financial engineering

my undergraduate education in risk management and actuarial science and several experience, including HireVue AI interview with JP Morgan and internship in risk advisory in Ernst & Young, enlightened me to see contemporary financial world as data-driven, highly unpredictable and advancing by technology rapidly. I was amazed by the marriage of technology and financial services. For example, I could use Alipay to purchase nearly everything in China -- from a flight ticket to an apple in a fruit stand without physical cash exchange. Being aware of the financial industry is becoming more complicated and dynamic, I am enthusiastic to engage in more sophisticated and interdisciplinary study to prepare for my future career. besides, I see financial engineering -- a combination of financial theory, engineering methods, mathematical tools, and programming as a perfect fit to my passion too. Beyond my long lasting love to mathematics, I felt inspired to apply quantitative analysis, such as stochastic processes, Monte Carlo simulation, data analysis and actuarial statistics to portfolio theory and risk management.

my first two-year study as a student in statistics in Beijing technology and business university laid a solid mathematical foundation on probability, calculus advanced algebra and analytic geometry etc. As I was always drawn by the beauty of mathematics when exploring the insightful proofs behind formulas, it was a pleasure to study pure mathematics. after transferring to university College Cork as the top student in my class, I started to relate my mathematical and statistical knowledge to financial implications and appreciate the insight of applying calculus such as Lagrange multipliers in maximizing utility function with wealth constraints and deriving Black-Scholes model for pricing options. With awider exposure to computer programing languages such as C++ and R in my last two years, I found my curiosity in the role computer programing plays in current financial industry and my passion to apply it to model risk and simulate future price movements.

my first attempt to explain real world problem in the language of modeling was my participation in the American mathematical Contest in modeling in 2017 on the topic of the Zambezi River management. our team used integrative dam assessment model to differentiate the best option to reconstruct the Kariba dam out of economics and safety consideration from the other two and applied harmony search algorithm, numerical simulation and matrix structure optimization to support our model. In the team of three, I was mainly responsible to assess the three options from financial and risk prospective and compile the final report by LaTeX. During the three-day competition, I gradually realized the scientific advantages of using models to seek for optimal decisions. when I came across the article of 'modeling the world' by one of the columbia's assistant professors Shipra Agrawal, my desire to pursue an advanced financial engineering degree in columbia university was sparked. If possible, I am also planning to continue my study for a phd degree as I am not satiated to simply apply my knowledge but would love to spend more time on innovative research. Furthermore, I am interested in the Center for financial engineering in columbia university as the research there not only focus on derivatives pricing, portfolio optimization and risk-management but also actuarial mathematics which aligns with my undergraduate study.

my working experience in risk advisory in EY Dublin offered me a great chance to see a broader picture of nowadays business world. I was lucky to get involved in a wide range of project, such as tracker mortgage review, bank risk assessment and CRO survey interviews, and found my particular passion in quantitative analysis. my mentor, Bevin Power-Mooney, who was an astrophysics phd and now the head of the quant team in risk sector, led me into the world of quantitative analysis by introducing model risk management. it was fascinating to see banks were replacing traditional credit rating systems with moresophisticated algorithms to assess prospective borrower’s default probability. there I found my interest in becoming a quant, which was manifested by my excitement and inquisition into their daily tasks. my goal became more definite to work as a quant in the wall street after readingthe book 'my Life as a quant' by Dr. Emanuel Derman. As stated in the book 'A good quant must be a mixture-- part trader, part salesperson, part programmer, and part mathematician', thus, I am seeking for the opportunity to gain more advanced understanding to achieve my career goal. besides, I am aware of the stress, intensity and volatility the job could bring, I believe my resilience, intrepidity and self-discipline will enable me to face the daily challenge mentally and psychologically. Apart from the geographical advantage columbia university enjoys, I consider this program an ideal opportunity for its close relation with the wall street.

my undergraduate education has equipped me with the mathematical, statistical and programming experience to pursue my ambitions; I also have gained insight into financial industry through my internship, research and documentaries about the wall street. I believe my self-discipline, time management skills and heavy involvement in financial mathematics and computer programing have established my potential in financial engineering. I hope my background could qualify me as a successful candidate for this program so as to pave my way for my eventual career goal to become a quant.