MBA v/s MFE(MSCF)

Hi,
I'm 24 yrs old, IIT graduate from India with 3.5 GPA.Currently(~8 months) working in a sell-side firm(GS/MS/JP), with prior 1.5 yrs experience in Fortune 500 firm Risk Mgmt/Analytics firm. Need to decide if I should be focussing on MBA or MFE programs. My aim is to get into hedge funds, trading domain. Or an MS in data science would be more useful to achieve this?

Thanks a lot.

 
Best Response

Berkeley MFE here. MBA certainly offers better networking opps, whereas MFE/MFM programs can instill in you practical skills and knowledge. Having said that, in terms of actual trading and the acumen needed to become a trader, no program can really teach you that -- that's something you'll pick up on-the-job once you get into trading.

If you have sufficient technical background, I'd recommend MFE/MFM programs which are typically 1-1.5 yrs, and your internship during your graduate study will pretty much determine where you end up after graduation.

If you're really set on going into trading, and in particular at HFs, then aim for a trading internship during the program, and if you do well / they like you, then you're all set!

Same could be said of the above for MBA, but MBAers are generally not as technical/quantitative as the MFE/MFM crowd, so it all depends on what you want to get out of your studies and what kind of role you want to land afterward. In particular, if you want to pursue more of a quant/quant-oriented trading role, I'd highly suggest you pursue MFE/MFM over an MBA.

 

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