MIT MFin versus Columbia MFE versus current Risk Analyst Job @ BB Bank

Columbia vs. MIT vs. future MBA

  • MIT Master of Finance

    Votes: 5 38.5%
  • Columbia Financial Engineering

    Votes: 5 38.5%
  • MBA in the future

    Votes: 3 23.1%

  • Total voters
    13
  • Poll closed .
Joined
2/6/14
Messages
5
Points
11
Hi all,

I am a risk analyst from a BB bank in India, having completed almost eight months of full time work experience. I graduated in electrical engineering from a top 10 college in India and have acceptances from Columbia MSFE and MIT MFin.

I am really puzzled as to what should I choose or whether should I continue to work and then apply for an MBA later. My goal is to work in IBD or consulting. If lucky I would like to move to Venture Capital / Private Equity in the future or transition from my IBD / Consulting job to the industry at a mid management position (for ex. if I am consulting for the FMCG sector then join an FMCG company etc.). One thing for sure is that I do not want to be involved in risk management for long - be it as a risk analyst in a bank or as a financial risk management consultant.

Which brings me to my dilemma - Which of the programs - MIT or Columbia can help me get closer to my career goals ? I am open to working in USA / Singapore / EMEA on completing my masters degree. Or should I continue to work in my current back office job and hope for a transition post MBA ?

MIT has the business school name in its favor and the relevant coursework needed for my career interests. But the program is not that old. Columbia is much older and well known and has the location advantage, but MSFE as a degree might not be very IBD / Consulting savvy. MBA as a degree has more recognition but I am not sure how much will my pre-MBA back office experience help me in getting the jobs I would like.

Another big question is that IBD / Consulting is very very competitive to get into, does the resume of a guy like me have the potential to get shortlisted for IBD / Consulting jobs - either through Columbia or MIT ?

Appreciate any help on my dilemma on MIT / Columbia / future MBA. Thanks so much guys for all your help !
 
If you want to do consulting or banking, MIT is the best choice. That said, I know of a few structurers who got into banking with an MFE.

I've worked with a lot of Indian born and educated programmers and their ability to communicate and connect with people in English varies greatly. Some of them struggle to pronounce consonants; others speak with a near flawless accent. The ones who have thick accents will not be able to succeed in banking in a country like the US or UK. America and the UK are pretty open-minded countries about race and culture, but to succeed in a high-touch field like consulting or banking, you need to be able to fit in well with the culture. You need to be able to talk about (American) Football and grab a beer with folks. In some ways this is a lot like a sales role.

You have two good choices here, but Columbia gives you better fallback options to become a quant or work in HFT. My vote is for MIT, but only if your English is excellent.
 
I would advise you to go to MIT. They are already arranging a no-cosigner loan for you so your risk is zero. Then get five years experience. Then get an MBA from H/S/W/Booth/Sloan. Again, they will arrange a no-cosigner loan for you so that your risk is zero. The most important thing about the MIT degree is that you will become a part of the Sloan alumni network. You will not realize the importance of this intangible benefit at least for the next 5-7 years.
To give you a good example of how this works, you can see Satya Nadella. He started out in a technical role, then he got Booth MBA, then he switched to Management role, now he is CEO of Microsoft with $18 million salary.
 
Thank you so much for your reply TraderJoe. Really appreciate it. And yes, the Nadella story is a great inspiration indeed :).

Then get an MBA from H/S/W/Booth/Sloan

I am sure that I will have to land a very prestigious job on completion of my MFin - something like MBB / Goldman / JP / MS etc. My concern really is that what are my odds of getting this job in the first place once I complete my MFin. I am in risk management at a BB bank right now and I am sure HSW / Chicago / Sloan / Columbia do not prefer such candidates for the MBA class. Any insights / advice on this ? Thank you so much.
 
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