How was your first day into PE? I know it's too early to know somthing specific on thisissue but what's your first impression about that world.Are you working iwithin PE in NYC? Good luck for your internship.CristianSec

This is a newly-established small fund in NYC. I feel it is pretty interesting~~~~Dingding

DingDing,Private equity happens to be of great interest to me. I interviewed for a plum position with a middle market PE shop in SF but didn't land the position. Instead I did investment banking for half a year. I know of a couple good websites that you can refer to regarding PE to rise up the learning curve. Let me know if you are interested.

CristianSec,I am very familiar with the MSc in Financial Engineering (Financial Math, etc.) programs in the USA. I am also considering some of the top schools in the USA after I earn an MBA. The program at CMU is very strong and has a good reputation on Wall Street. If you have relevant work experience (and structured finance is definitely relevant) then so long as you have the math background (or work on taking classes in differential equations, etc.) you should be able to gain admission (barring no travel visa issues). I am curious if you are specifically considering an MBA or a MSc. in quant finance? Are you aware of all the competing programs offered in the USA? For instance, UC Berkeley has a great program (it is ranked #1 on the "Global Derivatives" ranking of schools). What exactly do you want to do after graduating from CMU? I did banking and am thinking about getting into proprietary trading at one of the buldge bracket firms (i.e. Goldman, Lehman, CSFB, etc.).

Hey, Shyguy(feel a little bit embarrassed to call you so), anyway, of course I am intersted, and also interested in I Banking, since now I am a job seeker, who wants to know as much as possible.Could you send the links to me?Thank youDingding

QuoteOriginally posted by: ShyGuyCristianSec,I am very familiar with the MSc in Financial Engineering (Financial Math, etc.) programs in the USA. I am also considering some of the top schools in the USA after I earn an MBA. The program at CMU is very strong and has a good reputation on Wall Street. If you have relevant work experience (and structured finance is definitely relevant) then so long as you have the math background (or work on taking classes in differential equations, etc.) you should be able to gain admission (barring no travel visa issues). I am curious if you are specifically considering an MBA or a MSc. in quant finance? Are you aware of all the competing programs offered in the USA? For instance, UC Berkeley has a great program (it is ranked #1 on the "Global Derivatives" ranking of schools). What exactly do you want to do after graduating from CMU? I did banking and am thinking about getting into proprietary trading at one of the buldge bracket firms (i.e. Goldman, Lehman, CSFB, etc.).Hi ShyGuy,Thanks for your kind advice. I'm planning to land after an MSc on the trading floor trading/structuring credit derivatives (i.e. CDOs squared, cubed), or within a commodity trading/structuring team (Energy derivatives) or Stat-Arb team. I'm not so sure to gain the admission to CMU because of I'm lacking of programming experience. CMU and Hass are my first choices in the US (I need a sponsorship for the visa) but I am also considering MSc Courses in UK (I'm Italian and I can freely travel within EU).Cheers,CristianSec

so, like, what is the salary for MSc FE grads if they get a job on wall street in proprietary trading? Is it worth the tuition?

Hey, guys, do you know how to explain what I banking is all about ? This is the interview question that I fear most...By the way, Shy guy could you send me the links? thanks Dingding

Dear DingDing,I am very sorry for disappearing from this discussion forum for such a long time. I was preparing for the CFA level 1 exam in Dec. 2005. I just finished the test a week or so back and now have some spare time. Anyway, here is your best source on investment banking and private equity: www.vault.com. It is a career website started by a Stanford MSc (i.e. Masters degree) student to fill the niche market for recent graduates that want to make informed decisions for future employment. They have a guide called "Vault Career Guide to Investment Banking". It will break the industry down for you very well. This last month they came out with a new guide called "Vault Guide to Private Equity Employers" which is a first of its kind. It doesn't do so much as break down the industry as it does introduce you to all the various players (including international but mainly USA based) and key facts. It is a good read and will teach you a bit about private equity. An even better book on private equity is called "Buyout". It is written by a Harvard MBA that worked in investment banking and then switched over to private equity. He is currently a high level employee at a good PE firm with close to $2 billion AUM (trust me, it was considered a lot back when the book was published). If you have more questions about PE let me know on this forum.Enjoy your internship. No matter how small the fund, it will definitely build up your resume.

KackToodles,To be honest, I dont know the compensation breakdown for prop trading (as it is called) as well as I do for banking. But from what I hear it is definitely lucrative. I could only guess that at the entry level (either post BA or post MBA) it is comparable to investment banking (in terms of base salary). But the bonus of course is the biggest portion of the compensation and in trading you can take a percent of the profits that you earn. And considering that traders can make tens of millions in profits for the firm, a small percent can turn into a large figure. But the compensation can be argued either way (i.e. bankers can make six figure bonuses, too). But in my opinion, on an hourly basis, your compensation would be higher in trading because you work less hours (compared to investment banking) and you still walk away with a damn good salary. To give you a specific number (which is probably what you wanted in the first place), UC Berkeley states that graduates of its MFE program have starting salaries of roughly $110k. You can check their website for the actual number.

Starting salary doesn't mean much if the initial job does not turn in to a long term career.Since the turnover is pretty high, what sort of career options do people have if they get pushed out of IB or trading?

TPG - The Google of PE?