A financial engineer typically works in a bank or financial firm and is prepared to work with financial markets around the world. He or she uses various math, programming and engineering concepts to analyze a firm's financial data and may specialize in a particular area of financial engineering, such as asset management or financial modeling. If you want to earn a Master of Financial Engineering degree, you'll first need to earn a bachelor's degree and take any prerequisite courses. You'll then have to pass all of your financial engineering courses, do a final project and possibly complete an internship.
Before you can work on a Master of Financial Engineering degree, you'll need to have a bachelor's degree, preferably in a math, technology or finance field. Some programs might let you enter after you take some preparatory classes in algebra, statistics and calculus. If you have a degree unrelated to advanced mathematics, some schools let you take a test to determine your readiness for the program. You can opt for self-study instead of taking additional courses, if your college allows it.
After you obtain your bachelor's degree, take any prerequisite courses and get accepted into a graduate school, you can then begin working on your Master of Financial Engineering degree. The classes you will take vary for each school but usually include classes on quantitative finance, programming, advanced engineering, data analysis, finance and statistics. Some colleges also let you select a concentration in finance, asset management or derivatives, and some allow you to select two concentrations. The number of classes for each concentration differs, and you'll need to be prepared to take additional classes if you take two concentrations.
Before you earn your Master of Financial Engineering degree, you will have to make it through the program with the required minimum grade point average (GPA) and meet any additional requirements. The program can take a full year if you attend classes full-time or a few years if you attend part-time. Most schools that offer a Master of Financial Engineering degree require you to complete a final project or thesis, although others also require you to complete a minimum number of weeks or months in an internship. The final project or thesis usually requires you to apply what you learned during the program to a real scenario, and you'll get to practice your new financial engineering skills if you have an internship.