Financial Engineer or Chartered Accountant

[Abdel]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I have some questions.

I'm currently in college (one year left to obtain my diploma) doing a bachelor in Economics. Next year I will have to make a choice, either to become a financial engineer or a chartered accountant....So here are my questions that you will hopefully be able to answer :

1- Knowing that the financial sector will shrink over time, is it still worth it to become a financial enginner ?

2- I'm in Montreal and the only place they offer this type of program is at HEC Montreal (courses are in french)....so, will I be able to work in NYC or Toronto or will I be stuck in Montreal?

3- What is the typical day of a financial enginner (some told me it's 9 to 9 with almost no break) wich makes it less attractive in a sense.

4- If I decide to choose the master in F.E., I guess I have to be really good in math, do you have books to recommend me? So I'll go through them this summer.

5- Will I quickly find a job once my master completed? If so, what starting salary can I expect?

I'm really undecided....Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

1. Only you can answer if doing something now will be worth it in the future. Are you better than others in this line of work?
2. If you are good, you can get jobs elsewhere. Be aware that HEC Montreal is not a well-known elsewhere.
3. http://www.quantnet.com/tag/a-day-in-the-life/
4. http://www.quantnet.com/master-reading-list-for-quants/
5. With no work experience, you expect to get the lower range of entry level salary. Inquire this with HEC career services.

 

[Abdel]

thx alot

 

[Dibbs]

Abdel, HEC's placement is very good. Almost 100% from what I hear. The teachers are good and very industry-oriented. On the downside, it is true that most of the jobs will be in Montreal, although I know some graduates of the program who ended up on trading desks in NYC / London.

For the salary, I think Montreal has a lower starting salary than most other cities. This is due to two main facts : 1) Cost of tuition is ALLLLLLOTTTTTT cheaper! (10k vs minimum 50k outside of Montreal). 2) The overall cost of living is less than other major cities.

 

[Dibbs]

For the hours, it really depends on the job...

Montreal is known to be a bit more relaxed, so I doubt you will be working 12hours a day everyday.

 

[kamikade]

Hey Abdel,

If you consider other canadian programs then you will have some more choices such as toronto or waterloo. Waterloo is way cheaper than toronto (13k vs 40k+) however I know alot of waterloo grads landed the same position as toronto grads in the same company with about the same salary I talked to about 8-10 guys from waterloo grads and they told me that getting into waterloo is harder than toronto. I also contacted their admission office last years and found out that average for getting into waterloo is 85% (an A at waterloo) and A- for toronto You can get emails of waterloo students here: http://sas.uwaterloo.ca/stats_navigation/GraduateStudents.shtml#MQF. Try to contact some of them and learn more about the program

 

[APalley]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I have some questions.

I'm currently in college (one year left to obtain my diploma) doing a bachelor in Economics. Next year I will have to make a choice, either to become a financial engineer or a chartered accountant....So here are my questions that you will hopefully be able to answer :

1- Knowing that the financial sector will shrink over time, is it still worth it to become a financial enginner ?

2- I'm in Montreal and the only place they offer this type of program is at HEC Montreal (courses are in french)....so, will I be able to work in NYC or Toronto or will I be stuck in Montreal?

3- What is the typical day of a financial enginner (some told me it's 9 to 9 with almost no break) wich makes it less attractive in a sense.

4- If I decide to choose the master in F.E., I guess I have to be really good in math, do you have books to recommend me? So I'll go through them this summer.

5- Will I quickly find a job once my master completed? If so, what starting salary can I expect?

I'm really undecided....Thanks in advance!!!

FE and accounting really do not have much intersection in regards to skill-set (although accountants would do better to understand quant).

Most accountants that I know have starting salaries in the 50k range and work ridiculous hours. FE may have crazy hours as well, but salaries are significantly higher and the work far less tedious.

If you have good organization skills then accounting may be for you. Mathematical and analytical skills, go FE.

IMO ceterus-paribus go FE.

 

[JulianT]

Abdel,
You should 1st of all consider which interests you more. CA and FE are a world apart.
Another consideration is that you cant go into CA school without heavy accounting. I'm fairly sure you actually have to major in accounting and have above B in a subset of accounting classes in order to be eligible for ca school in Montreal. PM me and I'll double check this with some friends currently in CA school in Montreal.
FE would be closer to your background in economic as economics is fairly math heavy. A lot of the big Canadian banks hire HEC grads out of their masters. Ability to work in French is a definite asset and sometimes is what will get you a job above someone else. As previously stated, Montreal is a bit more chill in terms of work hours, your home in time to watch the hockey on most days. You do get paid less (Analysts in Toronto make 10k more in my firm ) Either career moves will have you working 10+ hours a day. However getting a job in Montreal doesn't mean you have to stay. Most major banks will allow you to rotate to Toronto, you work there one year and you can ask to be posted just about anywhere. The number of "quant" jobs in Montreal varies greatly from bank to bank.

 

[Abdel]

Hello,

First, let me thank everyone of you for taking some of your precious time to answer me. It is MUCH appreciated.

Now, I know that CA and FE are very different. The reason I'm thinking about CA is more of a family 'issue'. Since me & my family are a 1st generation of immigrant, my parents are hoping I pick CA because it is more 'stable'. That is why I'm kind of concerned/scared to pick FE. Imagine if I cain't find a job due to another economic downturn (wich is highly probable in my opinion) after all the money I'd have invested (+10k).

Is it a highly demanded job in the financial sector?

People also told me that this sector (FE) is all about your network. If you know the right people, you get the best paying jobs. How true is that statement?

And my last question: You guys said that MTL has the lowest starting salaries in the business, in terms of numbers, what can I expect? 40k-50k/year + bonus or less? Also, how fast the salary can rise with 2-3 years of experience?

Again, thanks to everyone who answered me!

 

[Abdel]

up