COMPARE LSE vs Columbia

[casvel]

Is anybody familiar with the MSc Finance and Economics program at the London School of Economics and Political Science? Does the LSE brand name mean anything in the US? I'm trying to choose between this and Columbia MSFE. As far as I can tell the LSE program appears to offer broader options in Investment Banking, and still has a strong quantitative slant (even though it's not really a quant program per se). I already have a strong background in mathematics (not financial though) and I'm thinking that with this many quant roles would still be accessible for me, but the opposite is not true, i.e. some less quantitative roles in IB would be out of reach with FE. Am I missing something? And which kind of program holds better promise in terms of salary/compensation?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

You need to make up your mind on where you want to work and what types of job you would like to get. You can't study in London and use that as an advantage for a job in NYC when you compete with thousands local candidates.

 

[Connor]

Andy is right. If you want to work in NYC right after completing your masters then go to Columbia. LSE is a great university and recognized in the US, but you would probably need to work in London first (if your goal was ultimately to be in NYC).

 

[casvel]

Thanks Andy and Connor for your comments. Certainly I'd aim to work wherever I go to study, whether it's London or New York - both have pros and cons for me. But what I'm trying to get at is essentially: which kind of program would get me "closer to the money" in terms of jobs, considering I have a PhD in math but little experience in finance or programming? Whatever I choose will mean giving up a good job in a rather different area so it's only worthwhile if the compensation is very good, at least in the medium term. My main problem is that I'm not sufficiently familiar with the financial services industry to gauge the differences in potential job offers between the two courses. To address one half of the question: how much would you say that somebody who is 35, straight out of Columbia MSFE with a math PhD and limited directly relevant experience can reasonably aim to make in NYC?

 

[Connor]

Have you tried to get a job with just your PhD?

I would think with a math PhD you wouldn't need a MFE, and could just teach yourself the basics.... But if you want to do another masters, go with LSE. The MSFE will be more quantitative but will cover things that you should already know or should be able to pick up on your own. The MSc will have some of that quantitative stuff but also more general finance/economics things which I assume you aren't as familiar with.

 

[DominiConnor]

Actually, I part company a bit with Andy, the LSE is one of the few British universities that most educated Americans have heard of.
There's a whole pile of work visa shit of course which makes this more complex.

What sort of maths did you do on your PhD ?