Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Free tuition at US public Universities?

You need to know calculus. So many of the financial models have derivative aspect. If you do not have university level math, I think it would be difficult. And you could not be innovative in your structuring. What if you wanted a derivative to the nth degree and make it equal zero at the end of term.

To be fair, the phrase "technical skills" here simply refers to learning to use the more advanced features of Excel.

The job market has almost no relationship to the distribution of wealth at the very top, but whatever.

What you are saying is true for derivatives specialists and quants running portfolios, but the majority of spreadsheet-wielding MBAs on Wall Street, analyzing companies, are using just arithmetic, with maybe some algebra. I'm not saying their jobs are easy. A good stock analyst has the business models of dozens of companies in his head and is constantly updating his industry knowledge. But the best stock analysts are not using higher math than the weaker ones.

For many professions, math requirements are just a filter. Pre-meds take calculus in college, but doctors never use it in their practice.

I disagree. I headed up an global industry group in the 80s. Then went into derivative trading.

They like engineer undergrad degrees with an MBA for research. You have to be able to understand industries, like I had auto manufacturing.

But now when financing is done, you have to be able to create different structures, not just a simple IPO sometimes. Or deal with creative private investments that were done before the public offering.

And if you are in fixed income, you have to be able to strip and mingle. If you don't know how to create derivatives, then you are not going into fixed income.

It isn't that you couldn't find a place, but if you are going into the "Jet" type program -- that is what they called it at Merrill when I was young. They took the brightest and talented undergrads and then interned them in different departments for 18 months and then let them choose a dept. Not happening today.

And if you are a plain vanilla broker and do not derivatives, then you shouldn't be managing money.

Differential calculus is entry-level university mathematics or high-school level mathematics. So regardless of how important it is, Bostonian is right that an English major should be able to take a couple to a few relevant classes and be easily capable of doing the job.

It isn't clear to me that all this expertise you've spoken of has done the world a lot of good in the last 20 years or so, either.

Silly.

If you were on the receiving end of the massive transfer of wealth, then it was wonderful for you!

Because I expect "college" in general to result in excellent communication skills-- no matter the major.

Also, because writing as a skill (that is, finely wrought rhetorical skill, nuanced persuasive writing, excellent usage and editing ability) is simply not valued much anymore.

While I feel that this is somewhat grotesque, to say the least, in a society which requires every bit as much literacy as it did prior to the internet, I can't change that fact.

Math is valued because too few people can do it well.

English is not because most people have given up caring.

Agreed.


While I feel that this is somewhat grotesque, to say the least, in a society which requires every bit as much literacy as it did prior to the internet, I can't change that fact.


True. And it's quite unfortunate that one reason for the dearth of mathy people is that the people who teach it in our schools (and dthe textbooks they use) do such a poor job.

When did this conversation turn to wealth at the very top? Wealth at the very top has little to do with college, a job, or anything we've discussed in this thread so far, it has much more to do with drive, attitude, and perseverance. I was referring to the "working person" who is employed by others, not those who own the company.