Studying masters in Banking. Worth it?

ViolaLass

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/programmes/msc-finance/entryrequirements

My point still stands.

DunPin

myright wrote: »

I have a YEAR to do something productive like studying. So I am thinking of doing a Masters in Banking via distance learning.

What do you guys think? Am I wasting my time? is there a better route you guys recommend? and yes in this year I do want to study more than anything else as I wont get another chance to do so.

Don't do distance learning, go to the most prestigious university that'll let you in and do a Masters in Accounting and Financial Management or Corporate Finance or Economics rather than Banking, it's a joke of a degree from what I've heard, hell reading this thread that much is clear :rotfl:

John1993_2

myright wrote: »

I'm not thinking of doing a maths degree, but a masters in finance.

A masters in Finance from a good institution will tend to require a first or upper second class degree in s aubject such as maths or physics, and they'll tend to prefer that you've gained it from another top university.

I'm afraid that it's much more than needing to "know algebra", they'll expect a deep understanding of advanced calculus and probability theory at the very least.

I don't want to pour cold water on your plans, but you need to be realistic in plotting out your route to where you want to be.

myright

john thanks for that. So can you recommend me something

ViolaLass

myright wrote: »

john thanks for that. So can you recommend me something

If this is definitely the direction you want to go in, you might be better off looking at a degree (in maths, economics or whatever you fancy) but for that, you would probably need maths A-level and possibly some other, better A-levels than you have. I think you may need to start further down than you had planned.

John1993_2

myright wrote: »

john thanks for that. So can you recommend me something

It will depend on where you want to be. I tend to think that the best training for a job is to actually do the job. If there's a role that exists in your currrent company that you want, then ask what you need to do to be able to get it.

I'm not the best person to ask for general degree choice advice, as I tend to want people to have a doctorate in particle physics from CERN, but if you ca think what actual role you want, I can possibly contribute some decent ideas.

If I did want to say something general, it would be that vocational qualifications can be quite tightly tageted, and some are in preparation for only one career path, such as a portfolio manager.

I learned for learning's sake (physics at Oxford), then found out afterwards that it opened doors. Picking a degree, or course, for a job is trickier.

Lokolo

Study something you love. Thats my advice.

Lizling

ViolaLass wrote: »

If this is definitely the direction you want to go in, you might be better off looking at a degree (in maths, economics or whatever you fancy) but for that, you would probably need maths A-level and possibly some other, better A-levels than you have. I think you may need to start further down than you had planned.

The Open University offers a couple of routes into degree level maths coming from maths at only GCSE. The module MST121 (or its new replacement next year) is roughly equivalent to A-level but crammed into one academic year and is a tough leap from a good grade at GCSE, but doable. If that’s too much of a jump, you can do the MU123 module first.

MST121 is widely accepted as equivalent to A level for entry requirements at other universities if you wanted to switch to somewhere else. Or, add a few more OU maths modules part time while you're working, and with your earlier degree in business and the work experience, you'd [probably get accepted onto a Masters in Finance (or economics, statistics etc) somewhere. It is a few years’ worth of work though, and not cheap.

I’m in a similar situation myself. I only had a GCSE in maths but ended up needing to know statistics for my career. I started with MST121 and so far I'm up to 3rd year undergraduate level statistics.

myright

thanks for the great advice there^^

so judging by your experience in doing the above courses would you say, there's tons of learning to do?

I really wanted to start the Masters course at the very latest in Janurary. Do you think it's possible to gain the necessary mathematical skills from now until then? If not, it probs be best I forget the whole idea.

And just out of curiosity , how much has it cost you so far?

myright

John1993 wrote: »

It will depend on where you want to be. I tend to think that the best training for a job is to actually do the job. If there's a role that exists in your currrent company that you want, then ask what you need to do to be able to get it.

I'm not the best person to ask for general degree choice advice, as I tend to want people to have a doctorate in particle physics from CERN, but if you ca think what actual role you want, I can possibly contribute some decent ideas.

If I did want to say something general, it would be that vocational qualifications can be quite tightly tageted, and some are in preparation for only one career path, such as a portfolio manager.

I learned for learning's sake (physics at Oxford), then found out afterwards that it opened doors. Picking a degree, or course, for a job is trickier.

can you give me more insight to the 'vocational route?'