Duke MMS / USC MSF / Georgetown MSF which one to go for
Hi, I need some advice on choosing a Master’s program. I currently work in back office and want to transition into advisory/front-office roles. I graduated from a top 5 undergraduate Finance program and am a US resident.
Duke: Great reputation and alumni network, but the program is very short, so there are no internship opportunities.
USC MSF: Curriculum is decent and the length is ideal (1.5 years) with summer internship opportunities. But I’m not sure if I want to be all-in on the West Coast.
Georgetown: Online program with a length that allows for a summer internship. Not sure if an online Master’s is well recognized, and I don’t really like the online format. I didn’t find much information about it.
I also have an offer from Boston College MSF, but I don’t know much about that program.
I found myself in somewhat of a similar situation and this is how I thought of it (using 2023 career report data) -- Georgetown MSF placed 77% in front-office finance roles whereas Duke's MMS only had 42% go into a finance role period. Additionally, Georgetown's MSF have an average post-grad salary of $135k while Duke MMS had an average salary of $73k, which could be a testament to the strength of placements that GTown offers. Further, it (obviously) shows how much more of an emphasis the program places on finance as opposed to other general business, which may be helpful when it comes to networking with past students for advisory/front-office roles.
Regarding program operations, the online structure is a detractor. However, the benefit there is you either get to maintain a stream of income (if you do part-time) or you have the opportunity for an internship, which goes a long way. Internship placement appeared to be strong after looking at LinkedIn, I think their dedicated MSF Career Service Office was helpful. That's just my two cents, but regardless, I think front-office roles are achievable from both schools as they both offer very strong brand names.
Thanks. I definitely need to learn more about their career support. The flexibility it has also adds on the complexity about my career planning as I was so ready to quit my current job lol.
That’s valid. If you are set on leaving your current gig to pursue an MSF, you could always elect the full-time track. I’m sure that in-person component would be helpful.
I’d agree that Georgetown definitely has one of the more developed MSF programs, it’s a decent finance brand which definitely helps its grads but imo a good amount end up at MM IB’s in sectors/teams that have little chances of lateraling to better firms in the short/medium term. For a fresh graduate that couldn’t place anywhere out of ug, it can definitely provide that boost needed to secure a ft role. But if you’ve already been working for a few years you’d have a much better return on your time with an MBA. It really depends on how much u make now but if it’s less than 100k a t30 mba is clearly worth it as a career move. The path that Georgetown msf sets you on is decent however an mba will set you on a path to earn 500,000 - 1,000,000 medium to long term
After some more understanding I only gonna focus on consulting now. Do you think Georgetown places well in consulting compare to Duke? How important is the program length for consulting recuruiting? (Duke being only 1 year)
4% In IB is top tier jobs?
following
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