Graduate Studies Blog
MSC FINANCIAL ENGINEERING
Financial Engineering Masters – Opening doors to career opportunities
“I realised how important programming and advanced math, and statistics skills would be if I want to thrive in my chosen domain,” says Li-Wei, who began the programme in 2021. “I had applied to programmes in the United Kingdom and Singapore and received offers from universities in both countries. In the end, I chose NTU Singapore because of its academic rigour and modules on derivatives pricing and advanced computational methods. I also wanted to work in a vibrant financial hub like Singapore.”
To prepare for the technical part of the admissions interview, Li-Wei studied mathematical topics like calculus, algebra, and Ordinary Differential Equation. During the interview, he also talked about his professional experience and the projects he had worked on.
Prior to the interview, Li-Wei reached out to alumni for advice, which he describes as “one of the most helpful and useful steps” during his application process.
Rewarding Challenges, Inspiring People, Plentiful Opportunities
“The MFE journey is extremely challenging yet fulfilling,” Li-Wei says.
A crucial skill he has gained is time management. “It’s not just about tackling the coursework. It’s also about spending time on job searches and internships,” he says. “I’ve burnt the midnight oil countless times. However, I can guarantee that as an MFE student, you will grow exponentially, where every moment can be a reflective one to explore your strengths and interests.”
Li-Wei treasures the people he has met through the programme. He says they are “the most hardworking, diverse, and dynamic personalities” he has ever met. “They keep me energised,” he says. “When working with my course mates in our many group projects, I get to experience fresh perspectives all the time.”
The MFE programme has also exposed Li-Wei to the wide array of opportunities in the field. “I’m confident that the knowledge gained from the programme will be highly specialised and sought after,” he says. “I’ve familiarised myself with digital banking, commodities trading, advanced risk management, and pricing functions such as xVA, which have all been eye-opening. Also, since Singapore is a major financial hub, there is an entire ecosystem dedicated to managing global capital flows, including opportunities from trading to risk management.”
An Internship with a Big Four Firm
In January 2022, Li-Wei started his internship at Ernst & Young (EY), Singapore as a derivatives valuation intern.
In his role, he conducts valuation on various financial instruments ranging from FX derivatives such as forward and cross-currency swaps to interest rate swaps. He also applies value adjustments such as CVA/DVA.
Li-Wei explains: “Financial instruments are getting increasingly complex alongside more sophisticated banking regulations. These make the evaluation of banks’ balance sheets a daunting task. Here is where valuation specialists like me come into the picture. We use financial engineering techniques to build credit risk models and derivatives valuation models as well as support the assurance team.”
The internship, he adds, has been a great way for him to directly apply his learning. “The EY stint certainly allows me to test my understanding of financial instruments and exercise my quantitative skills gained from the MFE programme.”
Support from the Career Development Office
“I have to say that the support I received from NTU’s Graduate Studies Career Development Office (GSCDO) is priceless. In fact, GSCDO is what makes Nanyang Business School so distinctive in NTU. I don’t think there is any career development office like it,” he says.
The mock interviews, career consultations, workshops, and events are “just some examples of the tremendous amount of resources offered by GSCDO,” he adds.
He has attended several workshops to hone his skills for every stage of the job application process while broadening his horizons at career events.
“GSCDO has showed me that finance is not only about banking,” he says. “There are also other exciting sectors demanding quality finance specialists. Along the way, I get to network and explore different career possibilities. The proof of the pudding: the mock Interviews I had with GSCDO helped me to ace my interview and land my internship with EY.”
