COMPARE Stat@UC Berkeley vs. MSMF@Chicago

[Ethanned]

Currently I have these two programs which I can attend.

The Chicago MSMF program is too short for me(9 months), I worry that under current circumstances it would be hard for me to find decent paid jobs after graduation. And from what I've heard, they don't pay much attention to career service.

Now I tend to join the UCB Statistics M.A. program. But I wonder, would it be hard for me to find financial related jobs after graduation? Is it essential for me to complete a PhD program in Finance or whatever in order to be competent against those NYU and CMU MFE program graduates? I do set my mind on working in Hedge Fund or big investment banks.

Any comments and suggestions are welcomed.

 

[Jingxuan]

I would go for Stat in Berkeley(of course I never face that choice ) for a boarder selection of future career fields.
given the bleak current quant market, mfe is chased after too much. suppose one is good enough in networking, he/she
might need not master a good understanding of BS model to land on a job in Finance industry.
if stat graduate from Columbia can work in an IB doing quantitative, so can those from Berkeley.

 

[Ethanned]

I would go for Stat in Berkeley(of course I never face that choice ) for a boarder selection of future career fields.
given the bleak current quant market, mfe is chased after too much. suppose one is good enough in networking, he/she
might need not master a good understanding of BS model to land on a job in Finance industry.
if stat graduate from Columbia can work in an IB doing quantitative, so can those from Berkeley.

Thanks for the advice
The finance industry do seems a little overly saturated.
The courses in Berkeley are very rigorous, I figured it would be the best for me to obtain a PhD degree
after my M.A. Program. Thus, it would be a long time before I work in the field. Is it worth it ?

 

[Jingxuan]

I don't know..
it's definitely worth spending several years for a phd. As I know, there are ppl who "retire" from the street
to pursue a phd in finance or math. but other ppl may think otherwise.
I think when you finish your master, or sooner, say on the second semester, you will have your perspective on it.

 

[Ethanned]

I don't know..
it's definitely worth spending several years for a phd. As I know, there are ppl who "retire" from the street
to pursue a phd in finance or math. but other ppl may think otherwise.
I think when you finish your master, or sooner, say on the second semester, you will have your perspective on it.

Thx~

 

[AV-Wolverine]

I'm in the exact same situation. I'm choosing Michigan Stat over Chicago MSFM and other MFE programs ranked a little lower.

And my reasoning was the exact same:
- longer program with potential for internship
- broader field of study
- MFE programs are saturated
- stat can get into quant finance roles anyway


Does anyone else have suggestions?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Make sure whatever programs you end up going into, don't forget to keep your programming skills sharp. That would be your ticket into quant finance and bread/butter for a long time.

 

[Ethanned]

The Berkeley stat program has been "enhanced" into a 1-year program, which according to them, will now have a professional training component in addition to its existing academic one..........

 

[Jacob Baumbach]

Ethanned,
I'm currently a sophomore and looking into the ma in stats at Berkeley. If you would not mind may you please post your gap, classes you took, etc to give me a gauge as to what they are looking for please. Thanks for your time.

 

[martingaletrader]

I would advise against Berkeley. If you want to do finance go do an MFE. General stat is not a gateway to finance. Do it if you are serious about statistics and that it is not restricted to finance. Most people will want to do stat to get those million dollar jobs in big banks. Well then it makes sense to go to the source NY. Actually finance industry is in a problem but on the other hand you can do engineering or computer science - more readily accepted in finance.