Financial Engineering 
I remember being on north campus (Michigan) in the media union wondering what the hell that strange room was for with all the stock tickers on the walls....what I didn't know then was that this cold dark room was used for the financial engineers.
All I know is that it was always empty...
I remember thinking how silly and strange a major that must have been, and continued walking back to join my fellow bleary eyed chemE's as we attempted to simulate a three effect evaporator in excel (read: do shit that in excel that would cause many of my coworkers' heads to explode)....but I digress....
So, what is one to make of this strange beast "financial engineering"? Anyone go through it as an undergrad? A friend of mine has a son who wants to go to the big block M to be an engineer and he was asking me about it the other day.....I didn't really know what to tell him about it.
Any input?
















http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_engineer
by aspiringmonkeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_engineer
Okay, that's a start, I was
by ChemEtoVCOkay, that's a start, I was more looking for qualitative input as to how well received this major typically is.
I mean, Michigan is a great engineering school, but frankly our econ department has the combined IQ of a raisin
Then again, I keep
by ChemEtoVCThen again, I keep forgetting that all you Ivy kids were soc majors and such and thus have no idea what I'm talking about....
Chem, if the kid
by IBAspirantChem, if the kid enjoys math and is thinking about a career in finance, that's probably the best route he can embark on.
There are many shops (read hedge funds) that look for such people. Though I'm not a quant, I've always been drawn to that world. The people are very smart and not usually a superficial bunch doing the hyped-up subtraction/addition jobs, shuffling papers around and thinking about watches, cufflinks, etc. (no slight toward other memebers intended).
Heh!! Good one IBA, I
by ChemEtoVCHeh!! Good one IBA, I couldn't agree with you more. Unless the lad has interests that lean more toward the LSA side of life, I think that he should just pick any engineering major he would like and go for it, if for the excel skills if nothing else!