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How to bridge from engineering to finance

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Not applicable
Hi u all, I feel my engineering campus has leaved its time and I thirst for finance. With the chem. Eng degree, the plan is to study for honors in financial mathematics towards Master. From research it is possible with Unisa as one option. But what other institutions will allow this and how difficult can this be, what are the most significant challenges.
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25 REPLIES 25
Wizard
Super Contributor
It's called a career change. I'm in exactly the same situation as u, but I do it the long route. I do BCOM Financial management through UNISA. The only good news here is that things don't get as messy as in Thermodynamics and Reactor Technology :)
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Not applicable
why don't you find out if your company will endorse your studies - then you can go for one of the top institutions and still keep your job. Its pretty tough studying part time, and if your company is backing you - it will make your job a lot easier
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byrant89
Occasional Contributor
I am currently doing an M in financial engineering at the University of Pretoria. I am pretty sure that you can do an honors in financial mathematics at UP if you have an engineering background.
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eddy66
Super Contributor
I studied part time this year through Unisa.I've got one more tournament left and then I'm done with my professional golf career..for now anyway.Next year I'm full time at UP,Bcom.investment management.
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BAP
Regular Contributor
Byrant89 - can you give me a bit more detail on the M in Financial Engineering? I assume distance studying not on for that?
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byrant89
Occasional Contributor
The M in financial engineering (at UP anyway) has 3 courses and obviously the thesis. I decided to do the coursework this year and start my thesis next year. The courses do have lectures - in the evening and on Saturdays sometimes and therefore distance learning is not really an option.
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watchmefly
Occasional Contributor
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watchmefly
Occasional Contributor
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Som2
Contributor
Has anyone done the CFA? If so, how difficult is it?
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SimonPB
Valued Contributor
seems most people fail at least once ..
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john_1
Super Contributor
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SimonPB
Valued Contributor
lol .. I didnae fail it becoZ I never wrote it .. far to much like hard work, an for what ??
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john_1
Super Contributor
you passed some other dodgy exam you did not study for what was that
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SimonPB
Valued Contributor
oh those, SAIFM exams .. 7 of them, all easy .. got 70% for 6 which is exactly the pass mark .. so perfect ..
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Not applicable
Did CFA level 1 - it is very interesting but alot of work required - approx 250 - 300 hours of studying. I have heard about the SAIFM exams, What is the career path for individual writing SAIFM exams - is it a generalist or specific investment qualification?
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SimonPB
Valued Contributor
SAIFM enables you to claim certain "badges" .. so you can become a registered broker (safex or jse), complaince officer, fais, etc ..
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Not applicable
What should you study so that you can become a better private trader/investor? Apart from sbk courses and Van Tharpe books?
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SimonPB
Valued Contributor
effective investor by franco busetti ..
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Not applicable
I feel you Wizard, from reading the forum you seem very knowledgeable of financial term, assuming you are on the other side of the world, did this come naturally or you have invested time and dedicated hard work. I get fascinated when financial topics turn up. The nights I stayed awake and parties I missed for reactors and Design have not been worth what industry is truly all about. In two years I have moved from mining (Anglo plat) to developing tyres (Dunlop) and there is still no excitement. Every morning I feel like Im going to work.
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