from Fxislander>>>>>>>>5. People who have no work experience from CMU, NYU, Columbiaetc. still get jobs. Basically everyone eventually gets hired within six months after graduation. They may not get the jobthat they want, but they get somewhere. A lot of fresh outsget jobs in risk management and programming, when what theyreally want is trading and research. >>>>>>>>>>>I think most grads from the MS programs will not get the jobs they expect. Virtually all research jobs require a phd. An MS just doesn't allow the time and in-depth study (or imply the ability). With trading, I am not sure, but I know they need to be smart, possibly build models, and think quickly.....given lots of phds in everything from ChemE to Stats are looking at finance for careers, why hire an MS for a job that requires top quant skills?Now that doesn't mean MS's can't get good jobs and even make more than quants, but, from conversations, etc. I think MS students are hoping for too much.......which, I think is the main source of frustration and disappointment. They truly have to look at their skills and the skills in the market. 10+ yrs ago, fine, but now.....

neer2000:I think you came to heavily on Gatech's QCF Program. The situatiion is not that bad. Anyways I havent visited Gatech's campus yet but surely will do so soon. Obviously comparing Gatech with schools like columbia, columbia is a bit better option. I have talked to students of current and previous years class at columbia and I would suggest you to visit coulmbia again and talk to current INTERNATIONAL students and see how many are graduating in this summer and what was the job situation for previous years class.

guys calm down! can one of you be grown up enough to stop this exchange of insults?!zooey, if you are looking for advice you shouldn't have started the whole line of insult exchanges at a first place.....neer2000 your wrote this :''USA is not a free land. It is for americans and will be of americans not for u shit looking Indians. We are proud to be americans ok'' and then in one of the other threads: ''Hi I also applied to Stanford.Did u get the written letter from them or via e-mailI am international applicant.'' do you have multiple personality, -one is an international student, and another is domestic american one........?anyway, all this is totally not related to the thread.I personally think that Toronto's program structure is great, I spoke about it with MD here and he liked it as well . You will have 1 class taught by Hull. Obviously for brand-name recognition purposes in US and in Europe it's not like Prinecton,Berkley, CU,etcetc but neither is GTC. In Toronto you will have work experience in btw the sememsters which may help you gain practical knowldedge and make it easier to sell yourself during the IB interview, program is also way cheaper than the alternatives. Call up UofT, make sure they didn't lose some part of your application etc (which happens), if u get to talk to admission officer u can emphasize again how strongly you are interested etc........As for work permits: Where do u want to work? US, UK, Asia? or just as long as it outside India you are fine?US' HH explicitly made sure I have US work permit and trust me, it's not easy for international students in US. JP at the presentation last year told me not to bother applying in UK, cuz they said they didn't wanna bother with work permits. HR lady said, if u apply here we most likely gonna fwd ur application to US since you don't need any permit there. well, lots of banks don't mind applying for you and paying ££ for ur permit, as one example i managed to stay in London. it's hard for international students, but lots of my friends who weren't EU citizens got bunch of interviews. Just as in US after u graduate you have about a year to stay in UK and look for a job. I think there are more jobs for juniors here than in US but yes, very often I run into situations where they required w permit. I can work in States, so I don't have any personal experience with w permits there, but having friends who are international students I have been told it's also quite hard and you have to be a very strong candidate or at least make them think that you are.........Hope this helps a bit!

Thanks DIMA for your suggestions. Even I think that the Toronto's program is the best I have. I have been getting excellent reviews about the program and have been told that Canada could be a very good place to start a career in finance/quant fin. As for where I want to work, well, I really look forward to work in US for 2-3 years to gain some experience in US markets. Basically, if I am going to UK or Canada, I'd want to work there for couple of years before I move back to India. Indian markets are just opening up and are still nascent esp. in derivaties, hedge funds etc. However, a lot many big IBs such as JP, Goldman Sachs, Merril etc have opened up offices in India. Currently, these offices are primarily technology centres which take care of the back office operations and automation for their resp. parent firms, but I know that they have started sending some core analysis work aswell. So, I eventually want to come back to India and explore these opportunities.I know it is not easy for international students to get work permits. I also know that with a masters degree, I should not be expecting core quant work. I don't mind working in a programming role or assisting some quant as long as I get some solid exposure. It is gonna be hard to find job but I must work really hard. Being in a hedge fund myself, I see how competitive the market is. KO is right when he said that a lot of hedge funds/IBs strongly prefer PHds for quant work. Your comments are really helpful and strengthens my opinion on Toronto.ThanksZooey

if u strongly preferer to work in US : my feeling is that being in UK & not being authorized to work in US, it's hard to look for a junior job in US.But you should talk to students in Canada how it works for them. At least from Toronto it will be cheaper for you to fly in to NYU (or half day drive) for an interview if they don't reimburse the expenses. Do a search here, i remember some threads discussing job mkts in US and UK for international students

I think I missed the ad hominem strictures, too bad.Anyway, since there has been much discussion on Tech, I will weigh in with my thoughts. I am a current student who worked for several years before returning to school.1. Academically, top notch school. No questions about that. Tech is consistently ranked as a top engineering and math school. 2. Yes, those job placements are real. Now, there is generally not a lot of structured support for job hunting, so you must be willing to work harder than probably other schools to land a job. This is for two reasons:a. No structured support (see above)b. Geography. As far as banking in the south goes, Charlotte is the king, not ATL - there are plenty of financial firms here, but its not Charlotte, and of course, not NYC/London. This I think is more of a problem with the internship than an actual FT job. FT job you can fly around for interviews, but internships are usually offered closer to home. Not so many internships this year. 3. The lack of internships and jobs is in no small measure a testament to the number of non US citizens in the program. I don't much undertsand the whole HB-1 thing, but it is a factor. 4. If you come here know that the classes are not designed solely for QCF students, meaning you will be competiting against PhD students looking to kill time. Can be a real buzz killer come grade time. 5. I'm curious about the ISMA comments - I was under the impression that they did away with their version of the QCF/MFE degree in favor of an unstructured MBA.6. It should also be noted that many students go onto PhD programs (both in finance and mathematics.). This is not reflected in job statistics, but if you are thinking about a PhD this program will surely give you the background needed to compete for a spot at a top school. 7. With regards to the rankings that one of the websites put out earlier this year - I don't trust those rankings, as it was stated to be personal preference of the editor. It should be noted, however, that two real issues were brought up for Tech. 1) Placement 2) Lack of big name faculty. I don't know much about the other programs, but these are two areas that Tech does fall short in (job situation improving and no idea on professors - but the ones here are very good). One of these days Ill have to stop hiding behind my emoticon, but until then, I remain, The zombie Ty.