Study an MFE in my forties?

[Jose Carlos]

Hello guys,

If I were to study an MFE, I would do it in 2 or 3 years. That means I would be graduating from it at 40 or 41 years old.

Could I do a good and decent career in my forties and fifties?

Will the success be higher than 50%?

I'm worried that it won't.

I hope I can receive some feedback about this.

Thanks and Regards

 

[Paul Lopez]

What's your background? Will definitely help a lot if you already come from some background that is one of the so called pillars of financial engineering such as math, computing/programming, and finance. Math knowledge is probably the most important one of the three.

 

[Jose Carlos]

Hola Paul!

I studied economics in Peru. I have some years of experience in algorithmic trading.

What else do you think I should tell you?

Thanks and Regards,

 

[Paul Lopez]

Hola Paul!

I studied economics in Peru. I have some years of experience in algorithmic trading.

What else do you think I should tell you?

Thanks and Regards,

I'd take a look at an undergraduate math major's course load and see how much you think you know. The more math you have under your belt the better for when you apply to an MFE program. Depending on how theoretical the econ was that you studied, you could have most of the math already.

Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics are all very common topics that come up!

 

[Jose Carlos]

Great to know that, Paul!

However, you're saying that it's enough a good math background to get decent jobs in the US financial industry even though I will start at my forties? Is that what you mean?

 

[Paul Lopez]

Great to know that, Paul!

However, you're saying that it's enough a good math background to get decent jobs in the US financial industry even though I will start at my forties? Is that what you mean?

I'm saying you'd need the good math background for entering the MFE program. If you've been in algo trading already, what job or career are you looking to get into that you think the MFE program will give you an advantage to get in? It seems you are solidly in quantitative finance already with the algo trading experience. Que buscas?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Programs will look at two things: your ability to handle the course work and your ability to get a job. The first part has lot to do with your education background, how up to date is your math skills, programming ability.
The second part, your work experience plays a big part.
I know plenty of people starting MFE in their thirty or later. Good programs will get you opportunities to interviews and sell you well.
Trick is to get into those programs.

 

[Jose Carlos]

Thanks a lot Paul and Andy for your answers!

I really appreciate them!

Warm Regards!

 

[Quasar Chunawala]

I have worked for a sell-side quant team; and I know of atleast one colleague who joined us in the EqD team, when he turned 41. As long as you are a quick learner, and can contribute to projects, it's just a number.

 

[Samantha Hardy]

If you're genuinely interested and ready for competition, it's not a bad idea. Age shouldn't be a barrier to learning and development if you have passion and motivation. Of course, you'll need to work on your math skills, write research papers, and prepare for challenging interviews. But if you already have experience in finance and trading, you have an advantage over other candidates. Additionally, you can use resources like https://edubirdie.com/do-my-homework to handle the workload. To avoid difficulties at the initial stage, simply don't mention your age on your cv to prevent employers from filtering based on age, allowing them to better appreciate your potential.

 

[QuantCoach]

I'll give a different perspective from working on the prop trading side: being a quant trader is very time-gated; Sig/Optiver/JS/Cit Sec very rarely hires traders who's first job out of school was not trading (or at least a FO role). I'm already considered fairly old (probably older than 65% of the other traders) at my firm and I'm in my mid 20s. If this is the type of job you're looking for then temper your expecations, but as others have mentioned banks may be more flexible

 

[bootstrap]

I'll give a different perspective from working on the prop trading side: being a quant trader is very time-gated; Sig/Optiver/JS/Cit Sec very rarely hires traders who's first job out of school was not trading (or at least a FO role). I'm already considered fairly old (probably older than 65% of the other traders) at my firm and I'm in my mid 20s. If this is the type of job you're looking for then temper your expecations, but as others have mentioned banks may be more flexible

Hi Coach, thanks a lot for your perspective. I am in my mid-30s looking to transition into quantitative research (not quant trading). Would you think that's possible? Thank you very much!