MSc Finance at Imperial worth it for a BSc Econ student at LSE?
I hold an offer from Imperial College London for MSc Finance and am in my final year studying BSc Econ at LSE. Last year I completed a summer internship in trading (no job offer) and received some SA offers this year for both S+T and IB. I rejected a BB S+T offer for a IB boutique offer.
Unfortunately I was late with Master's apps and I did not apply to Oxford/Princeton.
My dilemma is this, if I do not get a FT offer this summer then:
1) Is there any point doing a MSc in Finance at all considering I have enough experience to apply for 6 month off-cycle internships etc?
2) Imperial's reputation is great in the UK and the MSc Finance course is the top in practical terms (easily comparable to Princeton's) but obviously world wide reputation is a LOT lower. Plus it places really well in S+T but not so great in IB.
Does it matter since I already have LSE on my CV?
3) Should I take a year out, apply for Oxford, Princeton? This would make me eligible for another summer internship (God help me).
4) For those of you who are wondering, I don't particularly want to do my MSc at LSE, its better to branch out your networks... right?
5) My future career goals are to work in a distressed debt HF or PE, potentially work in the US and complete an MBA from a top business school. Would Imperial MSc Finance help or hinder that goal vs Oxford/Princeton?
Yes, this is my first post, but I'm a long time follower of WSO. It would be great if some Imperial grads could share their views.
1)Yes, for UK. No, for US (you will have to get an MBA three-four years into your career) 2)With both LSE and Imperial on your CV I would be surprised if you didn't get several IB interviews. 3)What do you mean by taking a year out? 4)Change of air can be good I guess. 5)-You could start working in the UK now (without the MSc) then transfer to the US and then get an MBA. -You could try to get into Princeton MFin (I'm guessing that's the one you are interested in) and then work full- time without ever getting an MBA. -You get the Imperial MSc., get a full time over in the UK and then transfer to the US later on in your career. Either way, I don't think MSc. + MBA is the way.
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Thank you for your insight.
When I say 'take a year out' I simply mean that I will be applying for the MFin starting 2014 as opposed to starting in September 2013. This will make me eligible for another summer internship since I am effectively applying for the internship in my 'penultimate' year.
This is a viable option since its really difficult to get hired as an analyst straight up.
What would your thoughts be on completing the FSA exams during the gap?
To be honest, I had to google what that was because I had never heard of it. It seems to aimed towards people who are or want to be actuaries (risk management). From the info you've given me I don't think that's what you want to be.
If you want to try to get a professional certification that is more in line with your goals (other than the CFA) I would look at the CAIA. You can get it in a year and it's a lot more relevant for a future HF career than the FSA in my opinion.
Apologies I should have explained. FSA (Financial Services Authority) exams are the required regulatory exams that everyone who works for an investment bank must take, its a legal requirement. Their official name is CISI, although that keeps changing too, probably because the FSA will be replaced.
My query was relating to the fact that although banks pay for your training and sitting etc for these exams, should I just get them out of the way since I would have lots of free time? However I do not know how much it would cost etc (its probably a lot). Someone in UK investment banking is probably best placed to answer this particular one.
bump - it would be great to have more opinions
What about the MFin at MIT? I've understood that the MFin's in the US are quite quant, hence more aimed for trading and HF roles instead of IBD/PE?
I think the MIT course is too quant for me.
Hey sorry for not getting back to you earlier... Not sure why you would bother doing the FSA exams if you want to work in the US. About the MIT course, I don't think it is that much more quanty than the Imperial course and I think Princeton's MFin is actually more technical than both those courses. Maybe you can pm IlliniProgrammer about it (he's in the silver banana rankings), I believe he's currently at Princeton.
No need to apologise, this is after all a hypothetical scenario quite a while away.
I just assumed that I would be exempt from doing the US version of regulatory exams (I have a lack of knowledge in this area).
From reading around I was under the impression that you can make Princeton's course less quantitative by choosing certain options. Thanks for the heads up on Illiniprogrammer.
My final question to you would be do you think I should do Imperial's Mfin anyway, even if I get the job offer? From a personal point of view I know it's greatly valued by the buy side and will probably give me a head start as an analyst.
There must be existing threads on the matter - I'll search when I have more time.
Thanks again.
Keep in mind that you are eventually going to have to get Master's degree to further you career anyway. If you manage to get a full time offer this summer, I think I would take it and work for a few years. This would put you in a much better position when applying to Princeton or top business schools. An MSc + 2-3 years experience should also allow you to be able to apply to some associate positions instead of only entry-level analyst positions. Or, you could get all your studies over with and go to Imperial in September and try to get a full-time position starting in 2014. Only you can take this decision though :)
I apologize for the ignorant question, but why would you get a masters if you already have a bachelors from a top institution? Is that just the norm in the UK?
I have never come across this in banking in London.
OP what are your grades like? Are we talking high 2:1/first? Personally I don't think the MSc will add much so I wouldn't advise it, unless you need to make up for a bad academic record or you genuinely want to do it. That said, if you really don't think you can find an analyst stint I strongly agree that you need to fill your year with something that adds value to your CV. For example, if you have had any weaknesses identified in the past look to address them.
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