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Stanford MS&E

Joined
3/27/09
Messages
28
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11
I am curious if anyone has experience with the MS&E department in Stanford. The department has a concentration in finance and economics and offer several financial engineering courses. It seems more practical and less math-intensive than the FinMath program in the Stats department.

Any thought?
 
also wondering...

I'm also curious about this -- the website says you have to have a certain number of hours in background courses (i.e. math/stats/cs), but that it's permissible to complete that work after having been admitted.

Can any admitted students speak to this? If they're not concerned about the depth of technical coursework in their applicants, then what are they looking at in the applications?

Looking over their sample courses, it seems like there is a lot of room in the degree for specialization - including specializing outside of specifically technical or FE domains - but that they do offer higher level math/stat/etc. and it can count for your degree. (As a side note, I have some friends at Stanford in another department who say the administration is great about letting you take courses outside your degree/concentration.)
 
Hi

I am a Stanford undergrad.
I'm wondering if Stanford's MS&E (Management Science and Engineering) master's program is helpful if I am interested in becoming a quant or getting similar positions in the financial industry. Here are some advantages and disadvantages that I can think of for this program, but I'm not sure if you guys agree or not.

Advantages
1) As a Stanford undergrad, getting into this program is easier than someone outside the university. And it only takes one year to complete. (Co-terminal program)
2) MS&E program offers several tracks. Some are very techy and math based whereas some are fuzzy. Of many tracks offered by this department, I'm particularly interested in Decision and Risk Analysis or Economics and Finance or Operations Research.

Disadvantages
1) I'm new to this website, but it seems that most of people are interested in Master of Finance degree.
2) Maybe I won't get as much exposure to math as other people in MFE programs do.

As an engineering major, I only recently got interested in this field. So I don't really know much about this field. Can anyone tell me more about the usefulness of this program?
 
Think of this way....

Stanford's MS&E is like Columbia's MSOR. Their students can take Financial Engineering classes as their electives, but they can also take many other OR classes that are not FE, and they don't get a "financial engineering" degree. Stanford's MFM is like Columbia's MSFE.
 
Hi there- I know this thread is nearly 2 years old but if there are any people who have questions on Stanford's MS&E program or placement feel free to contact me. MS&E is almost like a mini-MBA and I would say it's not like Columbia's MSOR since you have so many different types of tracks (Economics & Finance, Strategy & Policy etc.) to choose from Also have great OCR access to top strategy consulting firms, start-ups, Google and I-banks.
 
Hi Chris Carmen.. i received an admit for MS in MS & E from stanford on 8th March 2012
for autumn 2012 semester..
i was keen to know about the highest and average salaries that graduates are offered after the stanford MSE masters degree.
this would be helpful in calculating the ROI from this course as i would be applying for loan..

any other helpful information is also welcomed..
thanks in advace..
 
Hi stanford_mse, So I don't have full access to the salaries of the students but a majority of my class is heading into strategy consulting (think MBB/Booz & Co) which (ranges from $70k + bonus (10-20K)), investment banking (typically $70K + bonus ranging from $30k - 70k+), hedge funds (one of my friends is starting off at $180k), VC & boutique PE firms (not 100% sure on this). We do have a strong demographic off at Google, Facebook, Linkedin and other startups... I hope this helps!
 
Hi stanford_mse, So I don't have full access to the salaries of the students but a majority of my class is heading into strategy consulting (think MBB/Booz & Co) which (ranges from $70k + bonus (10-20K)), investment banking (typically $70K + bonus ranging from $30k - 70k+), hedge funds (one of my friends is starting off at $180k), VC & boutique PE firms (not 100% sure on this). We do have a strong demographic off at Google, Facebook, Linkedin and other startups... I hope this helps!

Hi Chris,

Thank you for the info. What are the demographics like? I do not have a Engineering background (background in Economics), but I would still like to apply to the program and learn the approach from more of the technical side. Have you met "non-engineers" in the program? I don't know if they will just toss out my application.

Also, could you share a little about your experience through the program?
 
Hi there- I know this thread is nearly 2 years old but if there are any people who have questions on Stanford's MS&E program or placement feel free to contact me. MS&E is almost like a mini-MBA and I would say it's not like Columbia's MSOR since you have so many different types of tracks (Economics & Finance, Strategy & Policy etc.) to choose from Also have great OCR access to top strategy consulting firms, start-ups, Google and I-banks.

HI Chris, I recently got admitted to the MS&E programme as well. I am more interested in either the Energy and Environmental track or the policy and strategy track. Everyone talking about the MS&E seems to want to go into Finance. Do you know people that have gone on a similar track to the ones I want. What are the graduate prospects like? I am graduating from Manchester University in England this year and it is easier for me to join the Industrial Systems and Manufacturing Management course at Cambridge University but I want to know if there are vast opportunities that the MS and E can unlock for me because it is a lot more expensive than the course at Cambridge. Similarly I don't want to be like the only person on a particular track because this will mean that employers recruiting from campus won't even know of my existence. Thank you for your help
 
I will be graduating later this year. I got a $70k offer from a hedge fund and a $75k offer from a software company. Both are well-known companies in their respective industries.

The department average for last year's M.S. graduates was supposedly $84.4k; the full range was $50k to $139k.

If I had known that the economy was going to recover so quickly, I would not have rushed into graduate school in '09. I would have ridden out the storm and used my CS bachelor's degree to land an $75-80K/yr job, straight out of college.

I suspect this graduate degree hasn't done anything to improve my earning power (although to be fair, this depends on your undergraduate major and skill set.) In my case, it may not have been worth the time, money or trouble. If were admitted into this program and are deciding whether to accept, ask yourself whether this degree will really make a difference in your earning power. If it does, then ask yourself whether it's worth spending $50K+ out of pocket and 1.5-2 years of your life.

Chris Carmen, how did your friend land a $180k offer? If both of you don't mind, which company will he work for, and how much previous experience did he have?
 
Hi Chris,

You mentioned that there is ALSO a large demographic going to Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other valley startups. Can I ask, what kind of jobs can one expect in Valley tech companies like the ones you mentioned? Can one get jobs in Business Development or Marketing/Strategy at Tech Companies? My background is an undergrad degree in Electrical Engineering and experience in Telecom Advisory in the Consulting division of a Big 4. I have no particular interest in working in the Financial Services (Private Equity or IB or the likes) although I am deeply passionate about working in Business Development/Marketing or Strategy at predominantly tech companies. Would an MS&E get me there. Would really appreciate a reply!

Also, if anyone else has info on this, please help me out. MS&E or MBA for sales/marketing at tech startups ?

Thanks
 
I have no particular interest in working in the Financial Services (Private Equity or IB or the likes) although I am deeply passionate about working in Business Development/Marketing or Strategy at predominantly tech companies. Would an MS&E get me there. Would really appreciate a reply!
From what I've seen, I'd say around 35-40% of M.S. graduates end up in finance (IB, hedge funds, PE, etc.); ~25-30% end up in consulting (Bain, BCG, Accenture, LEK...); ~20% end up in tech companies (recent ones I've heard: NVIDIA, IBM, Cisco; most are supply chain analysts); and the rest pursue other endeavours (Ph.D. programs, other degrees...)

Strangely enough, it is NOT easy to land a job in venture capital, despite the university's proximity to Sand Hill Road. Accel Partners hires only one or two each year, and last year's associate graduated from the communications department.

"Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other valley startups. " None of the three you listed are startups, and the IPO riches are long gone (yes, even Facebook; rank-and-file employees who joined after 2009 are unlikely to become millionaires.) Join these companies now and you'll actually be compensated LOWER than the market, due to their intense media hype. At Facebook in particular, you'll also be worked to the bone (looooooong hours) and treated like a disposable worker, because applicant interest is so high that the 30-50 candidates who show up daily at Menlo Park HQ for final round interviews would each gladly donate a body part to take your position.

As for actual early-stage startups, it's not common but has been done before. If you are interested in entrepreneurship (i.e. founding your own company), you should take the 273/274/276 series of classes and join a few entrepreneurial-focused clubs/student organisations such as BASES, StartX, etc. If you are interested in working for an early-stage startup, the school holds an annual startup-focused career fair.

If you're 100% set on biz dev/strategy/marketing at a tech company, I would recommend pursuing a CS master's degree and taking the equivalent of MS&E 270 and 271 as electives. I think you'll have a much stronger resumé this way.
 
Hi ABCDEFGHI,

Is MS&E program at Stanford good for getting jobs/internships in IBs, PE, Hedge funds, Trading etc. from scratch?
I have a year experience in an internet firm and I would like to switch my career to financial sector especially IBD.
Have you seen people with work experience in areas other than finance getting placed in IBs?
I have a engineering background with decent GPA(3.6/4).
 
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