Columbia MSOR MSOR or Certificate in FE from Columbia

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Mansi

Mansi

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Hello All. I desperately need your help in figuring this out!!

I earned my MSF fromUniversity of Houston in December 2010. I trying to get into the
quant / HFT field.

My qualifications:

1. 3 Years in business development (M&A support)
2. MSF from non ivy league university
3. Background in VBA and SQL programming

Iam debating whether to pursue another masters degree. I got accepted
to Columbia University Operations Research masters program but I am
wondering whether I really need it. Columbia also offers a
certificate program in Finc Engr. Could you offer some advise as to
which route I should choose to get into the quant field?

I do not want to have to spend another 2 years in grad school unless I absolutely have to. Do you think that a certificate in financial engineering from Columbia University will be sufficient to get an entry level position in HFT?
 
It is a 1 year program. 30 points required, each full class is 3 pts. It can be extended to 1.5 year or longer if you wish. So sure it can be a 2 year commitment if you'd like.
 
Yeah I agree. Since I already have a masters degree, I am wondering if the certificate in FE with columbia will suffice or should I go through the MSOR program?
 
Mansi said:
Yeah I agree. Since I already have a masters degree, I am wondering if the certificate in FE with columbia will suffice or should I go through the MSOR program?
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That is a good question. Sorry I can't be of much help there. I don't know how a CVN certificate is regarded by the industry. Take a look at the coursework of both programs and see which will help you fill the holes in your skillset.
 
MSOR is a 1-year program if you do it full time on campus. It can be 2-3 year thing if you do it part time away from campus (CVN). And I think certificate is only offered via CVN.
 
Yeah I am contemplating whether I should do the MSOR or Cert in FE via CVN. I already have one graduate degree In MSF from Univeristy of Houston. I am trying to get some feedback to see if I can leverage my MSF degree to get a job in quant.
 
My 2 cents: If with your current qualifications,you are not able to make a breakthrough , I don't think Certificate programme will help much,You should go for MSOR and complete that in 1 year.
 
Thanks Darth! I really appreciate the feedback. I was just looking for a shortcut but I think I will go ahead and commit another year of my life to school :)
 
MSF is Master of Science in Finance?

If so, there could be some overlapping with MSOR cuz they're similar degrees.
 
if your MSOR concentration is FE, then there seems to be some overlapping (for example, risk management (IEOR 4602)).
 
To Mansi: Why not get both an MSOR and a certificate in FE? 3 out of the 4 FE certificate courses overlap with MSOR. The only cost would be the $100 application fee and the 1 extra course. That $100 application fee seems like a pretty low risk/high reward to me.

Also, do certificate programs also have acceptance rates and admission criterion? Thanks!
 
Tae said:
To Mansi: Why not get both an MSOR and a certificate in FE? 3 out of the 4 FE certificate courses overlap with MSOR. The only cost would be the $100 application fee and the 1 extra course. That $100 application fee seems like a pretty low risk/high reward to me.

Also, do certificate programs also have acceptance rates and admission criterion? Thanks!
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You can't count courses toward two different programs. You can only get credit toward one of the two.
Second, presumably you can't break into the industry in NYC because you're not in NYC and you have a degree that's not really recognized in NYC. Getting a 4 course online distance learning certificate won't solve your problem. It's not recognized as a full degree and it's not considered as serious as MSOR within the Columbia community. If you want to work in NYC, you should come take the full MSOR degree in NYC and apply for jobs as a local quant degree candidate from a recognized institution. Then again, if you want to work in Texas I'm not sure any of this is helpful to you.
 
financeguy said:
Err that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the 4 course online certificate isn't a well recognized program - that's not the MSOR.
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thanks for clearing it up. you said "you have a degree that's not really recognized", and the only degree mentioned in the discussion is MSOR, so I thought you meant MSOR is not recognized in NYC.
 
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