QuoteOriginally posted by: quantstudent19MFEs help in that they guarantee you a quant job. From there, you might move on to trader..Again more incorrect statements.A Mathematical MSc does not guarantee you any job and it also does not mean you can not get onto a trading seat from the start. i.e you dont have to be a quant just because you did a Mathematical MSc. It is up to you what seat you want to apply for.Nearly every trading place at a bank likes Mathematical Courses. So while FX spot does not require heavy maths skills, that is not to say the heads of such desks have not imposed a Quantitative criteria for its prospective hiring.Furthermore without previous experience a MSc programme lets you apply onto the grad programme. So all an MSc really does is gives you that second chance to get on a grad programme. If you dont have decent undergrad then your chances are slim as you will always be competing with the fresh undergrads.My advice is go to the top 10 ten unis as recruitment is done by HR and they are relatively clueless about the diffrence between FE or MF etc. All they know is the league rankings and thus where to target their search.

MFEs from top places such as NYU, CMU, columbia do guarantee you a quant job.

As much as I want to agree with you C., they don't. Yes in NYU we do get a lot of attention from employees, but we still need to work our asses off trying to get jobs. This is excluding french pple since they're so good already . For Columbia, I've heard that many students did not secure a job, and a lot who did went into non-quants-non-trading positions(e.g. IT, consulting). Columbia IMO is not a very good program for non-experienced students, because you start interviewing right when the program starts.

I think location is also very important. What do you think program like Baruch College located in the heart of Wall Street. Students are taught by practitioners. Thanks.

really?? i didnt think so. i guess my impression is sort of biased QuoteOriginally posted by: moogleAs much as I want to agree with you C., they don't. Yes in NYU we do get a lot of attention from employees, but we still need to work our asses off trying to get jobs. This is excluding french pple since they're so good already . For Columbia, I've heard that many students did not secure a job, and a lot who did went into non-quants-non-trading positions(e.g. IT, consulting). Columbia IMO is not a very good program for non-experienced students, because you start interviewing right when the program starts.

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Quant vs. Trader? No contest, assuming you're talking about the best in the respective businesses. When I was trading on the CBOE in the late 80's and early '90's, the good locals were cleaning up. Same over at the CBOT (Treasuries) and the CME (S&P's).Of course a great quant can do better than a mediocre trader, but if the trader is good and trading his own account, there's no comparison. This does not apply to traders working with some firm's money as opposed to their own. The locals in Chicago are very good, and the more seasoned players are something to behold.Mike