Happy to share that Iโve passed the FRM Level 1 exam ๐๐
This journey involved solving 1000+ practice questions, revisiting concepts multiple times, and truly understanding the intuition behind risk models rather than memorizing formulas.
FRM Level 1 is a strong foundation, but this is just the beginning. ๐ช๐ช
๐ Is a Masterโs in Financial Engineering (MFE) worth it in 2025?
I get this question from students and professionals all the time โ and my answer is simple:
โ Yes. 100% worth it โ especially if you are targeting the U.S. market.
Let me explain why ๐
๐บ๐ธ 1. The U.S. Quant Finance Market Is Massive
Whether itโs hedge funds, asset managers, banks, or prop trading firms, the demand for skilled quants has never been higher.
From pricing exotic derivatives to building risk models, from algo trading to credit risk modeling โ the U.S. market has a job for every quant specialization.
The best part? You donโt need to be from an Ivy League or โtop 10โ university.
Many firms care more about your: ๐ Practical skills ๐ Projects and GitHub ๐ Understanding of financial products
๐ฐ 2. The Degree is Expensive โ But ROI is High
Yes, MFEs in the U.S. can cost $60,000โ$90,000.
But if you land a full-time role as a quant, quant dev, or model validator, youโre typically starting with a base salary of $100K+, not including bonuses.
๐ Many students recover the full tuition cost in 1โ2 years.
Plus, the U.S. allows you to work during and after your degree (OPT/STEM OPT), so you can gain experience and earn while you learn.
๐ 3. The Learning Experience Is Intense โ and Worth It
Itโs not easy โ but if you stay consistent, youโll come out job-ready.
๐ก๐กMy Take?
If youโre serious about a career in Quantitative Finance, want to build globally relevant skills, and are ready to work hard โ an MFE from the U.S. is one of the best investments you can make in 2025.
Donโt worry if youโre not from IIT, IIM, or a top-tier college.
Quant finance rewards curiosity, consistency, and competence.
So if youโre dreaming of becoming a quant โ this might be your moment.
๐ซ Planning to pursue a Masterโs in Financial Engineering (MFE) in the U.S. with ZERO work experience?
Please read this carefully
It might save you from a tough journey ahead.
โก๏ธ If youโre a fresher with no industry exposure
โก๏ธ If you think just landing in the U.S. will create magic
โก๏ธ If youโre relying only on your degree to get interviews
โ ๏ธ Youโre setting unrealistic expectations.
Iโm saying this because Iโve personally seen so many of my juniors struggle.
๐ฏ No work experience =
โ No interview calls โ No clarity on what roles to apply for โ No strong resume to stand out
๐ก My honest advice?
โ Gain at least 1โ2 years of work experience before you apply.
โ Ideally in finance, data, tech, or any analytical role.
Hereโs what experience gives you:
๐น Stronger understanding of real-world finance ๐น Better projects and talking points for interviews ๐น More clarity on your goals ๐น A competitive edge in the U.S. job market
๐ An MFE is valuable โ but experience is what makes it work for you.
Donโt come expecting miracles.
Come prepared.
Two years of work now can save you two years of struggle later.
Mehul Mehta
Happy to share that Iโve passed the FRM Level 1 exam ๐๐
This journey involved solving 1000+ practice questions, revisiting concepts multiple times, and truly understanding the intuition behind risk models rather than memorizing formulas.
FRM Level 1 is a strong foundation, but this is just the beginning. ๐ช๐ช
Looking forward to Level 2
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 152
View 12 replies
Mehul Mehta
Quant Firms in India ๐ฎ๐ณ
1 month ago | [YT] | 266
View 11 replies
Mehul Mehta
Algorithmic Trading: The world where mathematics meets markets
Most people think algo trading is only about writing a โfast code.โ
In reality, it is a combination of statistics, market microstructure, execution science, and risk management.
Here is how I explain it in one line
Algo Trading is using rules, data and automation to execute trades faster and more efficiently than humans.
1 month ago | [YT] | 80
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Mehul Mehta
Quant Roles explained ๐ฏ
1 month ago | [YT] | 147
View 7 replies
Mehul Mehta
Over the years Iโve worked with some of the best Quants in the industry. ๐ฏ
What makes them stand out are not just models and math, but the habits they live by:
1. Discipline like traders โ structured days, focused routines
2. Attention to detail โ checking data twice, assumptions thrice
3. Curiosity beyond finance โ physics, CS, probability, even philosophy
4. Reading research daily โ they stay ahead by learning continuously
5. Coding relentlessly โ always building, testing, automating
6. Questioning everything โ never taking inputs or outputs at face value
7. Explaining simply โ breaking down complex math into clear insights
8. Staying calm under pressure โ markets move fast, but they stay grounded
9. Networking with purpose โ exchanging ideas with academics, traders, and engineers
10. Balance of speed & depth โ quick to act, deep when solving problems
At the end of the day โ habits build great Quants, not just equations.
5 months ago | [YT] | 91
View 2 replies
Mehul Mehta
Stochastic Modeling ๐๐
5 months ago | [YT] | 52
View 1 reply
Mehul Mehta
๐ Is a Masterโs in Financial Engineering (MFE) worth it in 2025?
I get this question from students and professionals all the time โ and my answer is simple:
โ Yes. 100% worth it โ especially if you are targeting the U.S. market.
Let me explain why ๐
๐บ๐ธ 1. The U.S. Quant Finance Market Is Massive
Whether itโs hedge funds, asset managers, banks, or prop trading firms, the demand for skilled quants has never been higher.
From pricing exotic derivatives to building risk models, from algo trading to credit risk modeling โ the U.S. market has a job for every quant specialization.
The best part?
You donโt need to be from an Ivy League or โtop 10โ university.
Many firms care more about your:
๐ Practical skills
๐ Projects and GitHub
๐ Understanding of financial products
๐ฐ 2. The Degree is Expensive โ But ROI is High
Yes, MFEs in the U.S. can cost $60,000โ$90,000.
But if you land a full-time role as a quant, quant dev, or model validator, youโre typically starting with a base salary of $100K+, not including bonuses.
๐ Many students recover the full tuition cost in 1โ2 years.
Plus, the U.S. allows you to work during and after your degree (OPT/STEM OPT), so you can gain experience and earn while you learn.
๐ 3. The Learning Experience Is Intense โ and Worth It
In an MFE program, youโll dive deep into:
โก๏ธ Derivatives Pricing
โก๏ธ Risk Management
โก๏ธ Numerical Methods
โก๏ธ Machine Learning for Finance
โก๏ธ Stochastic Calculus
โก๏ธ Portfolio Optimization
โก๏ธ Python, R, C++, Excel Modeling
Itโs not easy โ but if you stay consistent, youโll come out job-ready.
๐ก๐กMy Take?
If youโre serious about a career in Quantitative Finance, want to build globally relevant skills, and are ready to work hard โ an MFE from the U.S. is one of the best investments you can make in 2025.
Donโt worry if youโre not from IIT, IIM, or a top-tier college.
Quant finance rewards curiosity, consistency, and competence.
So if youโre dreaming of becoming a quant โ this might be your moment.
I did it.
Thousands of others have.
You can too.
6 months ago | [YT] | 68
View 10 replies
Mehul Mehta
If going for Quant Interviews, please make sure to revise all the below concepts ๐ฏ
๐ Derivatives
โ Forwards and Futures
โ Options (Call & Put)
โ Call & Put Options Payoffs
โ European vs American Options
โ Put-Call Parity
โ Option Greeks (Delta, Gamma, Vega, Theta, Rho)
โ Black-Scholes Model
โ Binomial/Trinomial Trees
โ Monte Carlo Pricing
โ Volatility Smile & Surface
โ Exotic Options: Barrier, Asian, Lookback, Binary
โ Swaps: Interest Rate & Equity Swaps
โ Implied Volatility
โ Hedging Strategies & Real-world Use Cases
๐ต Fixed Income
โ Bond Pricing, YTM, Spot/Forward Rates
โ Duration, Modified Duration, Convexity
โ Bootstrapping Yield Curve
โ Term Structure Models (Nelson-Siegel, Svensson)
โ Interpolation (Linear, Cubic Spline, Monotone Convex)
โ Interest Rate Derivatives (Caps, Floors, Swaptions)
โ Z-Spread, Option-Adjusted Spread (OAS)
โ Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), ABS
โ Prepayment Risk (CPR, PSA, SMM)
โ Repo, Reverse Repo
โ Key Rate Duration
โ Interest Rate Models: Vasicek, CIR, Hull-White, BGM
๐ Market Risk
โ Value at Risk (VaR): Historical, Parametric, Monte Carlo
โ Expected Shortfall (CVaR)
โ Volatility Modeling: EWMA, GARCH
โ Risk Sensitivities: Greeks, DV01, PV01
โ Full Revaluation vs Delta-Normal VaR
โ Stress Testing & Scenario Analysis
โ Marginal & Incremental VaR
โ P&L Attribution
โ Backtesting VaR
โ Capital Models (Basel, FRTB)
โ Liquidity Risk and Market Data Mapping
โ Sensitivity Analysis (IR, FX, Credit, Equity)
๐ข Stochastic Calculus
โ Brownian Motion
โ Itoโs Lemma
โ Geometric Brownian Motion
โ Stochastic Differential Equations (SDEs)
โ Martingales
โ Risk-Neutral Valuation & Girsanovโs Theorem
โ Black-Scholes Derivation from SDE
โ Jump Diffusion Models (Merton)
โ Heston Model
โ SABR Model
โ Numerical Methods: Euler, Milstein
โ Feynman-Kac Theorem
โ Applications to Derivatives & Interest Rate Modeling
โฑ๏ธ Time Series Analysis
โ Stationarity and Unit Root Tests
โ Autocorrelation, Partial Autocorrelation (ACF, PACF)
โ AR, MA, ARMA, ARIMA, SARIMA
โ ARCH, GARCH, EGARCH, TGARCH
โ Volatility Clustering
โ Rolling Mean & Rolling Volatility
โ Seasonality & Trend Detection
โ Forecast Accuracy: MAPE, RMSE
โ Cointegration and Error Correction Models
โ Kalman Filter
โ VAR Models
โ Application: Forecasting asset returns, volatility, macro variables
๐ค Machine Learning in Quant Finance
โ Supervised vs Unsupervised Learning
โ Feature Engineering for Financial Data
โ Regression Models (Linear, Lasso, Ridge)
โ Classification Models (Logistic, Decision Tree, SVM)
โ Ensemble Methods (Random Forest, XGBoost)
โ Time Series ML (Lag features, Rolling stats)
โ Clustering: K-Means, DBSCAN
โ Dimensionality Reduction: PCA, t-SNE
โ Cross-Validation Techniques (K-Fold, TimeSeriesSplit)
โ Model Evaluation: AUC-ROC, Precision, Recall, F1
โ Overfitting/Underfitting, Regularization
โ Use Cases: Credit Risk Modeling, Algo Trading, Fraud Detection, Price Prediction
PS: Make sure to practice a lot of probability and puzzles from Green Book ๐
6 months ago | [YT] | 95
View 8 replies
Mehul Mehta
๐ซ Planning to pursue a Masterโs in Financial Engineering (MFE) in the U.S. with ZERO work experience?
Please read this carefully
It might save you from a tough journey ahead.
โก๏ธ If youโre a fresher with no industry exposure
โก๏ธ If you think just landing in the U.S. will create magic
โก๏ธ If youโre relying only on your degree to get interviews
โ ๏ธ Youโre setting unrealistic expectations.
Iโm saying this because Iโve personally seen so many of my juniors struggle.
๐ฏ No work experience =
โ No interview calls
โ No clarity on what roles to apply for
โ No strong resume to stand out
๐ก My honest advice?
โ Gain at least 1โ2 years of work experience before you apply.
โ Ideally in finance, data, tech, or any analytical role.
Hereโs what experience gives you:
๐น Stronger understanding of real-world finance
๐น Better projects and talking points for interviews
๐น More clarity on your goals
๐น A competitive edge in the U.S. job market
๐ An MFE is valuable โ but experience is what makes it work for you.
Donโt come expecting miracles.
Come prepared.
Two years of work now can save you two years of struggle later.
#MFE #QuantFinance #CareerAdvice #InternationalStudents #FinancialEngineering #MastersAbroad #JobSearch #QuantCareers #MSinUSA
7 months ago | [YT] | 38
View 12 replies
Mehul Mehta
If you are looking for free Masters in Financial Engineering, pls check the below link.
Deadline Date: 24 June
www.linkedin.com/posts/mehul-mehta4_quantfinance-fโฆ
7 months ago | [YT] | 26
View 4 replies
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