Alum Satitpong Chantarajirawong was a student in the Computational Finance and Risk Management Master of Science campus cohort of 2011. He was an intern with Microsoft, and then joined the Employees Retirement System of Texas (Texas ERS) as an investment analyst after graduation. Now in Thailand, Satitpong works at SCB Asset Management, and recently spent time to reflect on his time in the CFRM program.
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
Undergraduate University: Chulalongkorn University
CFRM Cohort: 2011
CFRM Graduation: 2012
Current Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Company: SCB Asset Management
Title: Director, Head of Machine Learning Equity Department
Q: What is the best part of your current position?
SC: I love quantitative investment and research, and this job gives me both.
Q: How did your time in the CFRM program help you with your career path?
SC: As a quant fund manager, statistics and portfolio optimization are key for my job. What I learned in the CFRM program helped me to shape my skills to be able to work efficiently and effectively. I must say, statistics and portfolio optimization classes were the best ones, among others!
Q: What was your most memorable event or activity during your time in the program?
SC: I loved to attend seminars hosted by the program, because these were opportunities for me to learn from practitioners in the industry.
Q: What advice would you give incoming CFRM students?
SC: Internships are important. It can guide you to understand what you like or what kind of job you want to have in this industry. My suggestion is that you should try to talk to people in the industry, or even professors, as much as you can so that you can understand the industry more. Also, the CFA credential is a good thing to have, especially for portfolio management. To get a job or internship, you should get to know recruiters. You cannot just send applications without trying to talk to them.
Q: What is something you wish you had known when starting graduate school?
SC: I wish I had working experience in the financial industry before joining graduate school, because it could have really helped me to understand and be able to apply what I learned from school to jobs even more.