<p>I'm wondering if anyone with knowledge of this field (or the financial industry in general) could provide any info. I'm considering a program such as Master of Financial Engineering at Haas or Master of Financial Mathematics at UChicago. I have the appropriate math/programming background, and the placement record at programs like these look excellent. I just don't know what jobs like these are really like as far as:</p>
<p>Opportunity for advancement (in position, salary, bonus...)
Stress level, hours/week
Job satisfaction in general</p>
<p>How do you perceive quant jobs compare to the types of jobs generally filled by MBAs in these categories? My intuition is that it would be lower on the stress level and hours, and also lower on the raises and bonuses side. ??</p>
<p>I really dont know much about this except the majority of the programs are rather new (Vanderbilt, U Minnesota, etc). At the established programs, recruitment is excellent, inlcuding schools such as North Carolina State which goes to a specific career fair somewhere in the North East. This fair is accompanied by students ranging from brandeis, U Chicago, to CMU and the attending employers include Goldman, Lazard, Barclays etc. Princeton has an average salary of (i believe but i know i am very close) 112k with near perfect placement numbers</p>
<p>The top schools such as Haas and Chicago may look like they have high acceptance rates, but they are self selecting becuase the top programs in this category have strict requirments in regards to your GMAT and required prereq courses</p>
<p>First, if you are gonna get into MFE, you are unlikely go to MBA, because it is less concentrated. In MFE you gonna deal with derivatives markets (options, futures, forwards), how to price it. most of your salary would depend on the commissions. Again, base salary is in the 100k region. But it is base. </p>
<p>For the degree you will need high math (linear algebra, statistic, high calculus. diff. equations) programming (c, c++, java), and finance. if you have what it takes, than my advice do it. it is great...</p>
<p>A few random thoughts: my exposure is to the Haas MFE primarily, in sort of random ways. </p>
<ul>
<li>close friend Ivy League undergrad in CS, MA a policy school, decided to get the MFE at Berkeley/Haas. Is a pretty reserved guy, not really charismatic. Was voted class president 'cause he is charismatic relative to the Physics PhD types etc. there. Was close to top of his class.<br></li>
<li>He did very well with several offers. His work is market hours (but on the West Coast). He does fixed income. I think he started at 150K plus bonus. So I think these guys start significantly higher on average than MBAs, though perhaps they are on a slower steadier pace upward in quant shops where transactional big payoffs as in IBs are not possible. His underlying programming talent was one of the reasons for at least two of the job offers he got.</li>
<li>Another friend works in the quant/modeling part of a bank Back East. Came in and interviewed at Berkeley MFE. Said he found the quality to be appreciably better than at, I think he said, Columbia's program (?). He said the Berkeley students could speak articulately (I guess there were many not adequately -screened TOEFL screened students in the other program. He went 6/12 in the first round (meaning to keep students in the process for a second round), which he thought was quite high.</li>
<li>The placement stats seem quite good.</li>
<li>I went to one of their parties. Geeks, but fun.</li>
<li>Haas is kind of removed from the rest of the Berkeley campus, and most people there like that fact. I think it'd be a great atmosphere.</li>
<li>The stuff comes at you fast in the program, so you have to be well-prepared.</li>
</ul>
<p>I think job satisfaction is high for modeling geeks/introverts.</p>