Teri Geske writes over at QuantNetwork:

Without a doubt, the financial crisis has rocked the foundations of the financial sector and its impact on the job market lingers.  But despite the dire predictions that “things will never be the same”, and the accusations being  leveled at “models that failed”, this may well be a Golden Era for financial engineers (for the sake of brevity, “quants” ). Sell-side and buy-side firms’ models are being examined and re-examined; asset managers are searching for new sources of alpha in almost any possible nook or cranny; the growth in high frequency trading makes data analysis skills even more valuable, and as any seasoned practitioner knows, while new regulations can be tedious they can also lead to great innovation and creativity.  So, new ideas from smart people with good math skills are as valuable now as they have ever been. To top it all off, the availability of Internet-based forums where quants can discuss ideas, ask questions and find relevant research (not to mention job postings) can make a quant career more collaborative and more intellectually satisfying than ever before...

This is all good news if you are pursuing a degree in financial engineering.  Of course, while there are great opportunities for quants going forward, you will have a lot of competition for desirable jobs.  If you are wondering how you can stand out when interviewing, here is a practitioner’s perspective on the Top 10 things firms really want from a quant.