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No university math background

Locus

Joined
5/1/11
Messages
4
Points
11
Are there any diplomas or short degrees I can do that will allow me to apply for MFEs? Or are there MFEs that will allow me to apply straight away without any math background (but will allow me to enrol in some math courses before the program starts) and without any related work experience?

I am a bachelor of commerce (honours) student in finance from Australia with no uni level math background besides 2nd yr econometrics. we're only learning econometrics because we'll need it for our thesis. the finance subjects at my uni lacked any real mathematical content; it was usually just, plug the values into something like the BS model and calculate the option price. There were no derivations/proofs of models or anything.

I ultimately want to end up as a FI trader, and I know that the MFE is more suited towards people who want to become quants. However, I have been asked in a lot of trading internship interviews about my maths and programming background and so I want to study an MFE as I believe it is the best degree (compared to other masters) to prepare me for a trading interview and job. thanks
 
Thanks but I am fully aware of that that. Graduate trading jobs are very scarce here; I believe there were roughly 4 grad trading positions in IBs for the whole of Australia (not including those who were offered grad roles after their internships). I am now stuck and need to do a masters and an MFE would be the most relevant for a trading job. I am also going to apply to other masters degrees as well, but the MFE would be my first preference which is why I have asked the question above.
 
@Locus: have you thought about doing MBA? with zero math and programming background, how can you be sure that you're suitable for this line of work.
 
The thought of an MBA has crossed my mind very briefly and that is because I will be coming straight out from undergrad this year. I have done some very basic programming in VBA. I got the top score in my finance modeling class which involved VBA. I also enjoy maths and am very comfortable with it; I was one of the top scorers in my high school math subjects and was in a math program for bright students. Not trying to toot my own horn or anything but I am just trying to get across that I didn't start this thread without first considering what an MFE entails.

Any help on my original question?
 
again, top score in VBA modeling class and high school math say little about your quantitative skill, you may try to enroll in math and programming classes at your local college, get top score and apply for MFE.
And one more thing, you expected to be hired as a trader straight out of college? From what I know nobody would even want to hire a MFE graduate as a trader if he has no work experience.
 
I know that VBA and high school math says nothing about my math knowledge. You asked me how I can be sure that I would be suitable for this line of work. I was merely trying to get across the fact that I know traders need to be comfortable with numbers and that I am comfortable with numbers. I also know that traders use VBA and I was pointing out the fact that I am comfortable with learning VBA. And I don't think anyone can be 100% sure whether they're suitable for a line of work or not (not even those with internship experience) until they've spent at least a year doing it. Also, it's not like a trader needs to have the math knowledge that an MFE teaches (although I know it would be helpful for understanding the pricing of some structured products). So I don't know why having zero math and programming skills would make me unsure about my suitability for this line of work. It would definitely make me unsuitable for being a quant or being a structurer but that's not what I want to be. You will probably have forgotten by now that I mentioned that I want to do the MFE to signal to the interviewers that I have the math skills and that I feel it'd help me the most in getting a trading job compared to other masters programs; I'm saying this in case you ask 'why do you want to do the MFE then?'

And yes, I do expect to be hired as a trader straight out of college. I have heard of people in Australia being hired into trading jobs without relevant work experience. In fact, around 70% of the people who made it to the final rounds of the interviews here did not have relevant work experience. Whether or not they got offered the job is another thing but the fact that they made it to the final round suggests that they had a real chance. Anyways, I will definitely be applying for relevant internships in Australia and HK while in the MFE program. So I do expect to have work experience before I graduate anyway.
 
The Financial Engineering Program at Baruch College offers a Pre-MFE Program for people interested in pursuing graduate studies in financial engineering, as well as for finance practitioners interested in studying the mathematical fundamentals behind financial models.
The Pre-MFE Program consists of three seminars:
  • Advanced Calculus with Financial Engineering Applications
  • Probability Theory for Financial Applications
  • Numerical Linear Algebra for Financial Engineering
More information and syllabi can be found at http://mfe.baruch.cuny.edu/pre-mfe-program/
 
when are these classes being offered again this year? I am really interested in taking the Probability Theory for Financial Applications
 
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