Common Questions

What is the Career Development Office?

The CDO offers career advising and coaching, curated resources, and a calendar of career events. As an enrolled student, you benefit from the guidance of dedicated career advisors and coaches who know their programs and can assist in all stages of career management, from deciding what’s next, to developing a plan, making connections, preparing for interviews, and negotiating offers. Your advisor will help you discover the many resources that are part of the MIT and MIT Sloan ecosystem, including alumni, clubs, tracks and certificates, and centers and initiatives. Learn more about the CDO via the career portal Your CDO.

What career management activities are offered at MIT Sloan?

We have a deep offering of career programs to support you. Once you enroll in the MFin program, you’ll receive access to career resources to help you hit the ground running. When classes begin we kick off Career Core, a series of tailored career education sessions to advance your career development and prepare you for recruiting. We run sessions on building and writing a strong résumé and cover letter, working on your career story, studying interview and networking techniques, and doing mock company presentations. In the fall, we ramp up our mock interviews and our individual advising sessions.

Are there networking events available during the fall term? Are these exclusive to MFin students, or do they cater to MIT Sloan as a whole?

Yes, the majority of networking events are in the fall—our recruiting partners typically select which programs are invited to attend each event. MFin Networking Night is an event that takes place each fall where employers are seeking to connect exclusively with MFin students. There are also networking events that are open to students across programs.

How many career fairs do you have each year? Are they for MFin students only, or are they for all MIT Sloan students?

MIT offers several career fairs, including a large event for all MIT students in the fall semester. The largest event attracts up to 300 companies, and is an opportunity for students to learn about potential opportunities at companies and to interact with company representatives. Main campus also leads specialized career fairs (e.g., European Career Fair, Non-Technology Career Fair).

In the Spring, the CDO organizes the MIT Sloan Career Fair for companies seeking to hire students for summer internships or full-time roles, and features only employers with specific roles they are seeking to fill. Students may have an opportunity to interview with the company later that day or at another time organized with the company representative.

Does MIT Sloan encourage alumni mentors to help students in finding jobs? How does career services encourage communication between alumni and current MFin students?

We certainly do urge our students to connect with both MIT and MIT Sloan alumni. We provide a database by which students can research alumni and connect themselves. This aligns with our broader career philosophy around teaching students how to get a job—both now and for the rest of their careers. The expanded CDO community includes alumni: through the MIT Sloan Industry Advisors program, students seeking roles in emerging industries can connect with a select group of alumni. Students can also engage in the MIT Advisors Hub to receive advice, insight, and prep directly from alumni from both MIT and MIT Sloan.

What are the employment outcomes and statistics for the MFin Class?

The current MFin Employment Report can be found here.

When does the recruiting process start for MFin students?

The start of the recruiting season varies based on your career interests. Some industries begin recruiting as early as summer, but the majority of recruiting activity starts in September and continues throughout the academic year. A couple of points to consider: The Career Development Office has thoughtfully designed a summer term career curriculum, called Career Core, which provides students with the career tools and resources to prepare for a successful job search. In addition, the CDO shares career development and research resources online even before classes begin. Still, it is a very intensive process combining job search and study—one that requires a strong work ethic and good time management skills to be successful.

What is the recruiting schedule and timeline?

Students will recruit for internship opportunities during their first fall term. Students may choose to look for full-time positions in their second fall term (after returning from their summer internships), while some may secure and accept returning full-time offers from their internship employers.

Note: Students in the accelerated 12-month option will interview for full-time positions starting in the fall semester.

A large amount of recruiting is done early in the year. How can the MFin program prepare me for recruiting if I haven't had enough professional experience at that time?

The Career Development Office provides you with the necessary resources to prepare you for recruiting (i.e., networking, cover letter, résumé, interview workshops, etc.). Networking and alumni connections here are simply the best. You can connect with students across all graduate degree programs, including MBAs and PhDs. Also, you will have access to the MIT Sloan alumni network, and many alumni are very involved in the recruiting process.

Many international students seek employment in the U.S. through CPT, OPT and additional long-term working visas such as the H1B visa. Landing long term permanent employment in the US is a challenge due to government visa quotas, but many of the top companies that recruit at Sloan are interested in the best and brightest candidates they can find, regardless of their country of origin. It's also worth remembering that while the majority of our students are from outside the U.S., the majority of them are successful in finding jobs here.

International students often times require work authorization. Does this make recruiting difficult?

Since the MFin program is STEM-approved, MFin graduates are eligible for an OPT extension, allowing up to 3 years of work authorization in the U.S. post-graduation. While the majority of MFin students are international, the majority of our students secure jobs in the U.S. post-graduation. That said, there are some recruiting challenges for international students. It can be hard for international students to secure employment in the U.S., and some companies from outside the U.S. find it difficult to travel here just to recruit.

What tools and resources are available to help students secure summer internships?

MFins are in a unique position to access both MIT Sloan and MIT main campus career resources and job postings. MFins also have dedicated career advisors to help them navigate their career exploration process.

Will the same career advisors provide full-time and internship job search support?

As an MFin student, you will work with a dedicated CDO career advisor throughout the program. Your career advisor will work closely with you to provide a truly personalized advising experience.

Is an internship guaranteed, and will it be paid?

Students conduct a summer internship search with the support of the CDO and its employer partners. Internships are typically paid, but the remuneration of an internship will depend on the opportunity. Nearly all students secure internships, but they are not guaranteed.

Will MFin students compete with MBA students who are also looking for summer internships?

Typically, no. The profile for MFin students differs from that of MBAs in terms of work experience and background. It is up to the hiring company to select which MIT Sloan population(s) it is targeting through internship postings.

What impact does completing an internship have on securing a full-time position after the program concludes?

The opportunity to conduct an internship gives students additional practical experience, which in turn helps with the full-time job search. Some industries and companies focus on internships as a feeder pool for their full-time hiring requirements. For example, the majority of investment banking full-time hiring needs are typically filled from their internship class. If you are considering the accelerated option, we strongly encourage you to research your target industry to understand how important having an internship is to that industry.

Is there an internship option in January?

In January, you have an option to take the Finance Lab. It is somewhat similar to an internship where teams of four students fulfill an academic project while working hand in hand with companies (many times on-site), solving real and rigorous problems agreed upon by the professors.

Do employers that come to campus look to recruit for analyst-level jobs or associate-equivalent level jobs?

Both! The level for which MFins apply depends upon their previous work experience. As an MFin student, you have access to Campus Recruiting at both the main MIT campus and the business school at MIT Sloan.

Do MFin students get job offers in the spring or in the fall? Is the spring career fair only looking for a small number of people since most have already found jobs?

Typically 50 percent of MFin students accept their offer in the fall, and 50 percent in the spring. In fairness, the career fair is not a major source of jobs. Most students secure their jobs through networking which includes making connections with contacts in a target sector, and demonstrating persistence while building relationships with hiring managers. Campus recruiting certainly yields jobs, but students are encouraged to be prepared for months of networking to generate opportunities in the job market

If a student receives a full-time offer to start before February graduation, is he or she allowed to work before the program ends?

MFin students may not begin full-time employment before the program ends. You will be eligible to start work in January or February of the year of graduation, pending work authorization in the country of your employment.

Do any of your MFin students seek employment outside of the pure-play finance fields?

Yes. While the majority of MFin students pursue careers within the financial services industry, some students seek and secure roles outside of pure-play finance. MFin graduates have accepted data science roles at tech companies, corporate finance and strategy roles at non-financial companies, management consulting roles, and opportunities within the public policy, non-profit, and business development fields.

If I am interested in a highly quantitative job, would MIT Sloan’s MFin program be appropriate for me?

Many MFin students land in quantitative roles after graduation, and there are plenty of courses available to meet their needs. In addition to the classes offered specifically by MIT Sloan, students are also able to enroll in any class at MIT, including the other graduate departments, such as engineering, computing, mathematics, statistics, etc., as well as PhD level courses. Employers recognize the strong technical and quantitative skillset of our MFin students.

If I were to concentrate in financial engineering, what level of expertise would I be able to achieve?

The financial engineering concentration curriculum provides MFins with a deep level of expertise and positions them to be successful in highly quantitative careers. Students interested in quantitative finance have always found more than enough hard-core courses at MIT Sloan and at the broader MIT campus and have been successful in finding competitive quant roles upon graduation.

My research experience is mostly mathematical. I do not have work experience, but I really enjoy analyzing complex datasets. What do you suggest?

We do have students coming into the program with primarily research backgrounds (and limited professional experience), and we feel the program can be a very good fit for someone with your credentials. In the end, it really depends on what you want to get out of the program and the kind of position you are looking to get at the end of the program. Many companies value strong researchers.

What is the recruiting schedule and timeline for the MFin accelerated option?

Students in the 12-month program will interview for full-time positions starting in the fall semester.

Does the lack of an internship period in the 12-month accelerated option make it difficult to find jobs?

It is beneficial to have a financial internship on your resume, so it is advisable to seek one before enrolling in the MFin program. However, even though a formal internship is not part of the program, typically students are able to find a suitable job through a combination of displaying a real passion for finance, having a clear explanation of how they can contribute to their employer, and a diligent approach to their job search throughout the year.

I am an international student. Will choosing the accelerated format make my job search more challenging, especially when it comes to a job search in the United States?

Each student comes with a different background and career goals so there isn't a standard answer to this question. Students who are not in the accelerated option will have an opportunity to gain additional practical training during the summer, but whether or not this is the right path for you depends on your current level of experience and career goals. You should also consider whether the typical career path into your chosen industry usually starts with a summer internship.

Are full-time career opportunities comparable for all MFin graduates, given that the general recruiting cycle targets a summer start?

This really depends on the employer industry, job function and geography. Some of the larger employers with structured training programs may have two intakes to accommodate different academic schedules (mostly in Asia). Many MFin students also go into the asset management industry, which tends to recruit in the spring. Students completing a summer internship are well positioned to join an industry where a summer internship would be beneficial to secure a full-time offer.

What distinguishes the MFin from an MBA career-wise?

From a career perspective, employers will have a greater expectation of your depth of technical expertise with respect to the concepts of modern finance, since MFin students typically take twice as many finance courses as compared to their MBA peers. MFin students are perhaps showing a greater commitment to learning about the tools of finance, as opposed to learning about the tools of management in an MBA. The difference in degrees is important, but the level of work experience of each individual candidate is a huge factor, too.

What are the career prospects for MFin graduates as opposed to MBA graduates?

Generally speaking, MFin students accept roles within the finance industry, while MBAs secure roles across industries. Additionally, MFins have on average 18 months of work experience, including internships, while MBAs typically start the program with 4 or more years of full-time work experience.

If I am planning for a complete career change, which degree program would you recommend?

Your MFin degree is an effective way to kick-start or accelerate your career in the finance industry. For applicants with more than four years of full-time work experience who are looking to enhance their management skills and advance their career, the MBA program may be more suitable.

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