Best thing to do is to trade at home full time,if you can of course make money.You can live anywhere you want.You can trade from the beach in the Caribbean if you want.You don't have to deal with the daily NYC grind and be packed in the subway sardine cans.You don't have to pay $1 million for a 1 bedroom condo.Besides,good jobs are hard to come by.I know a finance phd that struggled for 2 years getting a job in NYC.She finally found a job...selling advertising services to chiropractors.HUGE step down.I would say save the $500k for 2 years and invest that money so you never have to work again.I mean how much shit does one really need to buy anyway.I think being free and spending time doing what you love and with the family is what matters most in life.
Stanford MBA vs Berkeley Financial Engineering
- Thread starter StocksSniper
- Start date
If you are in you mid 20's and have an MBA from Stanford finding a job will not be an issue. It is an almost sure ticket to success -- assuming you have some drive and brains. Like everyone you will work hard for a few years and then begin to ease up a bit as you gain seniority -- not so much in hours worked as in the shift from micro issues to macro ones.
There are many more successful MBA's -- from good schools -- in this world than traders. From a purely financial perspective that ticket is hard to beat.
Are you saying that your part-time trading income is $150K to $200K per year, or that your total income, including trading, is that amount? Also, since these things are relative, could you please give an indication of the your trading account size? Next, what constitutes "part-time" for you? How many hours per day or per week are you talking about? And finally, how long have you been consistently profitable?
And is that your story ?
Finding a job is never an issue. The issue is what type of job will you get. I know a bunch of laid off, unemployed Stanford MBA's that had their careers wrecked by the tech downturn - no I'm not one of them.
If the MBA is free and you are not making any money or have no career then sure, go for the MBA. If you already have an established career and no offer to give you 200K to go to school then I would not bother and concentrate on making money.
Dont listen to the people here who are telling you that the MBA is an automatic ticket to riches and a career: it is not and you need to think about that before you spend 200K of your own money - assuming you are footing the bill.
An MBA from a Stanford or a Harvard or Wharton opens doors. Be fair it does. The doors that it opens in the finance world will pay around $150-$200 to start these days. Salary goes up from there.
What you do after/how you manage your career is up to you. In the long run, it always comes down to a mix of talent and some luck in the end.
The cost/benefit when I went was very different. My tuition was only $15K/year. At $60K/year + now it is a lot less clear cut to me. However, if you are smart and have talent, I am sure it will rapidly pay for itself.
Remember, you don't really keep 100% of that $150K -- taxes, discretionary spending, etc.. take a bite.
Wow... sometimes this site makes me realize just how non-unique I am.
This guys question is something I am wrestling with right now. I am about to stop trading full-time (yearly take of about 150,000 to 225,000) and take a full-time job with a great company that only pays 90K and try trading part time to make up the difference. But then I thought, why not just go to business school and try and really make a go of getting a career in trading.
In other words, I don't have an answer. All I know is that I have had fairly consistent profitability for the last five years and a guaranteed 90K plus extra from trading seems to beat the ever more elusive 200K and massive stress of trading.
Good luck in your decision.
This guys question is something I am wrestling with right now. I am about to stop trading full-time (yearly take of about 150,000 to 225,000) and take a full-time job with a great company that only pays 90K and try trading part time to make up the difference. But then I thought, why not just go to business school and try and really make a go of getting a career in trading.
In other words, I don't have an answer. All I know is that I have had fairly consistent profitability for the last five years and a guaranteed 90K plus extra from trading seems to beat the ever more elusive 200K and massive stress of trading.
Good luck in your decision.
EeK!
An MBA and a career in trading don't mix very well imo. I found very little overlap -- statistics mostly and basic finance about derivatives, etc..
If you want to be an I-Banker get an MBA. If you want to be a fundamental analyst get an MBA or a CFA. If you want to be a quant get a Phd -- the MFE is a very poor cousin.
If you want to be a trader work for a fund or on a desk for experience. Learn how to start your own fund and use the OPM concept.
just my $02.
There is no doubt about it, the MBA degree from a prestigious school such as Stanford will open doors.
However, the strength of the Economy is the single most important factor that dictates how valuable the MBA from a top school is. Only in just the past year has the MBA seen a pick-up in demand and a strengthening in salaries from the past several years in which the Economy was seen as "weak" by potential employers; with these same employers able to hire more experienced candidates to fill positions at lower salaries due to the soft Economy. Moreover, MBA grads in the class of 2005 are finding that the hottest areas for employment have shifted, and that the best jobs today are in fields that most newly minted MBA's wouldn't have even considered 5 or 10 years ago.
Right now, the tuition at Stanford for an MBA is $41,340 for the current 9-month academic year ending in June of 2006. Add another $18,700 for living being single and living on campus, + another $3,540 for books and supplies, and another $1,791 for medical insurance . . . and you are looking at roughly $67,000 per year, for a 20-month program.
I believe that two-thirds of the students in the MBA program receive some sort of financial aid via loans, and one-half of the MBA students receive fellowship funds.
The real issue lies in the timing of your graduation and what kind of Economy is out there . . .
What sectors are the hottest?
Etc.
For example, do not even think about going the Wall Street Research Analyst route unless you want to start off working 80-100 hour weeks for only $75,000 + bonus. The days of investment banks and brokers paying big money for junior analyst positions out of business school are over.
Obviously, the emphasis on I-Bank careers and Venture Capital careers has seen a dramatic drop off, from 12% of graduates back in 2000 for both fields, to 5% and 2% respectively in 2005.
I believe that the Career Management Center at Stanford will tell you that the base pay has risen roughly 8% for the MBA Class of 2005 to $105,000, up from an average starting salary of $97,000 in 2004.
As is usually the case, more than 25% of Stanford's Class of 2005 ( 307 total students ) are taking positions in the Consulting field.
The tough part is getting in.
The Stanford MBA School gets about 5,800 full-time applicants and typically only about 8% are accepted.
Best of Luck to You!
However, the strength of the Economy is the single most important factor that dictates how valuable the MBA from a top school is. Only in just the past year has the MBA seen a pick-up in demand and a strengthening in salaries from the past several years in which the Economy was seen as "weak" by potential employers; with these same employers able to hire more experienced candidates to fill positions at lower salaries due to the soft Economy. Moreover, MBA grads in the class of 2005 are finding that the hottest areas for employment have shifted, and that the best jobs today are in fields that most newly minted MBA's wouldn't have even considered 5 or 10 years ago.
Right now, the tuition at Stanford for an MBA is $41,340 for the current 9-month academic year ending in June of 2006. Add another $18,700 for living being single and living on campus, + another $3,540 for books and supplies, and another $1,791 for medical insurance . . . and you are looking at roughly $67,000 per year, for a 20-month program.
I believe that two-thirds of the students in the MBA program receive some sort of financial aid via loans, and one-half of the MBA students receive fellowship funds.
The real issue lies in the timing of your graduation and what kind of Economy is out there . . .
What sectors are the hottest?
Etc.
For example, do not even think about going the Wall Street Research Analyst route unless you want to start off working 80-100 hour weeks for only $75,000 + bonus. The days of investment banks and brokers paying big money for junior analyst positions out of business school are over.
Obviously, the emphasis on I-Bank careers and Venture Capital careers has seen a dramatic drop off, from 12% of graduates back in 2000 for both fields, to 5% and 2% respectively in 2005.
I believe that the Career Management Center at Stanford will tell you that the base pay has risen roughly 8% for the MBA Class of 2005 to $105,000, up from an average starting salary of $97,000 in 2004.
As is usually the case, more than 25% of Stanford's Class of 2005 ( 307 total students ) are taking positions in the Consulting field.
The tough part is getting in.
The Stanford MBA School gets about 5,800 full-time applicants and typically only about 8% are accepted.
Best of Luck to You!