Profile evaluation MSFE 2025 fall (pre-application)

[rohit_k]

Completed B.tech CSE from tier 2 college in india
graduation percentage - 85.4
3 years work ex in IT sector
finished cfa l1 and l2 , awaiting results for l3 next month
will start quant trading job next month
yet to give GRE/GMAT
Planning to apply for masters in computational finance in CMU, Columbia, Georgia Tech( and a few more)

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Lack some basic info such as your math courses, finance, programming.
Did you have C++ or Python courses?
Career path, job type short term and long term.
Do you need comprehensive career services or you just need the knowledge and degree and can do the rest?

 

[rohit_k]

i have had C++ courses in my undergrad and i aced in all of them
as for finance courses CFA covered every aspect of finance and having cleared level 1 and 2 gave me comprehensive as well as applied knowledge(example:valuations).
had advanced calculus , probability queuing theory and fourier transform
career path: short term work as a quant trader or algos , long term get into portfolio management or hedge funds
i have the knowledge , need good career guidance and kick start of my finance journey

 

[Andy Nguyen]

career path: short term work as a quant trader or algos , long term get into portfolio management or hedge funds
i have the knowledge , need good career guidance and kick start of my finance journey

Your goal is the same as 100,000 others. Let have a discussion to see if we can temper expectation.
In my experience career services are very uneven at many programs. Some are nonexistent so you need to investigate this and not rely on some urban legends.
If the goal is to have a well paying job that you can enjoy and have a successful career, there are plenty in this industry which does not involve any trading, hedge fund.

 

[rohit_k]

well right now it's same as the others because i lack practical work experience
as for trading , i have been doing various trading practices for the last 3 years by myself and for friends/family, having offered a job for the first time in prop trading desk was exciting for me , i have never followed an urban legend as most of my knowledge and motivation comes from within
but i understand your point and would like dwell further . I want to make a mark in the investment industry and asset management side . For that i need to start my career in finance and just keep moving forward. Having a background in both computer science and finance aligned my interests towards Quant.
Also i really appreciate your help and respect you for that . Thank you so much.

 

[rohit_k]

As for your very first reply i need the degree and somewhat good career guidance , as i transcend into the world of quant and finance.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

All your goals are doable, timeline is hard to know.
To me, it seems you know what you want and the most important task is to find out which programs provide the needed support. Do your homework on this and we may provide input.