To know or not to know is not an issue

    

Knowing what you want to do before enrolling in an MFE Program is not necessarily the best thing...We want to make sure our applicants understand we don't necessarily look for those who know what they want; we seek those with an open mind. After all, even if you have a perfect understanding of what you can do and should do, it is critical to remain open-minded because the Berkeley curriculum includes practice seminars where individuals from the industry come and discuss what they do within their firms, and skills they look for when they recruit for positions in their various departments. In my 14 years managing the MFE at Berkeley, I have met many students who thought they were coming to a program with a specific job in mind only to change paths after they started the program and met industry professionals. The horizon is vast for our creative Berkeley MFEs. I received this email from MFE06 X who recently wrote to me, "I certainly didn't seek out wealth management...but when I saw (back in 2006) how sleepy the industry was, I thought I might be able to add value. And it has been a wonderful ride. I'm tasked with guiding the asset allocation initiatives at the bank, both strategic and tactical, and dealing with private client as well as institutions. I'm an SVP and part of the broader Investment Strategy group here at X. I'm lucky. And I know that. I'm allowed to work with amazingly talented people, who are all great thinkers and know that our responsibility is to take care of our clients. All else is secondary. It's a pretty nice place to work. I couldn't have gotten here without the MFE. Period. Full stop."
And then the text I got this morning from MFE13. "First day of work! Very excited!" Stay tuned till tomorrow to learn about this MFE 13!
Linda Kreitzman

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