Financial engineering is one of the newly sprung courses which require an individual to be the jack of all trades. While this career demands in-depth knowledge of finance, it further needs a professional to be proficient in subjects like applied mathematics, statistics and theory.
In this writeup, we discuss a complete guide to becoming a financial engineer and achieving your dream job after completing a course in financial engineering.
Who is a Financial Engineer?
Financial engineer as per experts is responsible for studying and analysing the market behaviour and in response to them devise various risk mitigation model. While the task seems easy, it often takes weeks for a financial engineer, alongside a deep understanding of applied mathematics to come up with a model which can accurately predict market behaviour.
These financial engineers further are required to know economics, as it is crucial for them to be able to understand various factors which control the market and its trends.
Career Options After A Course in Financial Engineering
A course in financial engineering opens up a plethora of options for any individual. Below we have mentioned a list of roles you can take once you complete your course in financial engineering:
- Risk Analyst
- Portfolio Manager
- Corporate Finance Adviser
- Derivative Analyst
- Financial Regulator
What Do You Need To Study?
Financial engineering lately is being taught in many prestigious universities. However, these universities demand a candidate to be a graduate in one of the below-mentioned disciplines:
- Finance
- Stats
- Maths
- Physics
Which Universities Can I Study In?
As we mentioned before, there are many universities which provide a course in financial engineering. The top 5 of them are discussed below:
- Columbia University
- New York University
- Princeton University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- The University of California, Berkley
Financial Engineering Basic Skills
You necessarily need to master and have an interest in mathematics, finance and computer science if you want to succeed as a financial engineer. Some of the concepts which you need to master include:
- Linear Algebra
- Probability and Statistics
- Numerical Linear Algebra
- Portfolio Theory
- Accounting
- Financial Modelling
- Financial Statement Analysis
- C++
- MATLAB
- Python
How Much Can You Earn?
Financial domain though a new discipline offers the experts in the field with attractive packages. According to a report by Payscale, a financial engineering expert earns a median salary of $89,000 per annum.
Depending upon the maximum experience salary drawn by a financial engineering expert can go up to $150,000 per annum. Aside from this, the employers in this industry offer a variety of perks such as insurance, house rent allowances etc.
How Can You Earn More?
To earn more as a financial engineer, the experience is of utmost importance. Aside, from this, research shows the experts in financial modelling are in demand by most Wall Street companies.
Try securing an internship during the early days of your career and once you have mastered the art you can go around asking the salary of your choice.
Financial engineering is a dynamic field where you need to be on a continuous pursuit of learning. The more you learn, the more you will earn in this domain.
