Alumni Perspectives

Find and prepare for your career path

I came to the MFE program as a blank slate in regards to finance. The theories and their applications were new to me. I didn’t even know the buy side from the sell side!

The Berkeley Haas MFE offered me a solid, foundational skill set and afforded me the opportunities to use and develop it in classwork and industry projects, and now, on the job.

The program is your bridge to careers in tech, finance, fintech, and beyond, with alumni and deep connections in nearly every corner.

Representing and advancing DEI

As co-president of the Financial Engineering Student Association, I could share my point of view with the administration and my peers, especially on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prompted by the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, the attacks on immigration, and visa restrictions, FESA joined other student government groups at Haas to circulate anti-racism messages.

We hope that the culture and community we strive for at Haas on DEI issues will cascade into the finance industry, which, although it is changing, still has room to improve.

Career connections in financial capitals

The Career Management Group (CMG) teaches you invaluable skills that you don’t learn in the classroom, like effective networking practices and interview preparation.

The book of student résumés and bios that CMG puts together on day one is sent to the program’s far-reaching network of connections at firms across industries. It is one of the best introductions you can get to the best firms.

It is telling that firms from the Bay Area to the East Coast, from London to Hong Kong pointedly choose to recruit Berkeley Haas MFE students.

A culture of collaboration

We completed assignments, industry projects, and even our ‘thesis’ project in self-selected teams, assembled with the goal of combining the unique strengths and weaknesses of each person’s skill set. Given this year’s virtual format, it was vital to learn how to formulate individual contributions into a whole deliverable.

Collaboration is intentionally fostered here, and it is necessary. No one could get through the entire curriculum without leaning on others for support – and having others lean on you.

The connections you make at Berkeley Haas will be important for the rest of your career. The MFE program’s associations in the industry are deep and wide-ranging.

Whenever I connect with an MFE or a Haas MBA alum, I find someone eager to share their insights, networks, and encouragement.

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