Begin with the End in mind!

Before considering an MBA program or any new direction in life, you have to begin by first visioning where you want to be. My end: I see myself with a career in capital markets making huge paychecks, and living comfortably while maintaining valuable contacts that I could leverage in the future. I also see myself as being entrepreneurial-managing my own hedge fund. However, for me to realize this dream, I need resources, new skills, knowledge, and a focused network. My start: applying to top-tier business programs, researching and learning about the industry, networking with investment professionals by attending finance functions, etc. (Working towards my end starts today, not when I start business school).

After receiving the phone interview invite for IE's Mater in Advanced Finance program, I decided to research the range of careers that would be accessible to me that would not be accessible to someone pursuing the general management route of an MBA; at the end of the program, I would hold a quantitative MSc in Advanced Finance from a top tier program, and be proficient in Financial Programming using Visual Basic and MATLAB. By performing a simple Google Search for Quant Careers, I learned that quant analysts are in high demand in the investment banking world and require technical skills in MATLAB, Visual Basic, SQL, Java, and C++. Already I have learned that a discrepancy between the program's courses and what firms look for in quant analysts. To bridge this gap, I googled further to learn about C++, Java, and SQL training programs; good thing I decided to do this small bit of research because it proved to be extremely valuable. These program skills taught to PhDs can be learned online free of charge (www.cplusplus.com offers an online community dedicating to learning C++)! And I can become proficient in SQL and Java by taking free courses at work! Also, Amazon.com has programing learning books with DVDs for mastering programming is these languages as it relates to finance and derivatives, each for less than $50! Fortunately for me I have some understanding of Visual Basic and C++ because I took these courses is high school (I earned As).

So, if I were to accept an offer from IE's Master in Advanced Finance program, I could learn these valuable skills before the program start date. And I could practice and maintain these technical skills during the program to distinguish myself from my peers in the eyes of recruiters.

These careers are very lucrative with average starting bases salaries ranging from $150,000 to $350,000 with bonuses ranging from 40% to 100%. One step at a time-I still have to complete the phone interview.