HKUST MSc Finance 面经 [2021.04.04]

BG:211 本，CMU 工程硕，有两年工作经验，两段金融相关实习。跨专业转申的金融硕。

自我介绍 / Self Introduce.
Hi, I am Beichen. You can also call me Chase, it's my English name. I finished my undergraduate education at Shanghai University in Shanghai, China, majoring civil engineering. Then I was admitted by Carnegie Mellon University, went to Pittsburgh to complete my master program. My engineering training gave me the sense and ability to analyze and solve problems through mathematics, modeling and programming and logical thinking. After graduation, I worked as a full-time professional engineer in one of top engineering firms in China. During this period, I was involved in many major projects, some projects involved with governments and billions of investment. At the same time, I was closely following the market and established my personal portfolio. Now I have decided to change my career to financial world in the future, and I need this opportunity.
Talk about your three advantages out against other applicants. 说三条你相比其他人的优势（学术背景、实习，可以是任何方面）
a. I’m good at analyzing and manipulating data. My engineering training tells me how to identify and solve problems hidden behind facts and numbers. And I can build up models, programming with Python, write SQL to play with data, I believe those cross-discipline abilities and tools will be a strong advantage of mine.
b. I have internship experience in the securities companies, so I know how it really works in the security market. What’s more, those internships give me a full picture of my knowledge structure, both weakness and strength, so I can pay more attention to the knowledge that I really need after I get into the program.
c. I’ve been a professional engineer for 1 and half years and involved in huge projects with billions of investment. Compared to students, I’m more familiar with the real industries and teamwork, I believe it makes me more career-oriented, dedicated and efficient.
能说说美国大学和国内大学的不同之处吗？
The major difference I found is networking is an indispensable part towards career success. In China or other Asian countries, our personal network is mainly based on strong relationship, by strong relationship I mean close relatives, best friends or your mentor, all of those people who are highly familiar with you. That means in China, a senior student doesn't spend a lot of time on networking with alumni. Things are very different in America, because you know social activity is an essential part for career success. It is easy for an outgoing student to build up a weak relationship with those strange but experienced alumni.
你的 career path?有无留在 HK 工作的计划？然后讨论了一下政治局势，跟我说学校会保证学生安全和项目质量的。
我们 HKUST 的课程特别紧，你未来的 career goal 是什么，那你如何做才能让自己达这个目标，如何平衡时间？
After graduation from the program, I expect to be an equity analyst in an investment bank or a fundamental analyst in a wealth management firm. Then, after accumulating enough work experience, I will seek opportunities to manage my own portfolio. It may take me 4 to 7 years, I don't know, but I’m going to try my best.
To achieve my career goal, I think the most important thing, currently, is to throw myself back to the internships. There are still eight months before the program starts, which can be used for two SOLID internships. I believe those valuable intern experience will make me a strong competitor upon graduation. Besides, I will definitely try my best to reach out to as many professionals as possible, to build up my own network. I know HKUST has a tight schedule, but I think I’m good at dealing with a busy schedule, partly because of the experience in the Carnegie Mellon, which was also full of pressure and competition, but I think I did a good job.
在去读金融项目之前，你还有什么计划？
I think the most important thing, currently, is to throw myself back to the internships related to security market. There are still eight months before the program starts, which can be used for two SOLID internships. Actually, I am seeking opportunities now, sending my resumes to target firms, at the same time, I’m also trying my best networking with more financial professionals. I believe the valuable experience I gain from the internship will make me a strong competitor upon graduation. Besides, if it’s convenient, I’ll use this period to pass CFA level I, which makes me more competitive in the investment industry.
为什么想再读一个硕士？Why to change your career?
Well, first I like what I’ve learnt from my engineering training. But for me, maybe the engineering is a little boring. You know civil engineering is a highly mature discipline, sometimes short of passion. But playing in the market is very exciting. I must use all of my wisdom to collect information, determine which is useful which is not, analyze them and make the right decision, it's all about decision-making. All of these elements make the finance, especially investment, very appealing to me. That’s why I decide to change my career from engineering to finance.
HKUST 的金融项目和其他学校的比起来，是有什么特殊之处吸引到了你？为什么想来 hkust?最重要的一点？
I’ve long been interested in wealth management and investment, in fact, I’m following the US stock market everyday, learning about trading strategy and investment knowledge by managing my mini portfolio. The market performance this year is fancy, we first experienced a huge failure of the stock market, and then a bounce back, now Dow Jones Index has surged over 30,000. In the future I want to manage a large amount of assets for clients and create more wealth for the society. But I’m also clear that I must be rigorously trained in order to join this industry. I know the business school of HKUST is rather experienced on training financial professionals, with a lot of valuable career opportunities, well-designed curriculum and outstanding alumni as well. I believe all advantages will prepare me for the future career success.
我看你还申请了 UCSD?为什么？两个项目有什么区别？
I was more familiar with American education, and I love California, so I applied for UCSD. Compared with the master program provided by UCSD, I like HKUST more due to its highly flexible curriculum, I mean, I notice there are 25 elective courses for the HKUST finance program. It’s amazing because it allows me to focus on asset management and security analysis, which are exactly what I want do in the future. I didn't remember any other graduate program providing so many choices for students. I think it’s where this program attracts me.
Finance 和 Engineering 的区别？你是 Engineering Major，未来你要如何弥补你转专业的知识缺失？
You’re right, I used to be an engineer who haven’t accepted systematic education about finance. Here are what I have done: I had interns in two securities companies. I’ve learned a lot of financial knowledge and practical skills from equity analysts and investment managers. I read books about corporate accounting, financial statements and investment theory, in order to get myself familiar with the investment industry, which interests me most. I took the test for The Securities Qualification Certificate, and am preparing CFA level I exam. I think it’s enough to well prepare myself for the future study in the college.
如果你来了 HKUST, 你会对项目有什么贡献？
Completing a graduate program in one of the world famous universities is a tough task, I know it because I’ve done it once successfully, and that experience can definitely make me more adaptive to the lifestyle of the graduate study, and thus leading to a better time management, more proactive social activities, better preparation for future career and stronger willing for success.
Besides, 6 years of engineering training and 2 years of professional experience regarding mathematics, analytical thinking, programming and problem-solving also makes me a valuable teammate for other students.
Talk about your projects or internships?
My most recent internship was in Essence Securities, I served as an Associate Equity Analyst in one of the top three research teams in China (awarded by New Fortune) concentrating on listed companies in the public service industry. I frequently used Wind (Bloomberg) and other professional information sources to collect data in order to analyze business models, financial health, and sales and profits of listed companies, established financial models for firms and predicted their future sales revenue, profits, liabilities and stock price. By the end of my internship, I had successfully completed over 70,000 words of industry research and investment strategy reports. This practical experiences have helped me to acquire a deeper understanding of the financial markets and investment banking, and reaffirmed my commitment to the field of finance.
你有什么问题要问我？

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