MSF from a Engineering Background..what's the best program ?

I graduated as a civil engineer and have been working as one for almost 2 years, I honestly find the work not very satisfactory and decided to find out what I really want to do. I took some certification courses and modeling courses related to RE fin. and found them to be very interesting.

I have been looking at different options to make that switch to the RE fin./ learn more about the other avenues in finance. What MSF program would make sense for me to go into/ have a real chance of getting into it given that I have no real finance skills on my transcripts ?

I am thinking of applying to get admitted for fall 2023 and probably will be round 3 or 4 for most programs, which is not ideal given my background.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on it, thanks

 
Most Helpful

MIT is by far the top tier in the states, with Vanderbilt behind them and then a handful of schools in a distant third tier after that. 

For the tier below Vanderbilt, what ends up mattering a little more in my opinion is the alumni engagement of the school vs. the academic ranking of the program per se. I.e. I went and got an MSF from a school who's MSF-specific recruiting was absolutely garbage, BUT places really really well within other programs (Undergrad and MBA) and thus there were a lot of alums at the places I wanted to work that with a little bit of leg work I was able to get myself into recruitment flows. For this tier, I would focus on school's who have a reputation for placing well in the specific industry you want to work in. I'm not in real estate so can't opine there, but a little digging and you should be able to find what you're looking for. 

This 3rd/4th tier of MSF programs that kind of fit into this category (not exhaustive and please don't come at me if you disagree, just my opinion): UTexas, Tulane, Villanova, USC, SMU, Illinois, Minnesota.....there's also a new-ish program at UVa for non-business majors...I think it's a Masters in Commerce and you can specialize in Finance? That obviously garners you access to the UVa pipeline which is great. 

Hope this helps! 

 

The above comment is really good as far as a general understanding of the landscape so would echo what he said above. Will say that depending on your background a lot of low-mid MSF programs that are heavily international will give you a substantial scholarship if not a full ride. I ended up choosing to attend a slightly worse program so I wouldn't have to pay tuition but everyone has different criteria. Also, MSFHQ is a decent place to get a grasp of programs as well as it has some reviews that help you get a decent understanding of the overall landscape.

 

Come to the UK, there are several programs that will provide you with far more opportunities than you'd find in any non-MIT US MSF. Engineering is a very common undergrad major among my class 

 

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