School me on S&T

Im new here and i think i know nothing about this division. i'd like to know,

-how to get there

-degrees required

-is it considered a quant job? (asking this because i am studying a Bsc economics/finance so im cooked)

thank you for you responses i hope this is an alternative to classic IB 

11 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Right off the bat, S&T is not an alternative to IB. That's comparing apples to oranges. 
I'd say if you can't break into IB and think S&T is somehow an "easier" job to break into, you're wrong. Numbers wise it's probably harder to break into S&T just due to desks getting smaller. 
FInance/Economics degrees are fine. I haven't yet met someone in S&T who got a totally unrelated degree like Art History or french cuisine, but I'm sure there's at least a couple of people in the field with those types of degrees. I have seen plenty of people with STEM degrees in S&T, so if you're an applied math kinda person or an engineering type you'll be fine. 

Is it considered a quant job?
Well that depends. I mean really difficult products like exotics, derivatives, vols are inherently more quant than your average credit or commods desk. From what I've learned it's not some insane learning curve to the point that only Stanford CS guys can understand whats flashing on the screen. I mean, the goal of S&T is to manage risk and make some money while doing so. Not exactly rocket science or brain surgery.


 

 

So take my comments with a huge grain of salt. I scrolled through your profile and saw that you're Italian. Nice. I studed abroad in Italy. Almost got mugged in Naples. Rome is dirty. I like the Milanese Metro system. Anyways
I'm speaking from the perspective of an American so how we do things here are a bit different than it might work over there in the big EU. 

So really any Master's in Finance will suffice. S&T is still pretty target school based so for us the two main MFin's that a lot of kids who didn't unfortuantely get an IB or S&T offer will go to either Vanderbilit's 1 year program or Georgetown's 2 year program. The 2 year is more expensive and takes longer but you get the option of recruiting for at least one internship. We also tend to treat MFin's like an extension to undergrad/last ditch attempt to get into S&T/IB so it's right after unergrad, as a opposed to getting an MBA to pivot industries.
Outside of general MFin programs, MFE(Master's in Financial engineering) degrees are more suited for the guys and gals who want to do quant stuff like work at Jane Street and make a bazillion dollars and have incredibly high blood pressure. I think Baruch has the #1 MFE program in the country but has a crazy low acceptence rate(I think like 3 percent). MFE's are no joke, considerably more difficult to get into and you can't really stumble your way into them.
MBA's don't really help you in the same way that MBA's help people become IB associates. THe course material just doesn't really apply to S&T and you waste pretty valuable years in B-School vs being in an adjacent role like trade support, compliance, risk, trading assistant. 
 

 

Of course it's possible, and probably likely you can or will, but I there is some nuance that people tend to forget.
Usually, I like to say that the better/more targeted the school you go to is, the less your specific degree matters. For example, a Harvard English major will probably get more interviews for FO roles than a Miami of Ohio Finance major, not because they have an English major, but because they go to Harvard(assuming they do fine in their classes and aren't a total dope). People see the school first before the degree. 
Now some other nuance is whether or not your school is more club-focused/business school-focused or the school as a whole places well. Another example: if you go to NYU, that's a great school, great location, tons of alumni, easy to network, but the caveat there is that Stern makes up the vast majority of placements with a majority of those placements coming to the club. There's certainly kids from NYU Cas who work at BB's and EB's, but not going to Stern kind of locks you out of the main finance clubs and networking oppurtunities you can get only through Stern.
Now if your school doesn't have a undergrad business school, like Harvard, Northwestern, Princeton, and so on, my first point is more relevant. 
TLDR: If the whole school is a target(HYPSM) then you'll be fine, if it's really just the folks in the B-School(Stern, Kelley, etc) you might have a bit of struggle when it comes to top BB's/EB's, but really everyone kind of does when it comes to getting offers at those firms. Wouldn't feel too down, but I'd definetely grind and get at least one or two internships finance-related. Even target school graduates are struggling in this job market

 

I understand your point on the fact that an Msc is seen as a expansion of the UG the problem is that here in italy there is a culture about Ms, nobody works without a Msc, this is the same for every career.

I know we are stupid asses but that is the reality. The problem is I have Bsc in fianance, i think thats the real problem, it holds me back 

 

not the quant job as you think; you gotta think about how to add value to your client everyday and the ability to make decisions and make your book better; 

broadly speaking if you have seen the Wolf of Wall Street, it's 80% what they are doing there without the drug/sex/crazy parts. Post-covid days make the environment differnent a little bit but the goal should always be focusing on your client. 

If you are trying to start rn: figure out if you are passionate about the market in a crazy way. you dont have to be correct but you need to be confident talking about it and defending your arguments. Also know simple flow/vanilla products like what they are and how to price them.

Don't take it as an alternative to IB; completely different mindset going on; they are two forms of arts under the same bank franchise

 

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