Masters out of undergrad or S&T?
I'm seeking advice since there's an even split between the people that are advising me against doing my masters out of undergrad and the people that want me to.
I interned at this BB in the summer of 2021. I got a return offer to join the bank in the Summer of 2022 (rotational program). I would like to eventually join a trading desk in Equity Derivatives or Securitized Products, both of which are relatively quantitative products and really competitive. Alternatively, I got into a top Financial Engineering program where I could get my quantitative skills up to par and understand various asset classes from an academic and practical pov.
As for my background, I'm an international student studying Maths and Economics at a Liberal Arts college. I know how to code but I lack practice and I'm no expert (only took Data Structures). Got a relatively bad fall semester so I'm worried I might not be able to get into the Masters two years from now (after the S&T gig). Now, my worry is to not be able to join a good desk because of my sub-par coding skills and lack of academic foundation. I would eventually like to join a prop shop or hedge fund later in life.
What do you think I should do and why? Thank you.
Take the job and ask to defer a year from the program.
1. You make some money to help pay for school instead of going into debt (even if thats not a concern and you have family money for school, having your own income is always a good thing)
2. Get some work experience to see if this is something you really do want to do.
3. Getting a top tier job is more difficult than getting into a good masters program.
4. If the program allows you to defer its a free option.
In the meantime, try to spend some free time improving your programming skills.
Hey thanks for the advice! If deferring isn’t an option, should I still go for my S&T offer?
I'd still say yes. I work in energy trading and didn't go the bank route so my career path will be a little different but I declined a free financial engineering masters (no deferment option) to take a job as a trading analyst and then didn't go back to school for another 10 years. It worked out well for me and the only reason I went back to school (and found this site) is because I decided I wanted to consider doing something different for my career and had the money to pay for school. Your path will be different but if you already have the job that you think you want, why give it up and take a risk to go back to school to try to get the same job in a year or two?
Much harder getting into a S&T seat at BB than getting a Master's. The Master's isn't going to open you any doors that trading would not. Once you get comfortable in your job you can do a part-time program.
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
Since you get a quantitative desk straight out of undergrad, I'd assume your team projection is that you will be able to thrive in their team. If I were you, I would take the challenge and prove myself. MFinEng programs in the US are usually popular for top international students (usually from China) who didn't recruit for S&T during their undergrad years.
Best of luck!
Sorry if my message was confusing but I do not have an offer to join a quantitative desk next year. In fact, I might be placed in Research/Strategy/Structuring or Trading. The uncertainty relative to where I will end up is the reason why I would like to hone my skills and be a better applicant for the more quantitative desks after my master's.
As for the top international students from China/France/Italy, they'll be pretty hard to beat during recruiting if I need to compete with students in the same program for jobs. I think WinnerWinner is right and the best thing to do is to defer the masters if I can.
Best of luck mate!
Strategy and Structuring is definitely on the “above average” in terms of quantiness across the floor. Trading depends solely on the desk.
I’ll be joining the structuring desk next year and we can share resources if you’d like to! Feel free to PM me (since you’re anonymous).
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