When looking into programs for graduate schools, Fuqua’s Master of Quantitative Management (MQM) program stood out to me because of its unique compositions of allowing students to choose tracks, which enables us to concentrate on a specific field in which we are interested. In fact, I decided on the MQM program because it offered finance as a track.

During my consulting internship, I worked with a client in the financial market. Despite having no interest in the field before working, I developed a profound interest in finance while working in this area. I came from a relatively technical background. I realized how to pair my previous skills with new financial knowledge to gain insights and identify key aspects of financial data. I knew this was what I wanted to do as a career, but how could I learn to do it better?

I wanted to know exactly how I could evaluate financial data with analytics tools. But I lacked finance knowledge. I knew the basics, but nowhere was I close to even understanding the numbers behind the terms and how they worked together. I was keen on understanding how I could use this data to predict the future behavior of the markets and evaluate financial strategies for corporations and individuals.

Thus far in the MQM program, I have learned a great deal about finance and how analytics can analyze and predict many different fields within finance. I have gained excessive knowledge in the various techniques to take data methods and apply them to financial data.

By utilizing the intersection between analytics and finance, I have garnered extensive information about how financial markets work. We have used these insights to predict market behavior, identify trends, and other vital factors by working with my learning team on different finance cases. Choosing finance as my track has been a blessing, and I cannot wait to learn more.

Follow Ankit along for a day in her life as an MQM student.