What do you think about the MFE degree?

fourkingsplus — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 11:37:48 -0500

I've heard that an MFE (Masters, Financial Engineering) degree is a great way to get past the shitty grunt work and long hours most people face in finance. Yet I've also heard others say that it isn't so, and that it actually puts someone farther away from the good jobs (trading, upper division quant research). What do you read to be the reality for those with this degree? Is it a good deal, or a

I'm pretty sure Aleksey Vayner doesn't exist.

fourkingsplus — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 23:56:36 -0400

The guy in the Vayner video is a second-string male model from Ukraine and a friend of game designer Mike Church who conceived or encouraged the Vayner character as the first stage of a mechanism for advertising some of his designs.

"Impossible is Nothing" was the name of a skit Mike wrote for a sketch comedy group in college. This is why I think this to be the case.

Does anyone else get sick upon realizing...?

fourkingsplus — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:42:10 -0400

Does anyone else get sick-- I mean, violently ill-- upon realizing how much worse life is for our generation than for our parents', and even moreso upon considering the fact that the Baby Boomers probably deliberately made it this way? They, after all, collect the wealth produced by IB analysts and law firm associates over 4500 hours each year. Gaining much profit from doing so, they've used divide-and-conquer methods, under the guise of "free competition", to lock most of our generation into a position of de facto slavery.

Peak Oil thread

fourkingsplus — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 22:10:21 -0400

I won't say much because I expect this thread to start itself.

Only this: We're screwed... ?

Is I-banking really worth it?

fourkingsplus — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 22:50:12 -0400

This isn't flame; it's a serious question. (I'm not an I-banker, but I considered it briefly.) It seems that the salary, while high, doesn't justify the horrible conditions and complete lact of job security. There are a lot of other ways into B-school: consulting, startups, actuarial s science. The 4-5 year analyst+B-school combo doesn't lead to exit options any better than a technical PhD program. The lifestyle is not enviable. Finally, investment bankers seem to be exactly like academics in holding the view that their profession is exalted, highly selective, and prestigious when, in fact, the rest of the world doesn't see it has having any special status: certainly respectable, but not at a level where one should be viewed as impressive for being in it.