brainsX

Heard that MFE grads from Berkley get $150k+ offers. Money wise seems like a money losing decision to switch to finance. Opportunity cost of say $120/yr (current job) + additional $80k/yr (tuition, living expenses) total of $200k/yr .
Probably easier and cheaper to crack in with ultra strong programming background combined with 3 levels of CFA to get into a quant role that leverages tech knowledge. Doubt there are many fin grads without computer science degree or programming experience, who can dare to write a single line of code in c++…So he has a very fair chance and little competition from fin grads with zero programming aptitude or skills at a quant shop that will pay equally for tech or fin skills.
Great and creative software engineers have 20x more opportunity than pure finance people…

yodacaia

My take (for what it is worth).
Your 40 year old frined isn’t getting into MIT MSF (MFin now I guess but it was MSF back when it started a few years ago) or Princeton MFin.  MIT because he is not the student they are looking for. 5 minutes on thier website will let your frined know that they are looking for either freshouts or pretty close to it.  The problem with princeton is that it is more prestigious - it has been around longer and MIT is expanding its intake so there is still some question about “quality” (relative to other top programs).  Your friend would need near perfect quant scores on the GMAT/GRE and mid 700s total.  I would tell your IT friend that with his tech background he may be a better fit for CMU MSCF but then again most of those guys only have a couple of years of experience…  There are way more MFE programs around now then there used to be so getting into one I don’t think will be a problem, but competition is way too tough for the big big boy programs for someone in their 40s to crack it (my take - again for what it is worth).  Also as a side bar if he is serious then the CFA will not be worth the time he spends studying.  He should find his weak spots and address:
GMAT/GRE quant
Stat - SLM, multi variable regressions, stochastic prosess, time-series, bayesian stat, advanced prob
Math - ODE/PDE, Real Analysis I&II, Numerical Methods, Stochastic Calc, anything higher is gravey
Programming - C++, SAS, R/Matlab
if any of the above are weak then spending time getting strong in them will go farther than clearing level X of the CFA…

Muddahudda

Thank you all… I think you guys expressed enough avenues for him to think over (many of which I agree). I did not want to inject my personal opinions upfront.
I copied the posts sent them in an email…with the link to AF website for him to join the conversation. He will read through and make up his own mind.
Now my opions on his case:
1. His age: 40. He waited too long to think about his switch. He should have done this may be 6 or 8 years ago.
2. The opportunity cost.The dude is already making $150K/yr+bonus and there is no pressure on him to quit the job. Per AstuteInvestor’s calculation above the opportunity cost would be something around $250K +interests. This is too much. Maybe his real best option is the FRM or the PRM as bchad suggested then leverage his quant/technical background but he doesn’t seem to see any value in pursuing the FRM.
@Pennyless: For the CFA it would take @ minimum 3-4 years to clear if he is very lucky. I heard in this forum of a Russian who just sat for CFA L2 this June the 6th straight times and yet predicting another failure. He will be 44 by then with no exposure to Finance Practice (not coding). You are almost done with the CFA after an MIT MFIN degree. My dude has zero fornal Finance knowledge let alone accounting. He has been coding for risks analytics applications and is very good at it.
If Jayman_137 is correct then he will never be accepted in MIT MFin for his age (though I have a small doubt on this). But Pennyless can shed some light on this since he said he is an MIT MFin Graduate.
@Spunboy: Please when you find something new from your manager please shoot one more post.
If, after reading all these posts, he still wants to go to  MIT or Princeton, he can apply Higgmond’s recipe or his own.
Thanks again to all for sharing your opinions

d2rockstar

Way too old for either program.

bkballa

Age is an issue, and no doubt going to be a challenge, but if you have family or good friends in the business, that can change everything, particularly if they are at a smaller firm outside of the major financial centers.  
Good universities have powerful networks and recruiting programs, so that is an important resource too.
In good times, firms tend to want risk managers that are subservient and easier to control, so it helps to hire younger: who wants to be told to cut back on risk when its been paying off so well in the recent past. In crises and afterwards, they want to beef up the risk management for their clients to see that money is safe, so they like to hire older, where age connotes experience more (whether its true or not).

d2rockstar

Princetons MFIN is the toughest to get in kid. They are all Chinese with perfect GRES none of them are close to 40.

Howd

Princeton MFin is the most prestigious and selective program of its kind.  They only accepted 4.5% this year; most of the students went to top schools, got 3.8+ GPAs in quant majors, and a lot of them have great work experience too.  MIT leans very young; average work experinece is only like 1 year, so your friend has no shot there.  Princeton is open to older candidates, but 40 is pushing it.

mkytz15

1. Lots of people won’t be able to handle to academic rigor of either of these programs or other similar ones at age 40, no matter how good they were when they were 20. These are NOT like MBA programs (or executive MBA programs) where networking is the #1 priority.
2. I attended one of the other top quant master’s programs and there is no question in my mind that Princeton >>>>> MIT for their respective quant finance masters programs. Princeton may be a small program, but it is very elite and everybody knows it. MIT is one of the newest programs out there and in my opinion, primarily living off the MIT brand for the time being. The two most important factors for these programs is quality of students and strength of the career center. Princeton wins in the first category and MIT will need a couple years before catching up to ANY of the older programs with established networks.

genuinecfa

If I didn’t know any better, turning 40 is a death sentence with no further potential.  I bet there are plenty of 40+ year olds out there that can compete just fine with the mid 20 crowd.   
I looked at the Princeton program and you guys act like it’s rocket science.  The core classes look easier than a sophomore year electrical engineering program.  I understand that the students are probably some of brightest in the world, but an engineering degree from any reputable school is probably more difficult.