What should I do now? (Help with Education/Career Decisions)

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2/16/10
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So I recently got accepted into Baruch's Zicklin MS in Quantitative Methods and Modeling. From what I've been reading, this MS is more of a gateway than an actual career changer for most people. Right now I work in a Medical Informations Systems company, doing HelpDesk and Design work. I know it's a completely different field, that's what I need some advice.

1. I'm almost completely new to the Quant field and Finance in general. I've taken Physics, Statistics and Calculus in college and got pretty good grades (B+'s and higher). However my GPA suffered because of my Biology classes. Something that I really regret taking. However I majored in Information Systems towards the end of my college career and escaped undergrad with a 3.0 GPA. Not stellar by all means, but it could be worse.
I've been hearing that QMM is a good course to start off in to get into finance, but I want to take proactive steps to kind of help me further along this road. I've heard that a good complement to the quantitative backgrounds is a CFA. I know it's a bit of an investment, but I think it'll be good in the long run. Can anyone comment on the CFA?

2. I can't get a position in Finance for my life! Most of my free time after work goes to apply and working on my resume to find a position in Finance. Now since I don't have the typical background that a person in finance comes from, what can I do to better my chances?

3. Should I apply for another degree after I'm done with the QMM? I'm really going to work my butt off and try to get awesome grades. I slacked off in College mostly because I didn't know what to do, but since I came more into contact with Finance and what not I can't stay away from it. I think a MFE would be good, but I heard on other posts that a QMM and MFE might be over kill. Any other suggestions?

Any info would be appreciated friends. Thanks!
 
1. CFA won't hurt you, and could help you get a job in finance but adds little value to MFE application (in comparison to other things).

2. It's a tough job market right now, hang in there.

3. No clue. Education is always a plus in my book but you don't want two degrees that are too similar.
 
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