{"id":93379,"date":"2025-06-04T11:13:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T15:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/?page_id=93379"},"modified":"2025-06-04T11:18:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T15:18:23","slug":"amir-alamir","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/programs\/business-management\/stories\/amir-alamir\/","title":{"rendered":"With Dedication and Drive, Award-Winning Student Successfully Transitions from Computer Engineering to Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><div class=\"jump-links\" style=\"padding-top: 0; margin-bottom: 50px;\"><a href=\"\/met\/programs\/business-management\/\" class=\"button back small\">Business &amp; Management Programs<\/a><a href=\"\/met\/programs\/business-management\/stories\/\" class=\"button back small\">More Student Stories<\/a><\/div><img src=\"\/met\/files\/2025\/06\/alamir.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot of Amir Alamir, MS in Financial Management  (MET\u201924)\" width=\"200\" class=\"story-headshot\" \/><strong>Amir Alamir (MET\u201924)<br \/>\nQuantitative Analyst, Holmes Investment Management, Inc.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/degrees-certificates\/ms-financial-management\/\">MS, Financial Management<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What motivated you to earn your master\u2019s degree at this point? Why did you choose to fulfill your goal at Metropolitan College?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt all started by being fascinated by the hedge fund industry but coming from a computer engineering background! I was fascinated by the combination of programming and algorithms with trading, which led me to start developing trading strategies (little did I know about efficient market hypothesis and modern portfolio theory). I felt my lack of financial knowledge and decided to apply for my master\u2019s in finance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you find most engaging about the discipline of insurance management? Do you have a particular focus within the broader field?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe most engaging aspect of my experience in the program was absolutely the faculty. I was lucky to have the honor of meeting a perfect combination of academic and industry-experienced faculty. We\u2019ve had professors from Wall Street who taught us through real stories and scenarios in the industry, along with one of the smartest people I have ever met\u2014 my advisor, Assistant Professor<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/profile\/alexander-becker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alexander Becker<\/a>. I always say to my friends that \u201cwhen he talks, I feel like I am two standard deviations below the mean IQ.\u201d What else can we expect from a program?!<\/p>\n<p>Regarding my focus, I studied investment analysis, and I am keen to learn more in the quantitative field of finance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Congratulations on your high achievement in the Financial Management program and your Award for Excellence in your studies! Looking back, what do you consider to be the main ingredients of your success?<\/strong><br \/>\nDedication. I am a believer that \u201ctalent\u201d and \u201cluck\u201d are normally distributed, therefore, it\u2019s unwise to count on them, so I say to myself, \u201cIf I want something, I commit to it.\u201d To be perfectly honest, I wasn\u2019t aware of this award\u2019s existence during my studies but I wanted to learn as much as I could. A fun fact\u2014I spent both of my birthdays during the program in the library.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How were you able to successfully balance your studies with your commitments outside the classroom?<\/strong><br \/>\nOutside of the classroom I was studying CFA level 1, sometimes watching financial documentaries, and reading fun financial books like<span>\u00a0<\/span><em>When Genius Failed<\/em>,<span>\u00a0<\/span><em>The Intelligent Investor<\/em>, etc., and playing tennis. So, there is a high correlation between my hobbies and studies. I genuinely enjoy finance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Was your success in the program driven by a particular outcome\u2014such as professional advancement, educational achievement, personal satisfaction, or something else?<\/strong><br \/>\nAbsolutely yes! I had three goals in my mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prove myself to myself.<\/li>\n<li>Become a knowledgeable person in my field.<\/li>\n<li>Forge good relationships with my professors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next for you? Would you say that your program helped prepare you for the next phase of your career?<\/strong><br \/>\nI want to compound my knowledge of finance, leveraging dividends of experience to build a high alpha portfolio of life goals and investment in personal growth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You were recognized by faculty and peers for your hard work and dedication to the Financial Management program. What \u201cwords of advice\u201d or encouragement have served as a guiding principle, or simply inspiration, for you? Any words of wisdom you would like to pass along to students starting in the program?<\/strong><br \/>\nLook for tough classes, courses, and professors! Don\u2019t be afraid (they are all great!) and don\u2019t let the fear of a lower GPA stop you from truly learning. You are already putting in the time and effort, so have fun, take the risk, and manage it by working hard. You\u2019ll be fine!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there anything else you would like to add?<\/strong><br \/>\nI am deeply grateful to my parents for their unwavering support. Their encouragement has meant the world to me. I also want to express my appreciation to my great advisor, Professor Becker, whose guidance and mentorship have been instrumental in my academic journey, and to Professor<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/profile\/ivan-f-julio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ivan F. Julio<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>for his sincere help and support. Additionally, I appreciate the wonderful faculty at Boston University Metropolitan College for their valuable insights and encouragement.<br \/>\n<style>\r\n.hub-ctas {\r\n  text-align: center;\r\n  margin-top: 30px;\r\n}\r\n.hub-ctas .button {\r\n  background-color: #138387;\r\n  color: #fff;\r\n  margin-right: 30px;\r\n}\r\n.hub-ctas .button:hover {\r\n  background-color: #18ABAF;\r\n}\r\n.hub-ctas .button:last-of-type {\r\n  margin-right: 0;\r\n}\r\n@media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n  .hub-ctas .button {\r\n    display: block;\r\n    margin-right: 0;\r\n  }\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; margin-top: 50px;\">Connect with Us<\/h2>\r\n<div class=\"hub-ctas\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/admissions\/apply-now-graduate\/\" class=\"button\">Apply<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/met.bu.edu\/inquiryform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"button\">Request Information<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/admissions\/connect-with-an-advisor\/\" class=\"button\">Meet An Advisor<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amir Alamir (MET\u201924) Quantitative Analyst, Holmes Investment Management, Inc. MS, Financial Management What motivated you to earn your master\u2019s degree at this point? Why did you choose to fulfill your goal at Metropolitan College? It all started by being fascinated by the hedge fund industry but coming from a computer engineering background! I was fascinated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21457,"featured_media":0,"parent":87771,"menu_order":12,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93379"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93382,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93379\/revisions\/93382"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}