CQF as a prep MFE

[Jedison]

I ended up getting into Columbia too, buddy... see you in the Fall

Maybe I'll buy you a few drinks to console you for how badly Wilmott ripped you off... it happens to the best of us

Not trying to come at you haha just saying. But congrats. I also never turn down free beers so I would gladly accept that offer. My CQF was incredibly pricey so I don't know if I could justify it for everyone. In Columbia's program I got to register before any other students and had full access to the math, stats and comp sci depts. I took a fair amount of courses just out of interest like Complex Var, PDE etc. Really an awesome experience and definitely helped my profile while also developing myself mathematically.

 

[CasanovaJ]

Not trying to come at you haha just saying. But congrats. I also never turn down free beers so I would gladly accept that offer. My CQF was incredibly pricey so I don't know if I could justify it for everyone. In Columbia's program I got to register before any other students and had full access to the math, stats and comp sci depts. I took a fair amount of courses just out of interest like Complex Var, PDE etc. Really an awesome experience and definitely helped my profile while also developing myself mathematically.

Wait, hold on... are we talking about the same thing here? I thought we were talking about this ridiculous thing, and I wasn't of the impression that it had anything specifically to do with Columbia--

http://www.cqf.com/

 

[CandyOates]

I was under the impression a CQF was similar to a CFA in that the material may be redundant for you but your employer may still require it for upward mobility.

 

[Jedison]

Wait, hold on... are we talking about the same thing here? I thought we were talking about this ridiculous thing, and I wasn't of the impression that it had anything specifically to do with Columbia--

http://www.cqf.com/

Oo no I'm talking about this. There are several quant finance certificate programs I didn't realize this thread was in reference to that specific one.

 

[CasanovaJ]

I was under the impression a CQF was similar to a CFA in that the material may be redundant for you but your employer may still require it for upward mobility.

I did CFA (I sat for level III a week ago), studying for it was like spending a thousand hours watching paint dry while simultaneously banging my head against a wall, it's not quantitative AT ALL (FRM was a little bit better I thought, but not by much), I've heard that it's considered to be the rough equivalent of an MBA, and I only did it because my corporate employer paid for it and my boss claimed it's "prestigious" (although I'm starting to think he may have just been f***ing with me )... I've heard CQF is much more quantitative (and therefore at least somewhat interesting and presumably a bit more useful to an aspiring quant) but the pricetag is absolutely crazy, and it's not even a real degree... My general impression of it is that it's essentially just another tool to rip desperate people off overseas who are looking for a way into quant finance... I may be wrong on that, but I don't think so.

 

[Barny]

CQF is 26 weeks part-time at 20 hours study per week. Total = 520 hours study
Princeton MFin is 100 weeks at 70 hours study per week = 7,000 hours study.

So what you are saying is that 520 hours study of CQF material is equal to 7,000 hours study of Princeton MFin.

CQF students must be incredibly brilliant and the Princeton MFin students must be retards according to your logic.

That's some flawed deductive reasoning right there. I never mentioned the intelligence of either cohort.

The point is that MFE's and CQF's are mostly signalling degrees. They teach lots of elementary material which anyone with a brain and dedication can learn by themselves. The advanced stuff they teach is mostly out of date, irrelevant, not advanced or indepth enough, or all of the above. So what is the purpose of the CQF or MFE? It is mostly signalling, rather than human capital. Unfortunately, the protective benefit of riding around in an SUV quickly diminshes when everyone else starts driving SUV's, which is the problem MFE degrees now face.

If you're the kind of person who seriously thinks blowing $20k on the CQF as preparation for an MFE, then good luck to you, because you'll need it when you get consistently bent over a barrel in the real world by those who have more common sense and shrewdness.

I'd also like to shake the hand of any MFE student that manages to do 100 consecutive 70 hour weeks.