professional, but I would suggest preparing your level 9 programs (used during the exam) beforehand. I somehow forgot about this part of the exam (it is clearly stated in the exam description), and wasted a lot of time trying to remember the setup I used...

I had some C++ experience before the course, and I did not expect that I will learn so much even during the first few, introductory levels. Thus, even if you are not a student and are not planning to go for an MFE, this is a great choice (and a great value for extremely low price) for learning C++ and its applications in the finance world.

If you are looking for a follow-up course, I would suggest looking at prof Daniel Duffy's webpage:
http://www.datasimfinancial.com/coursesandevents.php

PS. Andy Nguyen, I wrote another testimonial at the Baruch's webpage (the 'exit survey'). You are more than welcome to paste it into your original post.

 

[Henry Choi]

All,

I just obtained my certificate two days ago and I would like to say that I enjoyed this course very much. I actually looked forward to watching the video lectures and working on the assignments. Professor Duffy has this ability to seemingly explain things in a very simplified and fully comprehensive manner in a very short amount of time. Like anything else, the real learning occurs through trial and error. I thought this course was rigorous in that one has to work hard and keep pace . I have previous software development experience with some experience in C++, but this one took me to another level. Thanks to Andy and APalley for the very timely and considerate help.

 

[Mo Shen]

Hi all,

I just obtained this certificate with distinction and I am very excited about that. I come from finance background. Thanks to this course, I was able to build up solid knowledge in C++ programming which I only have limited understanding before. For those students who come from non-finance backgrounds, I expect this course to be even more helpful. I have a heavy full time job and I also took some exhausting tasks such as GRE at the same time, therefore I didn't complete the course much prior to the deadline. I might have spent 12 weeks in total on the course, and most of them on weekends, more than 8 hours for each day.

Below are my comments on this course:

The structure of the course is well designed. I enjoyed every part of it. The video lectures and reading materials are clear, insightful and enlightening, which illustrate all the key conceptions with excellent code examples. The homework is interesting and challenging, which helped me go through all the conceptions taught at each level. The quiz is an awesome tool which enabled me to test my knowledge that might not be solid enough after completing the homework and allowed me to explore even what are not included in the materials and therefore further strengthened my skills in C++ programming.

The forum is one of the most important resources to help me through this course. I found lots of insightful posts from so many talented guys there. I would say it will be impossible to learn C++ in such a short term and get such solid knowledge without those guys' altruistic contribution to the community. I guess that's exactly why this course is not just a certificate but furthermore a community which one should contribute to and benefit from for good.

I am extremely thankful to my TA APalley. His feedback is always immediate, and his guidance on the course is insightful. He is much tolerant to the tiny mistakes made in the homework such as typos on comments, but very strict on the key issues of each level. His comments on my homework are mostly brief but always focused on the points I missed. I appreciate his method mentoring me, which not only provides me with necessary assistance but also allows me enough space to get through the problems by my own efforts.

Overall, I am satisfied with everything in this course, because they are all beyond my expectations!

 

[Elijah Gachuhi]

I had almost no prior experience with programming before starting this course and almost thought of dropping out but the tremendous support from my TA and others on the forum encouraged me to keep going!
The course is very well designed program, so well that It is inevitable to learn!
I would like to thank my TA @APalley , Professor @Daniel Duffy who is an amazing, funny and very talented trainer and everyone in quantnet forum for the support.

I used ubuntu till level 8 after which I switched to VS for the excel part. so if you do not like VS (like me), you do not need to use it. I found it to be a lot slower than other IDEs in ubuntu.

 

[Prasad Tilloo]

It was a great learning experience for me which I enjoyed thoroughly.
This is a good way to learn a tough programming language which seems easy while sailing through this course.
The study material (PDFs,Videos , Forums and conversation with the TA) were exhaustive and well constructed.
I am very confident now of my C++ Skills and will definitely want to leverage the knowledge I got from this course.

Thanks Quantnet and Baruch for coming up with this certificate program.

Regards,
Prasad

 

[Prasad Tilloo]

Thanks a ton to my TA @APalley for his valuable and timely comments regarding my submisisons , that made me improve a lot.Thanks professor @Daniel Duffy for the wonderful video lectures which clarified the concepts crystal clear.
Thanks @Andy Nguyen for your help.

Cheers!
Prasad

 

[Andrew Salter]

Just finished the course. Wanted to say thanks to my TA @APalley for prompt and clear responses to questions and for the numerous posts on the forum. I came to this course with zero programming experience and now feel confident writing basic C/C++ code and with the concepts of object-oriented programming. Thanks to everyone.
Andrew.

 

[Julianlapoutre]

Does the english level of these course high ? I would like to follow but i'm not sure to understand everything
thx for answer

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Does the english level of these course high ? I would like to follow but i'm not sure to understand everything
thx for answer

In the course I have avoided any difficult English words and phrases. So, the Englsh is kind of technical so I reckon you should be OK.

 

[Justine Morgan]

This was a great course - I really learned a lot and enjoyed the learning experience thoroughly. I started with no knowledge of C/C++ but have learned a lot over the 16 weeks and now feel comfortable programming in this language. The course is great as it teaches a vast range of topics within C++ programming that really show you how to get the most out of it, and also how to apply it to financial engineering. The exercises at each level were a lot of fun and really made sure you understood the new concepts and how to implement them. The interaction on the discussion boards and the quick and detailed responses and feedback from my TA really helped with the learning experience by making me focus on issues I might have otherwise overlooked. Just want to say thanks to @Daniel Duffy and my TA @APalley for making this a really fun and useful learning experience!

 

[hendro ag]

I learned many programming and C++ knowledge from this course. After completing this course, I feel confident with my programming skill and ready to join MFE program. The quality of:
TA: Thank you to @APalley for being a very helpful and nice TA. He gave many constructive comments and quick responses for my home works.

Study material: The materials cover wide range of C++ knowledge, it includes Object Oriented and Generic programming which are very important. It also include introduction to C++ application in finance (option pricing) in level 9, and I think this is a good introduction for those who will join a MFE program. Although I do not have strong programming experience, I could understand the materials presented by Dr. Duffy. Thanks to @Daniel Duffy.

HW: The best way to learn programming is by developing program. The home works are very demanding, but it make me used to C++ program and able to deeply understand the study materials.

Forum: The forum is very responsive and covers wide range of discussions, many of my questions related to the course already answered somewhere in the forum. And when I post a question, Avi and Dr.Duffy gave quick responses.

I highly recommend the C++ Online Programming course, especially to people who want to join MFE program.

Cheers.

 

[Baobao]

I am finance major and have no any background about programming. Can I take this course for well? I am very interested in C++ in finance!!!

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I am finance major and have no any background about programming. Can I take this course for well? I am very interested in C++ in finance!!!

As originator of the course, I think it is possible but a lot of hard work it is worth the effort IMO.

The course starts with C.

I believe a number of students without programming experience have successfully completely the course.

BTW not sure if I am answering on the appropriate thread but I have to answer somewhere

@Andy Nguyen