Columbia MSOR Columbia MSOR or LSE F&E?

[Irisever]

I got two offers, Operations Research in Columbia, Finance and Economics in LSE in London...
I was told that the F&E program in LSE was much better than MSOR in Columbia... Is it true? Does anybody know what the replacement rate of MSOR was?
Anyway, Columbia is Ivy League... And it's in New York... How difficult is it to get a job in an investment bank in the Wall Street after graduation in Columbia, if anyone can tell me?
Moreover, Columbia is much more expensive than LSE...
Can someone who is familiar with MSOR give me some suggestions? Thanks a lot!!!

 

[cloudwan]

I have same problem.
I have no work experience before,so I am concerned about the length of each program.The MSOR program can be extended to one year and a half,which can allow me summer internship opportunities,which LSE is 9-month program.

 

[pepepersel]

well, can't really tell you which of the two to choose, but i will tell you this: it seems that the competition during job hunt is really touch wherever you are, even if you are a Columbia IEOR graduate in NYC! I have been accepted to both Columbia MSFE and Stanford MS&E, and was ready to take the Columbia offer mainly because I thought that finding a finance job in NYC would be easier! However, after talking to a couple of (international) friends who are either current students or last year's graduates at Columbia MSFE, I got the impression that getting a highly-paid, super-awesome job is hard and it depends on many factors that are outside of your control (luck, demand for specific extra skills, connections, whether other better/worse people are applying for the same exact position at the same time, previous work experience etc etc etc etc).

so, in the end, all I have to say is this: pick the program that interests you most!!! if you like what you're studying and it's in a good institution (in your case, both Columbia and LSE are great!), then all other things will come! you really can't plan everything in this world and in your life! of course, there are probably other factors you need to compare, such as cost, life in London or NYC etc, but if you think only in terms of academics and job placement (this is what I have been doing for my dilemma), just go with the option that interest you most! there is no big/obvious difference between the two programs/schools that you have to choose from, besides that after LSE you'll probably stay and work in London (i'm only saying this because i'm guessing you're not a UK citizen nor US citizen, so it's a working visa thing), while after Columbia OR you;ll probably stay and work in the US (i'm not, however, saying that you'll absolutely be in NYC....)

and yeah, in the end, i'm going to Stanford because I like this program's curriculum more; it seems to fit better to my personality...and btw, just to give more credibility to my post/advice, I can tell you I also got in LSE MSc Finance (which I have rejected right away cause I personally want to go the US). So, I know -based on my research- that for your dilemma, both Columbia OR and LSE F&E are at the same level! ;-)

 

[Andy Nguyen]

One of the things I notice is that a lot of people are asking about various MS&E programs and choosing them or MFE/MSOR programs.
What the career paths for MS&E graduates are like? Do MS&E departments have career services?
If you are international student and going to a place where the program does nothing to at least get employers interested in the degree, how would it help?

 

[pepepersel]

Andy,

these are valid questions and perhaps we can start a new post on this, cause i'm sure many people are considering such programs, but the forum is currently focused more on quant stuff, such as FE!

i will only speak about stanford ms&e, because I've done my research on this:
basically, what could be an IEOR department at Stanford Engineering School is actually called "MS&E" department and offers one single master with tracks (finance&econ, strategy, OR, entrepreneurship, energy and decision-making systems etc). this is in contrast to what happens, for example, at Columbia Fu Engineering School, cause the Department is named "IEOR" and offers 4 distinct masters in IE, OR, FE, MS&E. essentially, though, both departments at the different universities are the same (professors do similar research, many classes are the same etc)
when it comes to the finance&econ track of the Stanford's program, things are less quant than a typical MSFE program. you still do hedging, derivatives, stochastic processes, black-scholes etc, but it seems that you focus more on the implementation rather than all the hard math! also, you take econ classes in order to be able to evaluate macro stuff!
overall, career paths for MS&E graduates can be many, including: consulting, financial consulting, technology-based stuff, OR jobs, IB & finance etc. it depends on what coursework you choose, your interests, your experience etc.
another great thing about Stanford MS&E (and this is also the case with other MS&E programs, Columbia's for example) is that you can actually take several classes at the Business School; and they actually encourage or require you to take them! so, you see a more practical/business approach of certain concepts through case studies, projects etc
Stanford's MS&E does not have a separate career services office! Columbia's MS&E has a dedicated career officer at the IEOR department who communicates with career stuff at the Business School and helps MS&E students with placement.

Generally speaking, I could say (this is a personal opinion) that an MS&E degree is close to a mini-MBA for people with less work experience. This is obviously a great thing about MS&E degrees! By mini-MBA, I mean that you don't have access to all the curriculum options you'd find in a traditional MBA (for example, family business, leadership classes, perhaps entrepreneurship etc), but you do see things, such as strategy, finance, perhaps technology-based or health care stuff etc (it really depends on the program and your curriculum choices) from a more practical/less theoretical perspective. The main disadvantage I see is that MS&E graduates are definitely not MBA-graduates both in terms of brand and in terms of skills; and also in terms of alumni network and career resources!! but yeah, MS&E is an 1-year cheaper program!! :-p

as for your last question about internationals choosing MS&E even if placement seem vague, I can only speak about Stanford's MS&E program: because it's Stanford, many MS&E graduates get jobs through the great central career services. because of the university's general entrepreneurial orientation and the location, many of those go into small or big consulting firms, technology-based start-ups or VCs. Of course, a bunch go to IB and finance jobs (these are universal!), but probably in less quant and more "critical thinking/ analyzing" positions, and then many become project managers in tech companies. so, why not choose such a program???
overall, i would say that an MS&E degree does open doors because of the different career options you choose without excluding anything (like a highly-specialized MSFE degree would do). yeah, perhaps you can't get a very quant finance position or any other specialized job, but this depends on what you want! it's more of a "generalist" degree, close enough to an MBA, with the disadvantage of not getting you to the Associate level that MBAs generally do

 

[sophiemine]

Andy,

these are valid questions and perhaps we can start a new post on this, cause i'm sure many people are considering such programs, but the forum is currently focused more on quant stuff, such as FE!

i will only speak about stanford ms&e, because I've done my research on this:
basically, what could be an IEOR department at Stanford Engineering School is actually called "MS&E" department and offers one single master with tracks (finance&econ, strategy, OR, entrepreneurship, energy and decision-making systems etc). this is in contrast to what happens, for example, at Columbia Fu Engineering School, cause the Department is named "IEOR" and offers 4 distinct masters in IE, OR, FE, MS&E. essentially, though, both departments at the different universities are the same (professors do similar research, many classes are the same etc)
when it comes to the finance&econ track of the Stanford's program, things are less quant than a typical MSFE program. you still do hedging, derivatives, stochastic processes, black-scholes etc, but it seems that you focus more on the implementation rather than all the hard math! also, you take econ classes in order to be able to evaluate macro stuff!
overall, career paths for MS&E graduates can be many, including: consulting, financial consulting, technology-based stuff, OR jobs, IB & finance etc. it depends on what coursework you choose, your interests, your experience etc.
another great thing about Stanford MS&E (and this is also the case with other MS&E programs, Columbia's for example) is that you can actually take several classes at the Business School; and they actually encourage or require you to take them! so, you see a more practical/business approach of certain concepts through case studies, projects etc
Stanford's MS&E does not have a separate career services office! Columbia's MS&E has a dedicated career officer at the IEOR department who communicates with career stuff at the Business School and helps MS&E students with placement.

Generally speaking, I could say (this is a personal opinion) that an MS&E degree is close to a mini-MBA for people with less work experience. This is obviously a great thing about MS&E degrees! By mini-MBA, I mean that you don't have access to all the curriculum options you'd find in a traditional MBA (for example, family business, leadership classes, perhaps entrepreneurship etc), but you do see things, such as strategy, finance, perhaps technology-based or health care stuff etc (it really depends on the program and your curriculum choices) from a more practical/less theoretical perspective. The main disadvantage I see is that MS&E graduates are definitely not MBA-graduates both in terms of brand and in terms of skills; and also in terms of alumni network and career resources!! but yeah, MS&E is an 1-year cheaper program!! :-p

as for your last question about internationals choosing MS&E even if placement seem vague, I can only speak about Stanford's MS&E program: because it's Stanford, many MS&E graduates get jobs through the great central career services. because of the university's general entrepreneurial orientation and the location, many of those go into small or big consulting firms, technology-based start-ups or VCs. Of course, a bunch go to IB and finance jobs (these are universal!), but probably in less quant and more "critical thinking/ analyzing" positions, and then many become project managers in tech companies. so, why not choose such a program???
overall, i would say that an MS&E degree does open doors because of the different career options you choose without excluding anything (like a highly-specialized MSFE degree would do). yeah, perhaps you can't get a very quant finance position or any other specialized job, but this depends on what you want! it's more of a "generalist" degree, close enough to an MBA, with the disadvantage of not getting you to the Associate level that MBAs generally do

Hi， pepepersel !
It is great to see your words one year after you posted it. It helps a lot on my decision on my admissions between LSE finance and Columbia MS&E!
One year has passed, and it may be time for you to seek a job (or I wish you have already had an awesome one!), do you have any modification on this opinion. Your information there in US will be a great aid to me!