From Wall Street to UCLA Career Coaching. AMA

Dear All,

I am proud to be a Career Coach for the Master of Financial Engineering program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

• I hold a B.A. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Economics.
• I have held various positions on Wall Street for a decade
• My areas of expertise include Credit Derivatives & other Exotic Products, High-Yield Research, and Risk Management. I have worked closely with the Sales & Trading Desk, Quant Research/Modeling Teams, and Investment Banking Division.
• Some of my favorite activities include chess, classical piano, reading, and helping others. That's why I'm here!

AMA, and if I can answer, I will!

 

[Tapasbrk]

Dear @Tapasbrk ,

Thank you for your questions. I need a few clarifications:

Could you provide some specific examples of your understanding of financial concepts?
What quantitative subjects were you most interested in during your studies?
What does "quantitative understanding of financial concepts" mean to you?
What do you find interesting about statistics and business analytics?

Here's why these questions are important to me:
I want to see the foundation you have in order to know how best to build on it.
Your goals, plans, daily activities, and habits can't be evaluated in isolation from one another.

Best Regards,
Olga

Hi Olga, thank you for reverting back.



When I say financial concepts I would refer to the concepts covered in CFA level 1.



Quantitative understanding means to me the the mathematical framework which backs the financial concept. For example in valuation of options, I would be quite interested to understand how the black scholes model works or how it is derived.



Within statistics and analytics, what I like is how we can make out a story or how we can use data to understand the problems. For example we had a course of business analytics, what I found interesting is how we can make marketing decision or financial decisions through predictive analysis. I just found the processes utilised in the subjects very logical and made sense and thus enjoyed studying it.

 

[Olga Inglis]

Hi Olga, thank you for reverting back.



When I say financial concepts I would refer to the concepts covered in CFA level 1.



Quantitative understanding means to me the the mathematical framework which backs the financial concept. For example in valuation of options, I would be quite interested to understand how the black scholes model works or how it is derived.



Within statistics and analytics, what I like is how we can make out a story or how we can use data to understand the problems. For example we had a course of business analytics, what I found interesting is how we can make marketing decision or financial decisions through predictive analysis. I just found the processes utilised in the subjects very logical and made sense and thus enjoyed studying it.

Dear @Tapasbrk ,

Thank you for your response!

I strongly recommend that you read "My Life as a Quant" by Emanuel Derman, and "The Complete Guide to Capital Markets for Quantitative Professionals" by Alex Kuznetsov.

When you say "what I like is how we can make out a story or how we can use data to understand the problems" I see a genuine enthusiasm and curiosity for the field you want to enter. It might sound strange, but unbridled hunger and respect for education will give you an edge over things you perceive as "lacking."

Simple math can at times differentiate hype from reality.
Don't underestimate the power of the pure thought in the union with predictability and logic of science.

Avoid thoughts like “I think I am already behind” cloud your perspective.

Please contact our wonderful Admissions Office for the detailed requirements to apply.

The Best of Luck!
Olga

 

[Tapasbrk]

Dear @Tapasbrk ,

Thank you for your response!

I strongly recommend that you read "My Life as a Quant" by Emanuel Derman, and "The Complete Guide to Capital Markets for Quantitative Professionals" by Alex Kuznetsov.

When you say "what I like is how we can make out a story or how we can use data to understand the problems" I see a genuine enthusiasm and curiosity for the field you want to enter. It might sound strange, but unbridled hunger and respect for education will give you an edge over things you perceive as "lacking."

Simple math can at times differentiate hype from reality.
Don't underestimate the power of the pure thought in the union with predictability and logic of science.

Avoid thoughts like “I think I am already behind” cloud your perspective.

Please contact our wonderful Admissions Office for the detailed requirements to apply.

The Best of Luck!
Olga

Thank you Olga for the guidance. I would for sure follow it.