Hi there,
I appreciate taking the time to read this.
I am currently a Mathematics and Economics undergraduate student who is deciding which masters’ programme to do. I have narrowed down my decision to a ‘Finance’ MSc programme and a ‘Financial Analytics and Risk Management’ MSc programme. The two are practically identically in terms of content.
Essentially, with how similar the programmes are my decision boils down to choosing based off what sounds better on my CV. I am not 100% certain which exact role within the world of finance I want to pursue, which partly makes me lean towards the broader title of ‘Finance MSc’. However part of me also thinks the ‘Financial Analytics and Risk Management’ title sounds slightly more technical and may differentiate me slighly more at first glance.
I just wanted to hear any thoughts on this matter and any suggestions.
Regards,
Aaron
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Hi, my preference would be Msc Finance, which I have. Anything to do with accounting would be a no for me, anyhow you can take the course and study the other at home. Without relevant experience any would present a lot to learn anyhow. Prepare upfront the key topics so you know what is discussed at the lectures. I did not do that so it was a challenge for me to follow. Good luck Ed
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Hi Aaron
First of all you have to do your homework and be able to comfortably answer question
Such as why Finance, what role am I interested in, trading risk management or investment banking, or a hybrid of both, read extensively on both of all these areas to establish whether you’re interested in these areas and most importantly whether you have the aptitude to succeed if you find any topic boring and not engaging, move on, life is too short spending hours working on things you find boring…
Secondly you need to establish whether your target employers actually recruit from these courses, otherwise you might as well save your money, as they say, if I had a dollar for the number of candidates I see who think that they can waltz into a Finance career based on some Finance MSc
Thirdly from the onset you have to realise that the stars are not aligned in your favour, AI and a saturated and shrinking market make securing a role which was already challenging even more so, consequently you have to be thinking how can I stand out from the crowd what hard and soft skill sets can I acquire that will differentiate my talent offering…..
In short learn, learn, learn and don’t rely solely on qualifications…..
Good luck
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It all depends whether you want to work in analytics and risk or somewhere else. Broad finance is best if you’re not sure and may give you an opportunity to specialise (which modules are available?). But be warned: many of these finance MScs are worthless and won’t get you a job. Look very hard at alumni and where they are working before you commit
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I second the advice to go for a “broader” degree and choose electives that allow you to deep dive. You can always take the FRM exam for risk management-specific bona fides. But, also, choose an academic institution with a good brand reputation (prestige, for the ATS filters) and an excellent Career Services office with a mission to land as many graduates into jobs as possible (check out the KPIs for securing jobs, talk to alumni, etc.). I have a neighbour who asked me for help who will soon be graduating from a decent, at least I thought, business school; he told me his Career Services office doesn’t do much to help students land jobs, and I was flabbergasted. School is too expensive from a financial and opportunity cost (time) perspective to not have a Career Services office aggressively helping you out.