Trading Job or MFE?

<p>My son, a rising senior, has just completed a trading internship at a BB. He was informally told that he would get a job offer to work on the FX derivatives desk when he graduates. He has been thinking of doing an MFE and is nearly assured of admittance with assistantship. His undergrad major is Operations Res with a FE concentration.</p>

<p>What should he do? Take the job or study MFE? He says his interest is in trading. I do not know if MFE prepares one for trading jobs or for different kinds of jobs. It seems that MFE is retraining for quantitatively prepared individuals who want to transition into finance from other kinds of jobs. So, would it really be of help to someone who already can get a finance job? What are the opportunity costs of both decisions?</p>

<p>The decision will of course be his but this helicopter parent wants the widest input possible, so please offer your suggestions. Thanks.</p>

<p>Ramaswami, I’m just a student at Columbia as well, but I had an interview with someone who had a bachelors in CS and an MFE who had traded at a top prop shop. He assured me that undergrad FE would be sufficient. As you rightly pointed out, MFE is for quant minded people who need finance knowledge. </p>

<p>On another note, actual finance is far ahead of academic finance, so from a knowledge standpoint your son would be better served by taking the BB S&T job. </p>

<p>Opportunity cost as I’m sure you’re aware is a year of lost salary, and no guarantee of a job when he gets out of the MFE program. You don’t know what market conditions will be like a year from now. Take the job.</p>

<p>In finance, job experience trumps everything. My son is able to parlay his undergrad Wharton degree to working in a hedge fund where the barriers of job entry are high even for an experienced MBA graduate. Ask your son to learn as much as he can from his job and supplement with outside reading, perhaps with textbooks from a MFE curriculum. My son is a CFA charter holder, studying and passing all three exams on his own time after work and on weekends. He assured me that he doesn’t need an MBA, thus saving tuition and opportunity cost approaching or exceeding $1M.</p>

<p>There may come a time in the next two years when he will know whether he can advance in his trading career or change path with or without an advanced degree. He can make a more informed decision then. I agree with the poster above, take the job.</p>

<p>I work in FX Derivatives oddly enough. Tell him to take the job offer (or another one), MFE would be a waste of time if you already have a trading offer and decent enough background.</p>

<p>Does he want to trade? Or does he want to be a quant supporting traders?
These are different jobs, and not all individuals are equally suited to do either.</p>

<p>If he wanted to be a quant, having a MFE is not really enough. A phd in maths, engineering, physics, comp sci, etc is the usual requirement. If he wants to trade, you take a trading job.</p>