• C++ Programming for Financial Engineering
    Highly recommended by thousands of MFE students. Covers essential C++ topics with applications to financial engineering. Learn more Join!
    Python for Finance with Intro to Data Science
    Gain practical understanding of Python to read, understand, and write professional Python code for your first day on the job. Learn more Join!
    An Intuition-Based Options Primer for FE
    Ideal for entry level positions interviews and graduate studies, specializing in options trading arbitrage and options valuation models. Learn more Join!

Career Change

stoxandbonds

Joined
11/30/11
Messages
5
Points
11
Hi all,

I'm a new poster looking for guidance. I graduated undergrad with a business degree summa cum laude and now attend an ivy league law school. I am still in my first semester, but absolutely hate law. I previously interned with several IB's, but all in the back office. My dream was always to go into trading, but I didn't get any offers notwithstanding my top-notch grades from my above average NYC school. I was thinking about taking the GMAT or GRE and trying to get into a top MFE program. Any suggestions on how I can go about doing this or if I should take a different route? FYI as part of my undergraduate degree, I took calc and several stats courses (got all A's), but no programming. Thanks in advanced.
 
why did you enter law school?

what makes you so certain that you won't wind up in an mfe program and hate it, as well?

these are expensive decisions (read: costly mistakes) to make.
 
I aced the LSAT and was enticed by some of the lucrative employment stats at the top law programs I was qualified for. I had also met with alumni from my law school and for the most part, they all said I could easily lateral into IB in the future if I wanted. I figured that law school was better than my back office offers. I had met with my undergraduate career services office as well and they also advised me to take the law school offer. I figure if I'm going to reduce the cost, I should leave law school after my first semester since it will only cost me about 10k. As for what makes me so certain about the mfe program, I'm certain that I want to work in trading and have always been more of a math/finance person and thrived in my finance undergraduate coursework, which are obviously not concrete motives. However, my goal has always been trading and I want to at least figure out what my options are and how to best pursue it.
 
In the interest of discovering one's interest and passion, why don't you pickup a few books from our reading list. If you are admitted to MFE programs, these will be your textbooks anyway. If you can't get past Shreve's first few pages, MFE may not be for you.
Open a personal account with one of the online brokers (Interactive Broker, etc) and put 10K in there and trade for a few months. If you feel hungry for more after reading books and trading personal money, then it may be a career for you. As a bonus, you can say you have done all these things in your MFE applications. Most MFE applicants haven't bothered to do these things but quick to declare this is their passion.
 
One more thing actually, would I need to consider taking anymore undergraduate-level programming/math coursework before applying if I do decide to apply after reading those books? I only took calc 2 and two stats courses in college
 
stoxandbonds said:
One more thing actually, would I need to consider taking anymore undergraduate-level programming/math coursework before applying if I do decide to apply after reading those books? I only took calc 2 and two stats courses in college
Click to expand...

you dont need MFE to get into trading
 
Considering that you have a little weak math background, want to do MFE and eventually get into trading, you should go for a program hosted by the business school rather than Math or Engineering school.Example: MIT.

Also you need to start making quick moves if you are targeting 2012.
 
Back
Top