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Career decision/Tulane Master of Finance (flask and greenspan)

Posted on 6/25/10 at 7:35 pm
Posted by Tigerbait46
Member since Dec 2005
8050 posts
Posted on 6/25/10 at 7:35 pm
Bare with me if this gets long. I'd really appreciate advice from those who are knowledgeable in this area.

After realizing how long my post was getting, I made a condensed version instead:

I'm a finance major at LSU (grad May '11) interning in the internal audit dept of an energy company. IA is alright, definitely has its upsides, one of which includes a great shot at job after graduation.

Company I'm interning with has its own trading floor and as I become more familiar with it, I become fascinated and spend time researching energy trading/various finance topics. Might pursue instead of IA but slight lack of knowledge/experience despite being a finance major.

Should I ditch IA completely? Use it as fall back plan? Continue pursuit and downplay what might just be a "phase" or pipedream?

If I choose to ditch IA, what is the best thing I can do to pursue a future in energy trading or even more broadly, a career in finance?

possible paths to take:

I can take extra FIN classes for the next two semesters, network, work my arse off and try to find a relevant internship/job after graduation.

or

do the same but instead try to get into Tulane MFIN program, which is probably pretty damn tough to get into.


Any advice or general comments?

What are the admission requirements for Tulane's grad program?

This post was edited on 6/28/10 at 8:38 pm
Posted by kfizzle85
Member since Dec 2005
22022 posts
Posted on 6/25/10 at 7:40 pm to
If you want to do energy trading, Tulane (and Texas has been mentioned) is the answer. If you have a 3.2+ and get a half decent gmat you will get in. BobSacamano can tell you more he's doing it at Tulane undergrad right now. ETA: TheHiddenFlask and Greenspan can give you advice about career prospects in finance from LSU.
This post was edited on 6/25/10 at 7:41 pm
Posted by Tigerbait46
Member since Dec 2005
8050 posts
Posted on 6/25/10 at 7:51 pm to
quote:

If you want to do energy trading, Tulane (and Texas has been mentioned) is the answer. If you have a 3.2+ and get a half decent gmat you will get in. BobSacamano can tell you more he's doing it at Tulane undergrad right now. ETA: TheHiddenFlask and Greenspan can give you advice about career prospects in finance from LSU.


Thanks for the response.

GPA is hovering just below a 3.2 (kick myself everyday for this) but with full commitment my senior year, I will surpass a 3.2. What would you consider a half-decent GMAT score?



Posted by kfizzle85
Member since Dec 2005
22022 posts
Posted on 6/26/10 at 4:58 pm to
630ish.
Posted by TulaneTigerFan
Seattle
Member since Sep 2005
35856 posts
Posted on 6/27/10 at 1:10 pm to
Tulane is an excellent choice if you're interested in energy trading. Here's a CNBC video on the trading program at TU:

LINK
Posted by Tigerbait46
Member since Dec 2005
8050 posts
Posted on 6/28/10 at 8:37 pm to
bump
Posted by LSUtoOmaha
Nashville
Member since Apr 2004
26719 posts
Posted on 6/28/10 at 9:48 pm to
How long is the energy trading masters program?
Posted by layingpipelikeDB50
Member since Jun 2010
213 posts
Posted on 6/28/10 at 10:57 pm to
frick IA. Go big or go home. And while your at it, man up, throw down $1110 and start CFA level 1.
Posted by Tigerbait46
Member since Dec 2005
8050 posts
Posted on 6/28/10 at 11:23 pm to
quote:

How long is the energy trading masters program?


10 months i believe
Posted by TheHiddenFlask
The Welsh red light district
Member since Jul 2008
18384 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 8:13 am to
Tulane and it's a no brainer.

If you are already having second thoughts about IA, you are going to hate it and want to get out so badly it will hurt in a few years.

Worst case scenario, you can always go back and find an IA job.
Posted by Jason9782003
Member since Aug 2007
3724 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 8:18 am to
What's the job placement and starting salary range for MFIN majors from Tulane concentrating in the energy sector?

I would love to go to Tulane for a MFIN, but I'm making $77k a year right now and it's tough to quit that in this economy to go back to school full-time. I still think getting the MFIN may give me a bigger ROI in the long-run. Any info is appreciated. Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread.
This post was edited on 6/29/10 at 8:29 am
Posted by Bob Sacamano
Houston, TX
Member since Oct 2008
5294 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 9:34 am to
If you want to trade energy, Tulane is the place. You can get an Energy certificate and that will pretty much make you a lock for any energy trading job. The trading room is first class and Tulane has just formed a partnership with the CME group.

I love it and am really glad I did it.

I think the MFIN program is easier to get into than the MBA program. I don't know why but that is the consensus.

ETA: The energy program is part of your electives. The current courses are Energy market fundamentals, Energy trading, Risk Management or Burkenroads, Power Markets trading and fundamentals, and Advanced Energy trading.

I think they are going to add more options in the future.
This post was edited on 6/29/10 at 9:37 am
Posted by SouthOfSouth
Baton Rouge
Member since Jun 2008
43577 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 1:17 pm to
I was in a similiar situation this time last year... I didnt know whether to do Tulanes masters Finance or LSU's...

To be honest with you LSU's is ranked higher and cost 27k less for the degree, but Tulane does a better job of placing students into jobs. I couldn't really afford that Tulane tuition and N.O. living expenses, but if I could have I woulda gone there. It isn't very hard to get in there though. I got in easy. They just did a phone interview and emailed me 2 days later said I was accepted with a bit of financial help, just not enough.

If money isn't an issue it would be good to see the Finance world through a different perspective than just LSU. That being said, there are still good networking possibilities through LSU and you can work on your CFA 1 if you want to manage peoples money at LSU and get class credit.
This post was edited on 6/29/10 at 1:18 pm
Posted by TulaneTigerFan
Seattle
Member since Sep 2005
35856 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 1:26 pm to
quote:

To be honest with you LSU's is ranked higher


You got a link for that? Tulane's finance grad program was ranked top 10 in the world in 2007 and 2008 by Financial Times.

eta: I know that it is not nearly that good. Just saying that it's not exactly shabby.
This post was edited on 6/29/10 at 1:29 pm
Posted by TheHiddenFlask
The Welsh red light district
Member since Jul 2008
18384 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 1:48 pm to
quote:

ranked higher


means a whole lot less than

quote:

placing students into jobs.


LSU's MBA program has some badass rankings, but those are pretty much worthless when half the students they are graduating aren't getting jobs.

I'd be happy with a SUNO MBA if it got me a badass job when I graduated.
Posted by kfizzle85
Member since Dec 2005
22022 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 1:51 pm to
Kige. Job is the only thing that matters, period.
Posted by TheHiddenFlask
The Welsh red light district
Member since Jul 2008
18384 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 2:22 pm to
quote:

Job is the only thing that matters, period.


Once you have work experience, the importance of where you went to school decreases drastically, so I would say that getting your students jobs is 70% or more of the value in a grad school program.
Posted by Jason9782003
Member since Aug 2007
3724 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 2:56 pm to
quote:

You got a link for that?


LINK

I think he was probably refering to this. Look at the table to the right labeled "Regional Ranking". They have LSU #7 and Tulane #48. I'm not sure how they came up with these rankings, but I wouldn't put much weight into them.
This post was edited on 6/29/10 at 2:59 pm
Posted by TheHiddenFlask
The Welsh red light district
Member since Jul 2008
18384 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 3:04 pm to
quote:

I'm not sure how they came up with these rankings, but I wouldn't put much weight into them.


Pretty much garbage.

I'm pretty sure that's an MBA ranking, not an MFIN ranking and I don't know what kind of special olympics rankings "regional recruiters" are making, but BYU being number 1 (as well as LSU being top 10) makes it laughable.
Posted by SouthOfSouth
Baton Rouge
Member since Jun 2008
43577 posts
Posted on 6/29/10 at 3:05 pm to
Well for me it did matter cause I am going into academia, thus how schools rank does matter... I believe the rankings I looked at were the way they were cause LSU does more research and gets more published, which is a big way that graduate programs get ranked.

But I agree that getting jobs is most important, why I said if I coulda afforded it I would have gone to Tulane.
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