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MFE without maths background

Sinz

Joined
1/10/15
Messages
10
Points
11
Got two questions:

I have done B.Com and MBA in finace, I used to work in a back office process of Investment Banking and I am currently working in Corporate finance. I want to pursue MFE but I do not have Mathematical Background. Is my profile suitable for MFE if i work on my math and programming?

Also I know that I must work on my mathematical background. And i m ready to do anything. How can improve it?

Thanks
 
Yeah MFE probably isn't going to happen for you.

I have a feeling that you could do computer science, if you did a fair few bridging courses. But yeah, your profile doesn't really give any rationale to why you would want to do an MFE either. People who do MFE's come from advanced mathematics in early schooling, through high school and into university. Then they might work in a computing/quantitative field before applying for an MFE.

But nothing is ever too late.

J
 
how much time should it take for someone to get the required pre-requisites for MFE?
 
Sinz said:
none at this moment
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Why do you want to study MFE after all those years? The job market is incredibly competitive and you have to start developing your math & programming skills to compete with financial mathematics, physics, math people with gold medals in math olympiads etc. I don't want to sound too pessimistic but it is incredibly hard to compete with those kind of people. I am now studying MFE and consider switching to buy/sell side research jobs (I have some ER experience and know fundamental research as well). Perhaps, if you have really good answers to why you want to study MFE, you can build your motivation to fill the gap.
 
Last edited:
Daniel Duffy said:
Ouch

Your chances are infinitesimal. Give up the pipe dream.


BTW how do you survive without maths/programming? What do you do all day?
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My both the profiles were into pure finance which had nothing to do with math and programming, I used to work on DTCC Confirmation process. and my current profile is based on my accounting knowledge.

I know that I at this moment stand no chance in the market. But what can I do in order make me a decent candidate?
 
Sinz said:
My both the profiles were into pure finance which had nothing to do with math and programming, I used to work on DTCC Confirmation process. and my current profile is based on my accounting knowledge.

I know that I at this moment stand no chance in the market. But what can I do in order make me a decent candidate?
Click to expand...
There are a lot of high profile and professional people in this forum and their suggestions are more valuable. My humble suggestions are:
-On Coursera there are great free courses about financial mathematics and programming. Particularly I recommend the financial engineering course offered by Columbia University.
-You can take Baruch's C++ online course. It is for a decent fee. You can develop your programming skills and enhance your profile for applications.
-You might consider taking Paul Wilmott's quantitative finance certificate program.
 
The question I have is... would you even enjoy doing quant work, if you aren't doing it now? As in, you'd often be dealing with models, programming...how do you know you will enjoy this if you haven't done a shred of quant work before? (Quant work being maths classes, programming, etc., not just industry experience)
 
Gavin L said:
The question I have is... would you even enjoy doing quant work, if you aren't doing it now? As in, you'd often be dealing with models, programming...how do you know you will enjoy this if you haven't done a shred of quant work before? (Quant work being maths classes, programming, etc., not just industry experience)
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Yes this question is haunting me a lot and only the time will tell about it. My field of interest is in investment banking and I have worked on Swaptions and CDS trades although it was on generic terms. I want to explore the more of technical aspects of this field. I dont know whether I would like it or not, but I guess i will like it as long it is related to stock market. But before going for MFE I want to make sure that I have the pre-requisites. And while studying these pre-requisites I will know if MFE is the good option for me.
 
Berk Torun said:
There are a lot of high profile and professional people in this forum and their suggestions are more valuable. My humble suggestions are:
-On Coursera there are great free courses about financial mathematics and programming. Particularly I recommend the financial engineering course offered by Columbia University.
-You can take Baruch's C++ online course. It is for a decent fee. You can develop your programming skills and enhance your profile for applications.
-You might consider taking Paul Wilmott's quantitative finance certificate program.
Click to expand...
This is helpful. Thanks! :)
 
Regarding the QN C++ course (I am the originator) many students do it without any prior programming knowledge. In the case of OP it might be a major challenge.

Some preliminary exposure to programming principles is advisable, maybe VBA and Excel.
 
If your maths/programming is nearly equivalent to a (highest level) high school maths diploma, if you are really serious about it, you could go back for a B Science in maths... but obviously this is not desirable after an MBA and BComm..
 
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