MicroMasters Program in Finance builds a new level of confidence

Joshua Gayman’s educational and professional journey has been anything but linear. He started college as a young adult but stepped away to build a career that began in automotive sales and grew to include real estate brokerage, investment, and property management. Nearly two decades into his professional path, he discovered the MITx MicroMasters Program in Finance and decided to take on the challenge. Completing the program, he says, strengthened both his analytical skills and his confidence in applying them.  

In 2021, Gayman enrolled in MIT Sloan’s Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation, and Technology, part of Sloan’s executive education program. While pursuing that certificate, which he completed in 2023, Gayman was focused on management and leadership. He realized he wanted a much deeper foundation in quantitative finance, mathematical modeling, and systems thinking to complement what he was learning at Sloan.

That’s when he found the MicroMasters Program in Finance. The MITx MicroMasters are credentialed online graduate-level programs offered by MIT Open Learning. Learners who earn a MicroMasters credential can apply for an accelerated master’s degree program at MIT and other participating schools. Launched in 2015, the MicroMasters now includes programs in supply chain management, manufacturing, finance, statistics and data science, and data and policy.

“While courses in management sharpened how I think about organizations and leadership, the MicroMasters in Finance program sharpened how I think about systems, modeling, and decision-making under uncertainty,” says Gayman. “The program has real analytical rigor and teaches concepts that I apply directly to evaluating investments, building models, and managing real estate funds.”

Gayman was well-established in his career when he decided to undertake the MicroMasters program, but he was open to learning and found that the courses had an enormous impact.

“They fundamentally changed the way I think about complex systems and decision-making,” he says.  

Linear algebra gave him a framework for understanding how complex systems behave and how variables interact. Calculus helped him think in terms of continuous change and how small changes can affect the whole system. Finance tied it all together by applying advanced mathematical models to real-world financial decision-making.

“What made these courses particularly effective was the combination of pace and application,” he explains. “The material wasn’t watered down. You had to actually engage with it, solve problems, and internalize it.”

It was the rigor that drew him to the MicroMasters Program in Finance over others. While other finance programs are surface-level or geared toward general understanding, he says, the MicroMasters program’s design and range of courses made it clear that he would be challenged. 

Reflecting on his professional and academic path, Gayman says that he has always focused on building systems and making decisions under uncertainty. Completing the program gave him a new set of tools.

“I already had experience, but the program gave me a structured way to think about risk, valuation, and systems,” he says. “Personally, it was probably even more impactful. Coming back to a rigorous academic environment later in life and succeeding reset my own expectations of what I’m capable of. It built a different level of confidence and discipline.”

He urges fellow professionals to consider the MITx MicroMasters Program if they are ready to challenge themselves. 

“It is not passive. You cannot watch lectures and move on,” says Gayman. “You need to engage deeply with the material, embrace the problem sets, and be willing to struggle a bit. If you’re willing to put in the work, you’ll come away with far more than another credential—you’ll fundamentally change the way you think.”