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CQF as a prep MFE

I think CQF is very good while you are working in a company and you are looking to move up the corporate ladder.
 
So, since CQF is very good for breaking into quant finance, would this certification be ideal for a person who has completed his PhD in computers ( he does not want to waste time (1 year) and also wants to earn money at the same time (CQF is part-time) to break into quant finance rather than wasting almost $100k and 1 year of earnings ( total opportunity cost = almost $175k-$200k).

A student with aPhD, most often than not, has ample programming skills at C,C++, Java,Matlab, SaS (or any other modelling software) and usually has good quantitative skills. The only thing that usually lacks is the ability/knowledge on how to apply this knowledge to the field of finance. Besides, as I often see that PhD in Math/Stats/physics/Comp Sci is pretty much a requirement these days at most quant based hedge funds/BB firms. So, that guy doesn't actually need another degree, he only needs how to relate this knowledge to finance.

I guess those are the ideal target delegates....Already in a job... Don't want to go to school and want to learn quant fin......
 
thanks darth.

One more question: How does one look for job in quant finance, after PhD and CQF. Does one first apply for some kind of internship in finance, as the work -ex would be non-finance related, and then apply at hedge funds/BBs etc. Further, how are salaries determined. I often see jobs such as " PhD comp sci/stat/math needed. Work-ex 2-3 yrs. Compensation $250k" Is this 2-3 yrs finance related work-ex, or it can be any work-ex (programming in Industry etc)
 
thanks darth.

One more question: How does one look for job in quant finance, after PhD and CQF. Does one first apply for some kind of internship in finance, as the work -ex would be non-finance related, and then apply at hedge funds/BBs etc. Further, how are salaries determined. I often see jobs such as " PhD comp sci/stat/math needed. Work-ex 2-3 yrs. Compensation $250k" Is this 2-3 yrs finance related work-ex, or it can be any work-ex (programming in Industry etc)

After and during your CQF , if you are not sponsored by your company ... CQF career services ( Geoff Brown) will help you in finding a job .... They will mail you the JD's or send your resumes..... If you are looking at a $250k job , then the 2-3 years work-ex has to be a related one....
 
thanks darth once again for the valuable info. Sorry for being too naive, but what/who is a JD?

So, normally a PhD guy, with a work-ex in another industry, will start as a junior quant analyst. right? Also what else does a guy need to study for breaking into quant finance? CFA+ FRM? or do these qualifications matter nothing in quant finance, as they are more interested in quant skills than in soft skills in finance.

Also, Do they help in job placement only in London/rest of Uk or anywhere in world? Does a person need to a UK citizen/EU citizen to get a job, or people from other countries too have a chance of being recruited?
 
JD = Job Description.
CFA+FRM won't be valued much for quant field. Quantnet's list of books is really good in case you want to increase your knowledge in the domain.
CQF tries to place you in your country of location as its not easy to get a work visa for entry-level roles in UK/US. I know for a fact that they have helped people secure quant positions in India as well.
 
Thanks again darth.

I want to ask another question. I may sound too naive or maybe stupid. I know that very few Indians actually for a PhD (only 1000 engineers at doctorate level with another 1000 at natural science level) graduate in India every year. So finding people with such skills, who are actually willing to work would be extremely difficult. I guess out of these 2000 barely 200-300 would think about finance as a possible domain, so is getting a quant job in India, with PhD in Comp Sci - any university, walk in the park? or more precisely much easier than in US or UK?

Also, could you give me an idea about what kind of profile/post they were offered. I also tried to find salaries of such professionals in India, but alas I could no data. Most of the data was focussed on US and UK, not even Singapore and Tokyo, so I easily gave up hope that such jobs might not even exist in India.

The reason I ask is- I had a chat with a family friend who works at Barclays India, and he said that they, usually, hire MBAs. He didn't even know about MFEs. He said that for roles such as credit risk modeller etc they usually want IIT/IIM grads. A Bachelors from IIT is more than enough, or you can go for an MBA in finance at IIM.
 

Thats because there are no good MFE degrees offered in India. Most of the quant work is currently done by top engineering grads
as those are the only available options.But an MFE from a top school can surely fetch you a quant job at a BB in India.
 
What is better: a physics degree followed by a physics degree, or a physics degree followed by a physics degree?

A CQF and MFE provide the same purpose. Doing both is a pointless waste of time and money.
 
What is better: a physics degree followed by a physics degree, or a physics degree followed by a physics degree?

A CQF and MFE provide the same purpose. Doing both is a pointless waste of time and money.
Doing a CQF to get into a top MFE isn't a waste of time or money in my opinion
 
Doing a CQF to get into a top MFE isn't a waste of time or money in my opinion

There are much more cost-effective ways to strengthen your MFE credentials than to shell out $20k to Paul Wilmott... in my case I took 4 math courses at night at Northwestern, and in total it only cost me ~$6500... Check out the local universities in your area and see if they have continuing studies programs.
 
There are much more cost-effective ways to strengthen your MFE credentials than to shell out $20k to Paul Wilmott... in my case I took 4 math courses at night at Northwestern, and in total it only cost me ~$6500... Check out the local universities in your area and see if they have continuing studies programs.
what courses?
 
Disagree all you want but a CQF got me into Columbia MFE. I have 0 regrets with the time and money I spent
 
What is better: a physics degree followed by a physics degree, or a physics degree followed by a physics degree?

A CQF and MFE provide the same purpose. Doing both is a pointless waste of time and money.

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.
 
what courses?

Multiple integration/vector calculus, ODE, linear algebra I, linear algebra II, all at night at the Northwestern downtown Chicago campus, ~$1500/course (surprisingly good quality + pretty reasonably-priced I thought, so I highly recommend it to anyone in Chicago)--
http://www.scs.northwestern.edu/pro...y=Any&time=Any&instructor=Any&catalog_nbr=Any

+

Calculus-based probability through UIUC's NetMath program... also surprisingly good quality and not too ridiculously overpriced. It was Mathematica-based and online, but there was a "mentor" who graded everything + 6 hours of in-person proctored exams, so it was actually pretty legit (and technically for UIUC credit, so there was even an "official transcript" that came out of it to include with applications)--

https://netmath.illinois.edu/node/25?stu=col
 
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If you have to use quotes to describe your transcript there's a good chance adcoms will do the same
 
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 ;)
 
If you have to use quotes to describe your transcript there's a good chance adcoms will do the same

In all fairness, probability/stats was probably the one part of my undergrad math transcript that was actually legit, though, so you could be right, and idk how much adcoms may have just ignored the extra UIUC course... $20k for online CQF has always seemed absolutely ridiculous to me, though, and if UIUC "isn't legit because it's online," then I'd think the same argument could technically be made against CQF too, no? Does CQF really rigorously grade things?
 
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