Talo

Hey All,

I am graduating from NYU in a few weeks and trying to make a decision.

My career interests lie in Finance, especially mathematical finance and trading. The job market for finance jobs right now is terrible as there have been a tremendous amount of lay offs and I have not been able to get a job offer in that field.

I did however just receive a job offer from an interesting firm.

I would be working under 2 professors of marketings at Columbia. They have their own consulting firm, and I would be helping them do work on customer incentives and a few other business projects.

The pay is low , especially by NYC standards and it would be difficult, but possible for me to live on that salary. The main benefit is that after 2 years I would be able to get into a great grad school for my MBA.

My other option is to not work for this company and continue with schooling. It is too late for me to apply directly to a grad school program, but I am able to take coursework part-time and then apply for admission into some programs for the next year. I would like to do a masters in Mathematical Finance which I believe is more desired for these finance positions. At the same time while going part-time I would also be completing my CFA exam which is necessary in the finance field. I would be living at home while doing this so saving money on rent and other living expenses.

So, I am looking for some input. Should I go for a somewhat interesting job with low pay for the tradeoff of a very high probability of acceptance into an MBA program, or should I take some courses and do my CFA which is more applicable to the field.

Also, I should note that my undergrad GPA and coursework is pretty good, so getting into a top MBA program is a possibility even while working at a different company, while Math Fin programs care more about your math courses and nothing about your work experience. Taking these additional math courses in ODE, PDE, and Probability Theory would greatly help my admission shot.

Thank you all for your time and help.

Xerxys

Hey, before anything said and done, I'm 20 years old and I know nothing about life except from what I read and my parents tell me. Anyway, on with it, I am in the exact same boat except for a few things, I'm a natural stoner, that means, I can relate to any pot smoking airhead without having to smoke pot, and my grades are the worst train wreck in God's green earth!!

I am pretty confident the right answer is to go to school. Not only will school facilitate a future career, not just a job, where you'll be happy, but it's also an investment in yourself. Grades are never ending achievements and hence I turn to TFP to forever better myself, to join NCSU.

You wont be happy at a job, you wont even have the option of walking away when you do something good, in the corporate world you need validation. Effort and great reviews makes 98%. But what if you only have 70%?? The grades will qualify you even more. Try school, it's easier to walk out on than not trying. You'll hate yourself for it later.

If you want to work so bad, go with the interesting job that offers higher learning. Always a great Idea. That, to me, isn't low pay.

genuinegirly

Go for school.
That is, unless you're dying to live like a pauper in New York City and deprive yourself of some of the best experiences possible, due to lack of funds.

But you do have to realize I am hesitating with this advice... If you've met the guys from Columbia, and you ENJOY working with them, and you KNOW it's going to lead to better pay later, then GO FOR IT!!!!

Just make sure they won't take advantage of your ambition and leave you an empty shell.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

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surferlove007

Go for school, I've still got 2 years left for my undergrad..but I will probably go on to finish my masters. You'll make money later on, just delay it a year or so. Plus so many people say they wish they weren't graduating and could extend their college career.

levite

I would actually say take the job, go back to grad school in a couple of years. I found that a couple of years in the real world helps you mature, helps your attitude, and really helps you appreciate being in school. I worked for seven years in between college and entering into rabbinical school, and I plan to take another couple of years to teach after I'm ordained, before I go get my Ph.D.

__________________
Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.

(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)

jewels

What he said. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Take the job. Real life experience is worth so much more. Then go get your MBA.

I was once chosen for a position over several candidates with MBAs. The PhD that hired me told me he'd interviewed several MBAs who knew nothing.

__________________
We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain

amonkie

I took 2 years off in between my undergrad and going back for my grad - a lifesaving move because I have ended up switching fields.

With an MBA or other grad level degree, you are pretty much locking yourself into that field as a career. If you want to make sure its the right one for you, take the time to explore.

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

Charlatan

Work. It's more valuable in the long run.

If you still want to go to graduate school you can always go later.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

dc_dux

I am of the opinion to continue on with advanced education now. Its far more difficult to go back after you have been in the work force for a year or two.

I experienced both - went on to MPA right out of undergrad school and then started on MPM part time at night while working full time (finished it full time, after leaving my first job). It was much harder to focus on the second degree.

But I have no doubt that both provided the networking opportunities and opened doors for future employment than would not have been available.

(more advice...never post while being actively engaged in a conference call at work or you might make as little sense as I did initially with this post).

I probably would have continued as a student forever, if it paid well.

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Ustwo

Boy this poll really narrowed it down for you I'm sure.

There is only one person that can answer this one for you, and you already know who that is.

I'd ignore everyones advice here, including my own, but I'm going to give it anyways.

You need to figure out what kind of person you are. Are you self motivated, and I mean really self motivated, or do you just follow the path of least resistance in life?

If you think you are the type who can work at a real job for a couple of years and then go back to a school environment, I'd go that route. Experience and maturity will make grad school seem pretty easy compared to the real world, even if you have more homework.

If you are just always motivated, top of your class kind of guy, I'd go right into the MBA program. You will do well in anything you do, so why bother delaying the pay day by two years.

If you are a least resistance kind of guy, then I'd definitely go on to grad school right away. You might have a low paying job to start with, but its hard to go back to ramman noodles living of college once you leave it.

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Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host

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snowy

Yes, and it's easier to keep the student mindset if there is no break in between. I took a year off of school during my undergrad, and it took some effort to get back into the routine of classes and studying after working.

Personally, I'd go on to grad school, especially given the current economic climate.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

cadre

It's entirely possible to do both you know? I know many people working jobs while they finish their MBAs. Doing it through an online program helps but in person classes are not that time consuming.

As for me, I'm finishing my Bachelors right now and after that I don't plan on getting a masters. I had considered it but for Photography you don't need one unless you plan on teaching. It's not at all that way for finance though.

Get an MBA, you'll be happy you did.

__________________
My life is one of those 'you had to be there' jokes.

roachboy

i'd take the gig.
be a networky type while you get experience and out of school for a while.
think of it like an internship.

grad school will still be around later and you can do it once you know why
you're doing it.

generally, i don't think that going to grad school straight from an undergraduate is a good idea.

and a 2 year masters program is over so fast, believe it or not, that unless you are really focused going in, you may find yourself figuring out why you're there in time for your last semester. stuff like that has happened to alot of folk i know.

past that, however, the first two lines of ustwo's post above is what i'd have said.

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spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

Bear Cub

My $.02, take the job, make sure its something you're comfortable with doing for a living, and then let the job pay for at least part of your schooling down the road. I'm doing just that, and will be getting my MBA on a part-time basis.

Lubeboy

I would get job experience first. Grad school is pretty useless without job experience. There are a lot of people out there who go to grad school because they can't find a job or afraid to enter the working world after college. After grad school they usually end up working at starbucks or barnes & nobles and wonder why they can't get a real job.

dirtyrascal7

Approaching this from a return-on-investment standpoint, I don't think you can go wrong working for a couple years and then pursuing a top MBA program. The elite MBA programs will open many, many more lucrative doors for you than jumping into grad school immediately. Yes, you will have to "put in your dues" to get the experience first, but that experience combined with the recommendations you should get from those Columbia professors should definitely strengthen your MBA application significantly. It definitely isn't the easy route to take, but if you're thinking long-term, I'd definitely say it's the best option.

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Leto

yup, a bird in the hand. Take the job. You can always quit. Your course selection isn't a defined programme, so go with what is a sure thing. The experience is worth more and a lot of firms will provide training (eg my firm paid for my MBA) further down the road.