COMPARE Cambridge Mfin vs Columbia MFE

[iamsorry]

Hi
A bit about my background - Trader for a proprietary trading firm (US and UK commodities) since the past 3 years. Want to broaden my horizon in the field of finance. Later want to work in a HFT firm.

Cambridge (20% Scholarship) vs Columbia (No Scholarship). Tuition cost and living in NYC will literally cost 1.7x comparatively.
I am really confused between these two programs. Columbia's program is quant focused and Cambridge's is a bit balanced. I am not very good with programming. Which one do you reckon fits my aspirations the best.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Figure out where you want to work after school. London or NYC? Cost of living in NYC is higher but salary will also be higher.
Getting a job out of Columbia MFE would probably be more challenging since you will be competing against thousands of other candidates from many other programs.
If you are not good at programming, let's face it right now. You will get more job opportunities if you are better than the other graduates in coding. You will be interviewed and tested your coding ability anyway before you get an offer.
Why don't you take the C++ or Python course we offer here? They are the best on the market to prepare people for the quant industry.

 

[Rey_De_Leon]

I saw quite a few people with MFin Cambridge background (was even considering it myself) but honestly not sure if it helped them to break into the industry (especially HFT). While the Mfin programme content is ok, for Algo/Quant roles most people would still look for MMath /Statistics/Engineering from Ox/Cambridge/Imperial rather than MFin. Columbia MFE seems like a better option (and presumably more expensive) especially if you are targeting US market.

P.s. I had an interview with the candidate from Columbia once and it was all nice until he was asked to do a Python test...

 

[Andy Nguyen]

What @Rey_De_Leon said is true. If you want to break into a more technical role where stats/machine learning/coding is involved, you need much more than what the MFin program can give.
Even if we assume the MFE programs in the US are more technical than the MFin programs, the graduates need to differentiate themselves during the screening/interview process. In the US, it's brainteaser, online coding, etc so it's a wise investment to equip yourself with a stronger coding ability when your competitors don't.
Consider you are paying 100K on average for a degree in the US, don't cheap out on the inexpensive cost to make you a stand out from the crowded market place.

 

[gggui]

I saw quite a few people with MFin Cambridge background (was even considering it myself) but honestly not sure if it helped them to break into the industry (especially HFT). While the Mfin programme content is ok, for Algo/Quant roles most people would still look for MMath /Statistics/Engineering from Ox/Cambridge/Imperial rather than MFin. Columbia MFE seems like a better option (and presumably more expensive) especially if you are targeting US market.

P.s. I had an interview with the candidate from Columbia once and it was all nice until he was asked to do a Python test...

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by the last line - did he not perform well?

 

[ajjjw]

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by the last line - did he not perform well?

Interested in this too - what types of skills does your firm test for in coding screens?

IME I feel like coding abilities of mfe graduates have a pretty wide distribution. are we talking like inability to write basic loops and function?

 

[sprat]

Hi everyone!
Continuing with the topic, I'm a CFA L3 candidate and want to pursue my masters in either MFE or MFin. I am unable to decide whether to go ahead with MFE or Mfin. I am not very enthusiastic about coding but i do love finance and economics. But I doubt i would learn anything new in the MFin program. Being an international student my ultimate aim is to secure a good job. In the current market will I be able to get a good job if i do pursue MFin? Or should I just buck up and start working on my coding skills for MFE?
Any advice would be of great help

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Regardless of which program, for your own survival in the job market, please build up a strong programming skill. Aversion to programming is seen as a huge red flag by many employers in this industry. If you are not interested in building complex models using C++, at least learn and be really good with Python, database, etc. I mean really good, not just by picking up light coursera certificates.
What do you expect to contribute on your internship or job without learning how to code? With a pen and paper?
You also need to do a few projects to demonstrate your ability. This is how you have a chance to stand out.
At a recent info session, one of the quant programs rep said that for 100 roles open to quant students at a trading firm, there are 85,000 applicants.
Do whatever it takes to be the best if you want to work in this field. For every applicant with similar profile like you, there are 100+ applicants who have a stronger profile.
Here is what some of our members build to showcase their quant projects.

Projects

quantnet.com

@sprat hopefully you take this to mean as motivation. My intention is to be realistic so you know what you are up against and can prepare accordingly.

 

[sprat]

Regardless of which program, for your own survival in the job market, please build up a strong programming skill. Aversion to programming is seen as a huge red flag by many employers in this industry. If you are not interested in building complex models using C++, at least learn and be really good with Python, database, etc. I mean really good, not just by picking up light coursera certificates.
What do you expect to contribute on your internship or job without learning how to code? With a pen and paper?
You also need to do a few projects to demonstrate your ability. This is how you have a chance to stand out.
At a recent info session, one of the quant programs rep said that for 100 roles open to quant students at a trading firm, there are 85,000 applicants.
Do whatever it takes to be the best if you want to work in this field. For every applicant with similar profile like you, there are 100+ applicants who have a stronger profile.
Here is what some of our members build to showcase their quant projects.

Projects

quantnet.com

@sprat hopefully you take this to mean as motivation. My intention is to be realistic so you know what you are up against and can prepare accordingly.

Thank you for your honest reply @Andy Nguyen . I will definitely go through the projects.