<p>I just wanted to post a thread about the MSF degree. I have my MSF from Villanova and run a website dedicated to the degree. Figure if anyone has a question this would be a good place to ask it.</p>
<p>Do you find the work you do related to finance to be exciting and/or at least interesting?</p>
<p>Do you feel that you contribute to creating a better society or is your work done solely for the purpose of earning money?</p>
<p>how much money do u make now?</p>
<p>Would a MBA be better for Investment banks or would a Masters in Finance be more suitable?</p>
<p>@Inmotion - I have worked in a variety of areas in finance. Money is obviously a huge motivator, but the work is both challenging and exciting. </p>
<p>As far as contributing to society, absolutely yes. This is one of the most common insults that people throw at anyone in finance. It is also completely unfair. </p>
<p>If you are in banking you are helping companies increase or unlock value. If you look at it from a middle market perspective it is even more clear. Smaller investment banks deal with smaller firms. These firms could be family owned and a problem arises if there is no other relative to take up the reigns. In that case what is the person running it supposed to do? This is where an investment bank can come in and help the person who owns the company get the highest value for their firm. </p>
<p>Suppose you want to get more capital to expand your business. An expansion means more equipment and more employees, both of which help the economy and people out of work. You get that capital from debt or from equity. An IB can help you issue bonds, get a series of loans, or sell shares in the company. Of course the company could do it themselves, but they don’t necessarily know the market or the process and would not maximize their value. </p>
<p>This is just one example and there are many. Nothing is perfect and when you deal with a lot of money there will always be a few bad apples, but finance/banking does play an extremely important part in the economy and in creating value. </p>
<p>@ Demoz - I am not going to reveal that, but salary in anything banking is lucrative. </p>
<p>@GamBino - MBA will place you as an associate. MSF tends to place you as an analyst. School reputation and networking play a huge role in getting a job though.</p>
<p>If an mba gets you in as associate wouldn’t that be better to get? And what other opportunities exist outside of banking with the finance degree?</p>
<p>An MBA is great if you have work experience and you get into a top 10-15 program. Outside of those schools the odds of you getting in as an Associate are almost zero. </p>
<p>An MSF is typically a 5th year for students. Some people go into an MSF with experience and have places as associates, although the MBA is still the preferred route. </p>
<p>Banking, PE, F500, Treasury, Teaching/PhD</p>
<p>This is a graduate level finance degree. Odds are you will be working in something finance related.</p>
<p>^MSFHQ, you are familiar with Nova right as an alumn? How do they do with PE/IB recruiting (PE is probably tough, but is Nova a good enough name to eventually land PE jobs)? Will you be at a significant disadvantage going to Nova instead of places like Vandy, Princeton, MIT? Also, do you have any idea why there seem to be so few “prestigious” schools (so to speak) with MSF programs? For example, the only universally recognized schools that offer an MSF are Princeton, MIT, WUSTL and Vandy, but why aren’t more places, such as Michigan, Duke, etc. offering these programs? Do you see that changing later on?</p>
<p>What did you major in as an undergraduate? What classes do you recommend to take?</p>
<p>I went to Villanova for my MSF and graduated last year. On campus recruiting is mainly focused on middle market IB’s. Citi and HSBC come on campus for public finance and rotational programs. This is slowly changing as I am seeing BAML, GS, JPM starting to set up resume drops for summer analyst positions in S&T, Inst Sales, etc. The school really got hit hard with Bear and Lehman closing. </p>
<p>With that said, the Villanova name is known in the East Coast. Anyone that follows NCAA basketball will also know the school. The football team is looking to go NCAA also and that will give Villanova more exposure. </p>
<p>As far as the name of the school hurting you for eventual PE, it is hard to say. I know a lot of undergrads who are going to bulge bracket banks. PE recruiting tends to follow what you did previously. If you worked for a BB firm your odds of working for a top PE shop increase. If you work for a MM IB you would most likely place into a MM PE shop. Some people do MBA’s, some go into venture capital/hedge funds, whatever. It really depends on the person. </p>
<p>Now of course Villanova will not carry you like Duke or Harvard would, but everything is relative. The school is well known, has passionate alumni who are all over the street and is known as a pretty well off school. </p>
<p>Now within the MSF space you really have Princeton and MIT as the top places. </p>
<p>One rung below that is the “core” MSF programs which all place well regionally.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt, Villanova, Claremont McKenna, OSU, Boston College, WUSTL, UIUC, and Florida. Duke and UVA also offer specialized masters which are used as a spring board into banking. </p>
<p>There are a ton of other ones, a lot with good brand names, but I do not know about their placements yet so I hesitate to add them. Syracuse is revamping their program and should look good in a couple years. Bentley, Brandeis, Rochester, Purdue, Temple, Drexel, etc are all decent names in their region, but until I see some sort of job stats I will assume that they are more of a PhD training ground. Not to say these programs are bad, but most people in an MSF are not looking to go into academia. </p>
<p>Now your question on why so few schools. The degree is pretty new. Villanova is on its 5-6th year. MIT is on its 2nd. Princeton maybe 3rd. Most programs are 5-10 years old. That isn’t long when you compare it to an MBA which has been the standard for years now. </p>
<p>OSU just started their program which is a good sign. I think you will see a slow trickle in the coming years. I bet you will see a NYU MSF sooner rather than later. UMich Ross also. There is no real benefit for Wharton/Harvard/Stanford to come out with an MSF since their UG and MBA program is so strong. Maybe in the future. </p>
<p>What you do see at a lot of top schools is the MFE degree. Columbia, NYU, UCLA, CMU, they all have top MFE degrees. No sense in having an MSF at those schools right now. </p>
<p>@Demoz - I was a finance major in UG. I worked for the Bank of NY in an ops role briefly (very briefly) and then I was with HSBC in a developmental program and then in business development in their middle market.</p>
<p>I only really want to in finance and that was my main desire to get an MSF.</p>
<p>Not that many questions, since I’ve been on your blog and browse WSO wayyyy to much, but just wanna pop in here and say thanks for reaching out to perspective students. I know many people on WSO would blanch at consulting high school students about … well anything. Thanks :)!</p>
<p>Haha, thanks dude. No worries. I am sure there are a good mix of people on here and anything I can do to provide more information or clarity I am happy to do so.</p>
<p>How much math is required for typical MSF programs?</p>
<p>Typically mid level calculus, statistics, probability, matrix math. You need to know normal amounts of math, but if you struggle with it I wouldn’t let it dissuade you from looking into the program. Math tends to be more application faced than theoretical in the MSF program.</p>
<p>Do you think careers in finance will grow over the next decade?</p>
<p>What do you think about the outlook? Is it grim, or do you think it’s good for those going into the major at the UG level now?</p>
<p>Do you know how to play the stockmarket?</p>
<p>I think the financial industry will continue to grow. It might be more on the government/regulation side, but the private side will continue to expand. If I was 18, looking to get into a finance related career, my advice would be to not 100% focus on NY. </p>
<p>I live in Philadelphia and it has tons of boutique or middle market shops. Same goes for all the other major cities in this country. NYC will always be the main place to be when it comes to working on wall street, but secondary cities are growing because of the diaspora after Bear and Lehman collapsed. Cost of living is also much better. </p>
<p>Flexibility is also key. Finance is about relationships and you cannot try and have a linear career process. Being able to see opportunity and network will give you a huge advantage. </p>
<p>I know how to understand the markets and make educated decisions incorporating theory and analysis. No matter how much you know about finance and the markets you will never be 100% correct all of the time.</p>
<p>Hi MSFHQsite, I apologize for the direct question about your income earlier. There are usually not a lot of actual ibankers on this site so I just wanted to confirm that you weren’t a ■■■■■/wannabe, and I can tell that you’re definitely not.</p>
<p>I’m having a dilemma between undergraduate majors. I attend UC - Berkeley and I’m deciding whether to go to Haas for a business degree and likely for a higher gpa (3.8~), or major in math/statistics and have a possibly lower gpa (3.5-3.6~). I feel that a quantitative degree will open up more options for me later on. But, how would recruiters see a business degree w/ high gpa vs. quantitative degree with average gpa?</p>
<p>Go with Haas and a higher GPA. Banking is extremely east to perform, not easy to get into. The higher GPA will help you. </p>
<p>Harvard basket weaving vs Cal Tech Physics & Math</p>
<p>Winner = Harvard</p>
<p>Always go with the better branded school and the higher GPA. Banking is power point formatting and excel modeling. You don’t need more than basic algebra.</p>
<p>First of all, thanks for doing this.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What major is preferred for a MSF? Finance itself? Specialization in finance? BBA general?</p></li>
<li><p>How much does where you went for undergraduate affect your acceptance into MSF programs?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it advised to get work experience before getting your MSF?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>1) Finance helps, but is not a requirement. Taking at least calc, a couple courses in stats and preferably an econometrics class is all you need. Do realize that this is a graduate level degree specializing in finance so not knowing anything about finance before hand will make the program much harder. </p>
<p>2) If your GPA is high and your GMAT is above the average then I don’t think your school will matter much. Princeton and MIT might be the exception.</p>
<p>3) Work is nice, but keep it below 2 years. MSF graduates typically place in an analyst role. If you have too much work experience you might be excluded from analyst recruiting. You could possibly come in as an associate, but you would typically need direct finance experience. Associate hires tend to come from MBA programs so there is still a stigma to overcome.</p>