are we at the point where programs have to boast about their masters graduates getting a job in new york city for $75-120K a year? can you raise a family in NYC for $100K and maintain a middle class lifestyle?

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesare we at the point where programs have to boast about their masters graduates getting a job in new york city for $75-120K a year? can you raise a family in NYC for $100K and maintain a middle class lifestyle? The family question requires clarification as to what these numbers ($75K-$120K) are, and who is getting them. These are starting salaries - many for people without work experience. The compensation three years later may be (and, based on confidential information from our alumni, certainly is, for many of them) in a different range. Also, many graduates are young people for whom the family context does not yet includes worrying about raising a family.

QuoteOriginally posted by: DominicConnorI think that this is more to do with big firms now being more confident about staffing levels at the lower end.A large part of this has to do with fact that the bigger firms were under hiring freezes for a long time, and are making up for the differences.

I question whether 'stats' can tell us anything that is actually useful....To me, data is useful only if it helps make better decisions, and there are two sets of people making decisions here, people thinking of taking an MFE, and hiring managers.A quannabe's choices are: start work now, or select one of N courses.There is no data available that reliably allows the newbie to choose whether to take a course at all. There is a subset for whom the MFE's costs (including lost pay), do not ever get paid back....but others do.How do you decide ?Some people are best suited to being quant developers, others algotrading, some will be in commodities whether they want to be or not.If you want a particular path, which is best ?For hiring managers, how can they rationally decide which produces the sort of skills they will want ?

QuoteOriginally posted by: DominicConnorsome will be in commodities whether they want to be or not. speaking of commodities, why is it bad to be in commodities?

Further details:Employers (some with multiple hires; selected)Bank of AmericaBloombergBNP ParibasCitigroupDeutsche BankJPMorganKPMGMorgan StanleyNomura SecuritiesNumerixNuWave Investment ManagementQuantitative BrokersRBCRBSRisk FocusSociete GeneraleStandish MellonSuperDerivativesPositionsAssociate AdvisorAVP - Risk Analytics & ModelingCommodities Trader / Quantitative AnalystCredit Risk AnalystFinancial EngineerFinancial Software DeveloperGlobal EquitiesInvestment Banking Technology AnalystMarket Data SpecialistQuant Developer Quant Developer, AssociateQuantitative AnalystQuantitative Support AnalystRisk AnalystSoftware Developer

Internship Report13 of 15 students have accepted summer internship offers, the other two being in the midst of the interviewing processCompanies (selected): Barclays, JPMorgan, Ernst & Young, Hartford Investment Management, Morgan Stanley, Numerix, Quantitative Brokers, R&R Consulting, SusquehannaMedian Monthly Compensation: $5,500

Employment Update: Baruch MFE December 2010 graduatesAs of November 8, 2010, 12 of 16 December 2010 Baruch MFE graduates received offers from financial companies from the New York area.This compares very favorably with previous years, when, at the same point in time, 9 of 24 Dec'09 graduates and 5 of 17 Dec'08 graduates had received offers.__________________________________________________________________________First Year Guaranteed Compensation:Dec 2010* High: 130K; Low: 80K; Average: 98K; Median: 95KDec09-May10 High: 120K; Low: 75K; Average: 96K; Median: 97.5KDec08-May09 High: 125K; Low: 65K; Average: 92K; Median: 92.5K*As of November 8, 2010Employers (by type):Investment banks 50%Commercial banks 25%Financial software 16%Consulting 8%