Seeking Your Advice: Columbia MSFE Vs NCSU MFM & Duke MEng Fintech

[HyperQuant]

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well! As an applicant who's very curious about FE but lacking experience, I'm reaching out to seek your advice regarding my admission decisions.

I'm honored to be accepted to Columbia's MSFE program, which I intend to enroll.

However, before I do so, I wanted to ensure I have not neglected to consider the other two programs I've been admitted to: NCSU MFM and Duke's MEng Fintech, both of which are in my home state.

I would greatly appreciate your advice or any words of wisdom on this decision. Is there anything I may have failed to consider by accepting Columbia's offer as someone seeking to become a quant trader (buy side)?

Thank you in advance for your advice! I'm grateful for this community and your assistance.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

As someone without relevant experience, you will have a really hard time to get a role as a buy-side quant trader out of the Columbia MFE (Financial Engineering) program. A lot of their graduates struggle to find jobs from the recent reviews on QuantNet.
What is your backup plan if you fail to get that role and when the reality hits?
NCSU has a realistic outcome where people expect to have a good shot at a job in risk management in Charlotte area.
You may have all the quality to succeed on your path to get one of the most sought after job by thousands of MFE graduates every year.
However, I would be irresponsible to not point out that I have seen many graduates who had unrealistic expectation and without a job.

 

[HyperQuant]

As someone without relevant experience, you will have a really hard time to get a role as a buy-side quant trader out of the Columbia MFE (Financial Engineering) program. A lot of their graduates struggle to find jobs from the recent reviews on QuantNet.
What is your backup plan if you fail to get that role and when the reality hits?
NCSU has a realistic outcome where people expect to have a good shot at a job in risk management in Charlotte area.
You may have all the quality to succeed on your path to get one of the most sought after job by thousands of MFE graduates every year.
However, I would be irresponsible to not point out that I have seen many graduates who had unrealistic expectation and without a job.

Hello Andy, thank you so much for your advice! I appreciate you mentioning the career outcomes from the programs, and the disclaimer regarding buy-side roles.

I was wondering as a hedge if Columbia MFE would still keep me competitive for risk management roles, or is NCSU truly superior in that regard? As in, would attending Columbia still prepare me the best overall in relevant qualifications for a career?

I'm certainly flexible in my career path. I'm grateful for your support!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Columbia is in NYC, the world's biggest financial center. This means easy access to all the biggest firms and the wide breath of opportunities.
At the same time, Columbia has multiple master programs producing hundreds of graduates aiming for the same kind of jobs that you apply for.
NYC and the tristate area is also home to other top ranked programs such as Baruch, Princeton, CMU, Cornell, etc. This is to say you are one of thousands of people aiming for the same jobs every year. Unless you got in a program that has personal relationships with banks via alumni network with their own pipeline to unadvertised positions, getting a job is not a given.
Just go on LinkedIn and search for alumni of Columbia who graduated in Dec 2023 until now and you have a better idea.
NCSU is not superior the way you put it. It used its location and network with regional banks to their advantage. There are fewer competition in Charlotte so they crave out a niche for themselves.
For risk management roles, I think you can get them from any program just because competition is not that pierce. Some programs have a stronger focus on risk management where other have a more focus on sell-side pricing/stochastic.
Having a realistic expectation and clear eyed about the industry will prepare you to be a happier professional.

 

[HyperQuant]

Columbia is in NYC, the world's biggest financial center. This means easy access to all the biggest firms and the wide breath of opportunities.
At the same time, Columbia has multiple master programs producing hundreds of graduates aiming for the same kind of jobs that you apply for.
NYC and the tristate area is also home to other top ranked programs such as Baruch, Princeton, CMU, Cornell, etc. This is to say you are one of thousands of people aiming for the same jobs every year. Unless you got in a program that has personal relationships with banks via alumni network with their own pipeline to unadvertised positions, getting a job is not a given.
Just go on LinkedIn and search for alumni of Columbia who graduated in Dec 2023 until now and you have a better idea.
NCSU is not superior the way you put it. It used its location and network with regional banks to their advantage. There are fewer competition in Charlotte so they crave out a niche for themselves.
For risk management roles, I think you can get them from any program just because competition is not that pierce. Some programs have a stronger focus on risk management where other have a more focus on sell-side pricing/stochastic.
Having a realistic expectation and clear eyed about the industry will prepare you to be a happier professional.

Hello Andy,

I greatly appreciate you providing me with this information, including the job competition and the differences in focus for the programs. I will be sure to do more research specifically on risk management to have a better idea and realistic expectation.

Thank you so much!!