Hi,I saw that due to the market's bleak condition many people implied that taking an MFE program at this moment sounds naive and wasteful.Does anyone know how possible it is for an MFE grad, say from one of the top tier programs, to apply for jobs in "less quantitative" finance such as sales, research, consulting and risk management? Also which MFE program has the best [academic] reputation in Wall St [regardless of its location], CMU/Berkeley/NYU?Thanks!

Columbia ?

Research and Risk Management: OKConsulting: PerhapsSales: ?

I think it is wise to spread your applications further, but of course these areas are subject to much the same economic factors as quant work.As for whether it is rational to invest in a MFE, that's just a complex question, and the fact that you hear it is naive & wasteful should not be given too much weight on its own.You will be hitting the market in the future, and you have to judge/guess where the market will be by then. Factor in that if a lot of people go elsewhere, the competition you face may be significantly reduced.But of course it may be worse, easy for that to happen because things really aren't that bad currently. To an extent the question "should I do a MFE" is the wrong question.A better one is "given a budget of X and time of Y, and my skill set Z", what will give the best return and what are the risks with that ?

Thanks for the input DCFC! really appreciate it.

>> Sales: ? It is unconventional, but certainly possible. A few of the guys I knew in school took sales jobs. (by choice) Most finmath grads do not want non-quant-ish roles, so they had an "edge" and landed decent positions. Personally I would rather work in sales on a good derivative or structuring desk compared to BOM.

I probably sounded more agressive than I intended to...I believed that the student that these programs were looking for wasnt really interested in sales (nothing wrong with the job). Also, since you will receive a sophisticated toolbox for quantish analysis, I thought that an MFE graduate would be "wrong" to sales, both by nature and nurture... But Im sure that Ltrain is much more qualified to discuss this topic, and I thank him for the input.As to the academic reputation of the programs: It is probably the same with the other two programs, but I can assure you of the reputation and quality of the NYU program. My contacts with NYU people (professors, in academic settings) left me EXTREMELY impressed. By inspecting their webpages I only got more convinced of my excellent initial impression. I dont see why Wall Street would think differently...

QuoteOriginally posted by: legacyDoes anyone know how possible it is for an MFE grad, say from one of the top tier programs, to apply for jobs in "less quantitative" finance such as sales, research, consulting and risk management? why didnt u take MBA then? it sounds like a waste of effort to go to MFE and not do hard quant stuff

It is the exception not the norm. But in a bleak job market one may fare better to take the path less traveled. After the hazing at UC, there were >1 students who had seen enough "hard quant" stuff. (and why do a finmath degree to become a trader? IMO)

QuoteOriginally posted by: jawabeanQuoteOriginally posted by: legacyDoes anyone know how possible it is for an MFE grad, say from one of the top tier programs, to apply for jobs in "less quantitative" finance such as sales, research, consulting and risk management? why didnt u take MBA then? it sounds like a waste of effort to go to MFE and not do hard quant stuffThis is because my quantitative background [coupled with only less than 2 year working experience] would make it easier for me to apply for top MFE programs but not top MBA programs. Since I'm already decided to go into finance industry, I think getting MFE and working in finance right away is more sensible than waiting for a couple more years and then make career switch using MBA. The impression that I have is that MBA graduates who manage to get "good" positions in finance are likely to be those who already have some relevant working experience prior to their MBA's.Please let me know if this is not true or not sensible.

I wouldn't take the path that you propose. Of course it is possible to change the trajectory of your career later, nothing is set in stone, but it doesn't seem to be a reasonable decision to pay the cost of an MFE if your goal isn't working in the quantitative analysis area. You will spend a lot of time learning asset pricing techniques that will require sophisticated concepts in measure theory, OOP, etc... why "waste" your time with this stuff if what really want is to become a salesman (for example)? The job market may be far from it's best days, but I still think you should look for employment in an area closer to what you want to do and start building a strong application for MBA programs now.When I say quantitative analysis I don't mean trading and research only. There are many possibilities out there. Many risk management opportunities, consulting (take a look at the guys at this firm: www.finance-concepts.com/equipe.html), etc... The only crucial thing is to actually enjoy the field, if you don't, you won't be saving time, quite the contrary, you will be wasting time...