I have been accepted into the CASS MSc quant finance degree. I need to accept by end of this week as the course starts on Monday! What I want to know is what are the employment rates like given the crap market conditions? Am I going to be doing this in vain in the current climate? Cass does not have any employment info on their website.Someone please help me decide before I throw 20k into doing this!!!ThanksMark

I wouldn't waste my money on it. To know why, read some of the other posts where these programs have been discussed.

Ok thanks for the advice. But my question still stands, do the graduates find employment in the industry? Has anyone had any experience with CASS and the potential for employment after graduation?Cheers,Mark

It will depend on your undergrad degree.If for example you went to Cambridge and did Economics then a Cass MSc in quant finance may help.If however you went to Kingston or Brunel etc for undergrad then it will be a waste of money.Cass is in general a poor institution just like Birkbeck. Ask yourself if you think you are a really a very good candidate and why you have been offered a place. Cass seems to let anyone on their courses as they simply want the £20K fee just like ICMA in Reading. I would say 1%-5% of grads would get a decent job and that is because their undergrad history is good.

Thanks JSI turned down the offer, out of conerns of where I will end up with this programme. I have a BE from a well recognised school, bit no quant experience, although the mathematics they showed me to prepare for was elementary compared to the stuff I had seen in my mathematical modelling papers in my BE.OK, so what the hell do I do to get into this game then? I am completely confused as to whether I have a path into this game or not?Should I go for something like a top school MBA, i.e LBS or oxford????Would be great to hear if anyone here has done a masters from CASS, WARWICK etc. with no previous quant finance experience, and if this got you a job worthy of the 20k investment (plus all the lost earnings etc.)Thanks,Mark

i'm in a similar position, any more views on thisi've tried searching the forums, but haven't really found muchthanks

Yes you should go to a top school.Whilst Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial and LBS are top schools, Warwick, Bath, Bristol, Nottingham and UCL are other well recognised institutions amongst banking.For MBA's, aim for LBS in the UK and INSEAD or IMD in france otherwise the usual top US institutions.Of course to get into these places you need a top undergrad and for MBA's top expereience so if you dont have this then unfortunately in most cases it may be too late for that top banking career.

QuoteOriginally posted by: JuniorStructurerOf course to get into these places you need a top undergrad and for MBA's top expereience so if you dont have this then unfortunately in most cases it may be too late for that top banking career.Or you can go technical, and get in through that route. One nice thing about technical skills is that there is a lot less emphasis on branding than with MBA programs.

Thanks JS,So assuming I can get into LSE or Imperial and with no prior experience in the finance game, would I be at least employable or able to get that crucial foot in the door? Basically, Im not interested in an mba, Im really keen on the purely quant related side of things, so dont want to go through the 'finding myself' and all the rosey mba related stuff.If this would make me employable (assuming Im not retarded, and I dont think I am too much), what could I expect as a reasonable starting out package? I would really appreciate it if someone could give an indication as to an MSc graduate starting salary. Thanks by the way for stopping me from the CASS thing, but Im still dam hungry to get into this game.Cheers,Mark

If you are interested in pure quant, do a PhD. That is the only way. MFE will not be sufficient.

QuoteOriginally posted by: JuniorStructurerCass is in general a poor institution just like Birkbeck. It depends what you call poor. Birkbeck has one of the world renowned professors in mathematical finance; professor Gemanand is perhaps the best place in Europe if one wants to specializes in commodities and commodity derivatives.

Ok,So if these qualifications wont get you into a pure 'quant' role, what type of role will they get you into? Anybody here with an MSc background in financial maths that has had success in the quant finance space?Cheers,Mark

You can become a quant with an MSc. My friend started as a quant with only a BSc in Maths from Cambridge. He is now trading commodities for the same firm.Starting salaries for Msc's are the same as BSc's so around £35K basic, possibly £5-10K sign on (golden handshake) and then your bonus which varies hugely.

QuoteOriginally posted by: JuniorStructurerYou can become a quant with an MSc. My friend started as a quant with only a BSc in Maths from Cambridge. He is now trading commodities for the same firm.Starting salaries for Msc's are the same as BSc's so around £35K basic, possibly £5-10K sign on (golden handshake) and then your bonus which varies hugely.for a Msc *with* good programming background one has to be insane to go to any field at all, let alone quant space, for 35K.

MSc people are usually people who failed to get into the graduate programme with the BSc. The MSc essentially provides the candidate a 2nd chance. In reality there is very little difference between a BSc and MSc candidate when it comes to the realities of working. You have to remember the £35K is just the basic for the first one and a half years with bonus potentially being 100% in the first full year. In my first year (which was 6 months) from start date to first bonus I got the standard £10K. In the following year which was my first full year I got £30K. My quant friend got exactly the same.7 years on and we are now both Director level earning alot more than £30K in bonuses.