PROGRAMS & CENTRES
M.SC. ALUM BEGINS CAREER IN THE FINANCE INDUSTRY GRADUATES OF THE M.SC. IN FINANCE PROGRAM often go on to complete Ph.D.s at some of the most prestigious universities in North America. Recent alumni have been accepted to schools like Cornell, University of Toronto, Queen’s, and Vanderbilt. However, as alumnus Garrett Meier demonstrates, the M.Sc. in Finance also provides students with the tools to succeed in industry. Garrett entered the B.Comm. program planning to major in accounting, but changed his mind after taking his first finance course. After he graduated, he found a few compelling reasons to apply to the M.Sc. in Finance. “I was interested in learning more and job prospects weren’t great at the time because of the recession,” he says. “I spoke to my professors and they convinced me the M.Sc. would be a good route.” The first year of the master’s program was a bit of a shock, Garrett remembers. “The work load greatly exceeded what I was
“A LOT OF THE TASKS I DO ARE
DIRECTLY RELATED TO TOOLS AND SKILLS I LEARNED IN THE M.SC. PROGRAM.”
doing in undergrad. There were some late nights working in the grad student carrels.” But he says the caliber and people of the program made it worthwhile. “The profs are brilliant people. Some of them have studied with Nobel Prize winning economists,” he says. “They want you to work for yourself and help you along the way. It was easier to work long hours with all the support of students and faculty.” It was during his time in the program, that Garrett started thinking about Greystone. “It’s best in breed to grow your financial career,” he says. He received several offers after graduating, but accepted a position with the Canadian Equity Team at Greystone in Regina. Since then, he’s held a position with the Risk Group and is now a senior analyst with the Real Estate Group. Garrett says the skills he learned in the M.Sc. program have been invaluable. “A lot of the tasks I do are directly related to tools and skills I learned in the M.Sc. program,” he says. “We did a lot of heavy lifting on data, programming, quantitative work, and analysis of investment products. Without a doubt I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that without the M.Sc.” His years in the master’s program also helped prepare him to write the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam. “I wrote the first level in the M.Sc. and the second and third at Greystone,” he says. “The pass rates are very low. It’s a challenging test.” He spent the evenings studying after busy days at work and put in full weekends of studying. “Learning those time management skills in university was great,” he says. “If you get good at handling the time pressure early, it just carries on.” Garrett’s advice to students is to work hard, set goals, and look ahead. “Sit down for an hour once a year and think about where you want to be a year from now, five years from now, and 10 years from now,” he says. “If you have a good idea of what direction you want to go in for work, that’ll have an impact on your academic areas.” To learn more about the M.Sc. in Finance program, visit edwards.usask.ca/programs/mscfinance
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