Good 1 Year Masters Programs to Break In

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lxwarr30

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Hey I’m curious if you have experience on this topic. I’m a 3.3 Ungrad Accounting Student, Working at F500, Assuming a 700+ what are good 1 year programs I should be considering.
I was looking at Masters in Management or MSF. What programs have you heard about that are good, even if it seems like a little bit of a stretch for my profile. Nothing too quant please.
 
As somebody who just finished a MSF program, I wouldn’t recommend that path. I would recommend working a bit more and just doing an MBA and go in as an Associate if you want to do IB.
From what I’ve seen it isn’t very easy to break into IB or anything like that from a Masters in Finance program. They fill the nearly all of those analyst spots from summer interns and you won’t get in as an Associate with an MSF. With a 700+ gmat and good recs you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting into a decent MBA program.
 
It depends on what you want to do. I generally agree with the previous guy regarding MBA programs. They have higher costs than say, a MSF program, but usually offer better recruitment opportunities.
I would also recommend that you look into Operations Research or similar degrees. If you get into a good program, job opportunities can be decent, from my experience.
Example: http://mse.ieor.columbia.edu/
 
OP didn’t say anything about breaking into IB, not why the second poster went off on that tangent.
Good 1 year masters? There isn’t one.
 
I wouldn’t go so far as saying there are *no* worthwhile 1-year master’s programs. I have a MS that took 1 year and resulted in my current job in trading. Of course, you should be quite selective about which programs you attend. There are probably more programs with insubstantial benefits compared to programs with real benefits.
Of course, if you think my job sucks, you might not want to take my advice.
 
iteracom Wrote:
——————————————————-
> OP didn’t say anything about breaking into IB, not
> why the second poster went off on that tangent.
>
> Good 1 year masters? There isn’t one.
I just made an assumption since you’re right he didn’t specify.
You have any better ideas about what he want he would want to break into? Not that it really matters…it isn’t easy to have a great shot breaking into anything from a 1 year program.
 
Well I heard the Duke MMS or London MMS are great for that. People discuss on MSF that are very quant which are really good, but I am not qualified for. I would like to do IB if possible but also interested in Research/Investment Management.
 
Non-quant programs - LSE, Princeton, Vanderbilt, WashU, Boston College, and maybe Villanova, University of Illinois.
 
krazy,
Can i ask where you went and why you felt it wasn’t worth the investment?
 
For obvious reasons, I’m not comfortable openly disclosing where I went, but I don’t have any problem saying why I don’t think it’s worth it.
Many of these programs (and I looked at a few of them, only US ones) cover extremely similar material as good state schools, or large private universities, do in their undergraduate programs. As I said above, almost all Analyst spots in IB firms are filled from undergrad summer analysts, leaving you fighting against a much bigger applicant pool. Also I found that most recruiters that I have spoken to don’t really know that a Masters in Finance really is, or how it differentiates you from an undergrad senior. Then some of them think you’re over qualified for an entry-level position, which really isn’t true.
I know some people who got good jobs from my program and others like it, but they are more the exception than the rule. A couple of my friends just got really lucky, others got jobs that they were a good match for. I don’t really blame anybody but myself, I mean nobody can get a job for me other than me. At the end of the day though, fewer than 1/3 of my program had jobs at graduation, so it definitely isn’t just me. I really just learned that I should have gone to a big target for undergrad and not the small liberal arts school that I went to. Then I would have had a better shot at the IB job I want out of undergrad and not be stuck with a degree that confuses most people.
 
I did the Villanova MSF, best move I made. I was already working doing corporate credit analysis on trade accounts for a Fortune 100 firm, but wanted a chance to build my resume and try to switch into the banking industry. Through Villanova I did that. The classes were great, the professors are first rate, and I loved the relationship with the students you make through the cohort format. Also, my undergrad sucked. So this was a chance to fix the academic side of my resume.
 
Black Swan Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I did the Villanova MSF, best move I made. I was
> already working doing corporate credit analysis on
> trade accounts for a Fortune 100 firm, but wanted
> a chance to build my resume and try to switch into
> the banking industry. Through Villanova I did
> that. The classes were great, the professors are
> first rate, and I loved the relationship with the
> students you make through the cohort format.
> Also, my undergrad sucked. So this was a chance
> to fix the academic side of my resume.
Congrats. I’m hoping to do something similar to this. May I ask some questions, when you were on interviews were you up agaisnt the undergrads for the same positions? Did they give you more/less/same consideration on education at that point? Did you have any of the CFAs done at that point? What did you study undergrad (if finance/accounting), was the curriculum different or more indepth?
 
tombrokaw4 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Non-quant programs - LSE, Princeton, Vanderbilt,
> WashU, Boston College, and maybe Villanova,
> University of Illinois.
Hey Tombrokaw4 - Thank you for putting down this list. I will look further into these programs, I want to come up with about 5 good school to put applications into for the next school year.
 
Black Swan,
Can you comment on the placement of your class at Villanova? I’ve been really intrigued by what I’ve heard about the program (mainly affordability and recruiting).
 
lxwarr30 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Black Swan Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > I did the Villanova MSF, best move I made. I
> was
> > already working doing corporate credit analysis
> on
> > trade accounts for a Fortune 100 firm, but
> wanted
> > a chance to build my resume and try to switch
> into
> > the banking industry. Through Villanova I did
> > that. The classes were great, the professors
> are
> > first rate, and I loved the relationship with
> the
> > students you make through the cohort format.
> > Also, my undergrad sucked. So this was a
> chance
> > to fix the academic side of my resume.
>
> Congrats. I’m hoping to do something similar to
> this. May I ask some questions, when you were on
> interviews were you up agaisnt the undergrads for
> the same positions? Did they give you
> more/less/same consideration on education at that
> point? Did you have any of the CFAs done at that
> point? What did you study undergrad (if
> finance/accounting), was the curriculum different
> or more indepth?
Searching for jobs was difficult sometimes because there wasn’t a lot of familiarity with the MSF and we were frequently in a grey area where we weren’t considered as good as the MBA’s (even though we were better) and in some cases we were viewed as overqualified for undergrad positions. You also frequently find yourself competing with guys from Wharton. Self-Initiative is a HUGE factor in how you place from that program. Placement support was great at Villanova, but at the end of the day with the MSF, it’s a good program from a school that generally gets respect and will give you the opportunity, but it’s largely dependent on the candidate. If you expect things handed to you MBA style, this is not the program for you. In the end, I got where I wanted, several of my friends landed the PE / IB / ER jobs they always wanted. In each case, they were the guys from the program that stood out for their own self-initiative and work ethic. Total graduation class was 22 people my year (100% finished that started). I had all 3 of the CFA done by the time I graduated, but just as many had no levels passed as had passed any levels. My undergrad was Business Administration. The curriculum is so much more in depth / technical and difficult than what you experience in undergrad the two aren’t even comparable. It’s not as mathy as Princeton’s MF or Carnegie’s MFin though, it’s something of a halfway between that and an MBA with finance concentration in terms of quant. MBA’s are not allowed in MSF classes, our classes were much more technical and aggressive. It mirrors the CFA material, but is just much more in depth in terms of performing research / studies and serious projects on the subject matter.
 
Swan,
About how old were you entering Nova’s MSF program? I am highly considering applying for the 2012-2013 program as I need to make a move from my current employer (1 year fulltime experience, Level 2 CFA candidate).
 
I know a few people who did the BC MSF program PT, they all worked in BO or corporate finance while entering the program. Nobody broke into a FO job after finishing the program. They’re all working on the CFA program right now in hopes of breaking into FO. They don’t regret doing the program but they did hope it would of been a better career helper.
Treasury/Fed Reserve/World Bank/IMF all recuit master public policy/administration people from Harvard & Columbia. Might want to break in that way.
But the CFA and FT MBA at top 10 or atleast top regional school is really your best bet.
 
Princeton MFin is good, MIT”s MFin is good. Sadly, both are really selective.
 
Black Swan Wrote:
——————————————————-
> lxwarr30 Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > Black Swan Wrote:
> >
> ————————————————–
>
> > —–
> > > I did the Villanova MSF, best move I made. I
> > was
> > > already working doing corporate credit
> analysis
> > on
> > > trade accounts for a Fortune 100 firm, but
> > wanted
> > > a chance to build my resume and try to switch
> > into
> > > the banking industry. Through Villanova I
> did
> > > that. The classes were great, the professors
> > are
> > > first rate, and I loved the relationship with
> > the
> > > students you make through the cohort format.
> > > Also, my undergrad sucked. So this was a
> > chance
> > > to fix the academic side of my resume.
> >
> > Congrats. I’m hoping to do something similar to
> > this. May I ask some questions, when you were
> on
> > interviews were you up agaisnt the undergrads
> for
> > the same positions? Did they give you
> > more/less/same consideration on education at
> that
> > point? Did you have any of the CFAs done at
> that
> > point? What did you study undergrad (if
> > finance/accounting), was the curriculum
> different
> > or more indepth?
>
>
> Searching for jobs was difficult sometimes because
> there wasn’t a lot of familiarity with the MSF and
> we were frequently in a grey area where we weren’t
> considered as good as the MBA’s (even though we
> were better) and in some cases we were viewed as
> overqualified for undergrad positions. You also
> frequently find yourself competing with guys from
> Wharton. Self-Initiative is a HUGE factor in how
> you place from that program. Placement support
> was great at Villanova, but at the end of the day
> with the MSF, it’s a good program from a school
> that generally gets respect and will give you the
> opportunity, but it’s largely dependent on the
> candidate. If you expect things handed to you MBA
> style, this is not the program for you. In the
> end, I got where I wanted, several of my friends
> landed the PE / IB / ER jobs they always wanted.
> In each case, they were the guys from the program
> that stood out for their own self-initiative and
> work ethic. Total graduation class was 22 people
> my year (100% finished that started). I had all 3
> of the CFA done by the time I graduated, but just
> as many had no levels passed as had passed any
> levels. My undergrad was Business Administration.
> The curriculum is so much more in depth /
> technical and difficult than what you experience
> in undergrad the two aren’t even comparable. It’s
> not as mathy as Princeton’s MF or Carnegie’s MFin
> though, it’s something of a halfway between that
> and an MBA with finance concentration in terms of
> quant. MBA’s are not allowed in MSF classes, our
> classes were much more technical and aggressive.
> It mirrors the CFA material, but is just much more
> in depth in terms of performing research / studies
> and serious projects on the subject matter.
+! everything here i did a ms in fin econ and while i have no regrets, nothing is handed to you as the market sometmes doesnt undetstand the fit of ms grads
 
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