the corner office

re: Ctrl-S hangs an xterm (by Vitalii)

Thanks a lot.

re: Holiday over part II (by Colin)

Hi all

I'm a bit slow to pick up on comments on this page, my apologies. A quick note on the requests for past papers etc. I know that many of the lecturers at UNISA would like for old content and tutorial letters to be made freely available, but since UNISA chooses not to, I'm not going to break copyright by sharing them on this site. I will point out one thing: take a look at the actual URLs of tutorial letters you download from myUNISA. UNISA chooses not to block students from downloading tutorial letters from other subjects, and they don't always clean out old tutorial letters. That's all I'll say on that.

@James - I've been in the UK for a number of years and can't comment on Wits' qualification, nor can I comment on the SA job market, but if it's anything like London I'd say that what you learn on the course will stand you in good stead if you're looking for a decent job in the finance/banking industry. The content doesn't seem to be far off of what gets covered in taught Masters in Financial Maths etc at UK universities.

I'm a developer though, and this was more about complementing what I do than opening up an entirely new career for me. Mathematicians in finance generally end up being quants - google the term and look at some of the quant forums (you'll probably get some good advice there, too). Assuming that's your goal, you probably want at least a Masters or PhD, and your day job will probably end up having very little to do with the specific stuff you studied.

Having said that, I should point out that this course is predominantly about probability and stochastics, but in my job for example I deal with quants who spend a lot more time looking at applied maths problems, optimisation and statistics than they do stochastics. In other teams and areas it's probably entirely different. I'd say choose what you enjoy most and can excel at, and I don't think you'll go wrong.

re: Holiday over part II (by James)

hey all

I have recently completed a bsc in statistics and applied maths ..I'm confused as to what to do next ..does a bsc hons in financial modelling from unisa hold promise? are there good job opportunities..is pay good ? or would I be better off with a math or stat honours? also how does this course compare to the hons in advanced maths of finance at wits ? any answers will be appreciated.

re: Ctrl-S hangs an xterm (by Anand)

Thanks a real lot. This has ended a long-standing point of frustration for me. I can't recount how many xterms/screens I have had to kill because of this stupid problem. Somehow thought of googling it very late in the day.

Brilliant.

Anand

re: Holiday over part II (by Senny)

Hi
I am intending to enroll with UNISA for Bsc (Hons)Financial Modelling and i was researching for some information about the degree and i came across your page. It has some useful information BIG UP for that. I have a good Mathematics and statistics background coa i have a Bsc(Hons) Applied MAthematics so i want fo focus more on Financial Mathematics. If u can u can send some tutorials, assignments and documents with the course content to have a look of what i will face.
My email is alcync@gmail.com
Thanx so much.

re: For parents (by Colin)

Resolved!

re: For parents (by Ronwen)

Chocolate has caffeine in it.................

re: 29.9 (by Colin)

A bookish kid who grew up in the 80s playing D&D knows what crenellated means :-)

(I know I'm wrong, but the fortifications were nonetheless unconvincing!)

re: 29.9 (by Ronwen)

Pfffffffffff. Before this you didn't even know what "crenellated" meant. ;)

It hurts being wrong, doesn't it?

re: 29.9 (by Colin)

I concede. But when the 'fortified home' is little more than a posh country manor with a crenellated gatehouse and a red brick wall that would do a lousy job of keeping juvenile apple thieves at bay, then one really is straying into not-very-castle-y territory, no matter how actually-a-castle it otherwise is.