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Future of MFE

Joined
1/3/08
Messages
1
Points
11
I just saw Wall St has started a new round of laying off, so could anyone in the industry tell me some truth about this career?

Thank you very much!

JC
 
What exactly do you want to know? If you go into this career because you think the market is hot and you are going to make a lot of money, study Law or Medicine... better... study medicine. Doctors are always very well paid in this country.
 
What exactly do you want to know? If you go into this career because you think the market is hot and you are going to make a lot of money, study Law or Medicine... better... study medicine. Doctors are always very well paid in this country.

Alain, its not so simple with medicine :) first, you have to study for a number of years and then pass a million exams, and then an error you make can result in health issues of a patient. Not everybody wants this. But MFE, on the other hand, is only 2 years, no exams to pass, and you are on the way to make millions :) many people think this is what they want.
 
Alain, its not so simple with medicine :) first, you have to study for a number of years and then pass a million exams, and then an error you make can result in health issues of a patient. Not everybody wants this. But MFE, on the other hand, is only 2 years, no exams to pass, and you are on the way to make millions :) many people think this is what they want.

Yuriy, you are totally right (all my family is in the medical business except me and my Dad) but the original post was asking about MFE as a prospective career but he/she is worried about being layoff. It means he wants to go into MFE as a door to riches.

If you are smart and you are deciding what to do based on how much money you can make, nothing beats medicine in this country. People can say Law is another option but Lawyers, as MBAs, are heavily handicapped by the school they attend. Medicine is the great equalizer (Dentistry is not bad either).
 
you're only as good as your last trade

JC, have you never heard this expression? Everybody who works on Wall St is overcompensated in the good times and (euphimistically) undercompensated during times that are bad. It's the nature of the beast.

If one started in the industry in the mid-nineties, domestic equities and equity derivatives were the place to be. Among many reasons, greed ultimately blew up these business. Go back to the mid-eighties and you will see that the story was the same for junk bonds and private equity.

During the early 21st century hot spaces were fixed income securitization and commodities. While commodities is still considered good(if and only if you are not on the floor); securitization is the area where the majority of these job losses of which you speak are coming from. What blew up that business? (hint) It's a five letter word that starts with g. Wall St is very good at finding profitable businesses and exploiting them. The downside is, these once reasonable ventures almost always end badly. Ending badly entails lines of business, if not entire firms, closing their doors.

The moral? Find a product space you truly have passion for and do everything you can to be better that everyone else in that arena. Given that you are willing to put 20 odd years into a carreer, your product will eventually come into vogue and you will get rich. Frankly, this is only worth doing if you really love your job.

BTW Yuriy: It's only a two year commitment given one is coming from a reasonable background in Math. Albiet, the time commitment is substantially less than that required to become a M.D.
 
I just saw Wall St has started a new round of laying off, so could anyone in the industry tell me some truth about this career?
How many of those layoff are MFE ? Layoff happens in any sector at any given moment. Nobody is safe from it (case in point, CEO of Citi, ML)

Tell us what attracts you to MFE ?
Salary ? Most jobs on Wall Street pay decent money. Plenty of jobs pay more (doctor, lawyer,actor, sport athlete)
Job security ? Forget about union on Wall Street. Get a federal job.

At the end, if you are very good at what you do, then you don't have to worry about getting a job. Or losing your job. This applies to every field, not just MFE.
 
How many of those layoff are MFE ? Layoff happens in any sector at any given moment. Nobody is safe from it (case in point, CEO of Citi, ML)

Tell us what attracts you to MFE ?
Salary ? Most jobs on Wall Street pay decent money. Plenty of jobs pay more (doctor, lawyer,actor, sport athlete)
Job security ? Forget about union on Wall Street. Get a federal job.

At the end, if you are very good at what you do, then you don't have to worry about getting a job. Or losing your job. This applies to every field, not just MFE.


Well, I wish I could make money as a soccer player playing for teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Uventus, Milan, etc :) but I can't because I play much worse than any kid in the respective youth teams.
 
Yuriy, you are totally right (all my family is in the medical business except me and my Dad) but the original post was asking about MFE as a prospective career but he/she is worried about being layoff. It means he wants to go into MFE as a door to riches.

If you are smart and you are deciding what to do based on how much money you can make, nothing beats medicine in this country. People can say Law is another option but Lawyers, as MBAs, are heavily handicapped by the school they attend. Medicine is the great equalizer (Dentistry is not bad either).


Very well said :)
If we go by "which industry pays more" to choose what to study, we might wind up nowhere.

Layoffs in finance should not discourange anyone from getting into it :)
 
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