Non-Target Schools (Florida, e.g.)

[horseshoe]

I've applied to Columbia's MFE and NYU's MathFin for 2012 but don't think I'm that competitive, but my best bet for acceptance is Florida State's Ph.D. in Financial Math. From what I understand, not attending a "target" school makes getting a quant job all but impossible (at least with the BB Banks). I really enjoy living in Florida and I think a Ph.D. in FinMath must carry some weight, but would I even be able to compete with the guys out of the target schools?

Also, what about an even smaller school, e.g. University of South Florida? Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Andy Xu]

I think a Ph.D is always self-explanatory, and when you got the degree, you will probably see things in a new way. Good luck.

 

[latency]

do not do a phd because you want to get a quant role and that too from a low tier school. it is unfortunate but the first thing people generally look is the school and dismiss it. and personally, i would do the same too.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

There is no such thing as target schools when it comes to MFE programs. There are only programs that have much better organized career services, alumni network, or informal connections with employers.
Unlike for undergraduate or MBA, you won't see any campus visit list on banks' websites that target specifically MFE/quant programs. There are many reasons for this, among them the degree is still new and it does not make sense for banks to schedule formal recruiting from programs that graduates 30-40 or so students a year. The smaller a program, the harder it is.

This results in many programs having to go out of their way to attract employers. Many MFE directors act as chief lobbyist spending significant part of their time to talk to employers to build connections. If your program does not even have anyone whose job it is to work with employers, it is going to be tough.

Florida isn't exactly near a financial center so it is even more challenging to attract employers and for students to seek out opportunities by themselves.

A PhD does not entitle anyone with anything. The market is flooded with many people with multiple degrees, work experience. This is not the age of Derman's "My life as a quant" where anyone with a PhD in Physics is sought after by banks.

 

[horseshoe]

Good advice Andy, thanks.

 

[mfegrad]

andy,
i'd have to disagree with you there. i know that some employers do target some mfe programs. that doesn't mean that they won't hire people from other places. it just means that, year after year, those employers return to those schools for interviews/presentations/etc.

edit: and there are established channels/relationships/understandings/etc. regarding this.

 

[dmv]

Disagree.
Definitely, there is such thing as target school for quants. And it works in very simple way:
1) Every year top firms receive thousands of applications. How do HR`s select people? Very simple - filter them by school
2) Top firms visit top schools

So, there is a strong bias in hiring process in favor of "target schools".

It does not mean that a guy from non-target school has no chance to get a job in top (brand/salary/tasks) firm, but probability of this is much lower comparing to the "same guy" from top school.