Which certifications are worth getting while studying MSF

I will be enrolled in WUSTL's MSF quant track for the next year and half, and I am thinking about getting as many certifications as possible while at school. Considering the limited time I can allocate toward studying for the exams, I am just carious as to which of the following certifications are worth getting if the objective is to obtain an financial analyst position upon graduation?

The first 3 are the ones I think that are really worth it:
1. CFA
Well I considered this one as mandatory.
2. FRM
3. CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst)

I'm not so sure about these:
4. CMT (Certified Market Technician)
This seems to be for someone aiming for a trader position instead of a analyst?

5. CFP (Certified Financial Planner)
Again not needed for an analyst?

6. CMA(Certified Management Accountant)
Is this one for people aiming for managerial positions?

And then there are these 2 that seems to overlap with the CFA
7. CIIA
This is said to to be the European version of CFA.
8. LIFA
Investopedia claims that LIFA(Lv3) > MBA + CFA + CFP, but then there are other people saying this one is too low profile and not worth it.

Lastly I would to ask, what are some good excel certifications?
I know there's the Microsoft Office Specialist, and there's another one from Bloomberg, but these seem a bit elementary as I actually can write a bit VBA code. Are there any higher level excel certifications out there?

I know that's a lot of questions. I greatly appreciate anyone who can shine some light on this topic.

7 Comments
 
Best Response

Agree with previous posts that a programming language (C++, C#) is critical if you want to become a serious quant. Some DB experience (SQL) is also useful in terms of manipulating huge data effectively.

CFA: good as a general investment management designation, but not strictly that useful for a pure quant role FRM: moderately regarded for some risk-based quant roles at the margin. PRM is an equivalent and actually more highly rated by some of the elite quant shops

The others are a waste of time and money imho, especially for a quant career trajectory.

 

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