Finance Undergrad to Quant Finance Career
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- How can you go from a finance undergrad to a quantitative finance career? This is not an easy jump. Skill wise you are unprepared and you need to do something about it. Below are some possible paths.
1) Add a math minor then go for a quant masters or other quantitative masters.
2) Get a quant masters based in a business school who accepts a wide range of undergrad degrees.
3) Get a quantitative masters in another area (math, applied economics, or CS). This can require other prerequisite courses which you might need to take as an undergrad.
4) Get a PhD in something quantitative. Finance and economics can be a possible path but you'll need to learn the missing math, stats, and CS skills required to work in quantitative finance.
All paths will require self-studying to increase your odds at landing a job. All of the paths above should aim to gain the same diverse skill set of math, statistics, computer science, and financial application.
There are NO shortcuts to quant finance or life!
A Primer for the Mathematics of Financial Engineering (affiliate link):
amzn.to/3NKB6RP
Website:
www.FancyQuant...
Quant t-shirts, mugs, and hoodies:
www.teespring....
Connect with me:
/ dimitri-bianco
/ dimitribianco
If anyone is wondering, I have paint on my head from the dream garage project. Time has been limited for recording videos.
Film your work on the garage project. Get two birds with one stone. 😊 Bonus birds if, during the work, you talk to yourself about quant finance, life in general, or random non-private things that are on your mind. 😊
100% truth and to add on my 2 cents. I was a Finance grad and am currently self-studying Maths and Programming before applying to MFE/MQF.
The things that are taught in Finance have 0 application for a Quant role. The closest module I had is probably Derivative.
For people that really want to understand more about the Maths portion, the Primer book that Dimitri showed in the video is a good book to start. Don't get it? RUclips/Google your way through.
As for programming, there are tons of resources and books on it, so it should not be a problem.
Another factor that you need to consider is the time taken to have the basic skills. I have 0 Maths and Programming background, every day I study 3 hours and I estimated the time to acquire the basic skills is 2 years. Unless you intend to crash into a Quant Masters, which I do not recommend as the learning curve is really STEEP.
hey, any update on how your progress is?
@@biglilrichard Hey, thanks for asking. I am starting school at Singapore Management University MQF in a few weeks. As for the preparation I mentioned earlier, sadly, I felt that I am still weak in Maths. Improved in theory, but not so much in application.
However, I felt that my programming is much better, as there are pre-course classes for Python programming and I do not have any problem understanding what the prof was teaching.
@@shawnkhor3434 how did you manage to gain acceptance? I know self study is good for preparation but not always for acceptance, did you have any math background in undergrad?
@@biglilrichard For my interview, I wasn't asked or tested any technical questions, although I am prepped for it. I was shocked when I received the offer.
Based on my first comment, no, I do not have any maths or programming background. I started from ground zero. This is to show, there are still opportunities for non-maths or programming to enter MQF/MFE.
@@shawnkhor3434 i see, that's encouraging! How long would you say it took to prepare yourself for the maths? I'm looking to make this move too, from an accounting/finance degree. But I did have some courses that were programming based, and i'm taking a few math courses as well as econometrics to help get myself ready. Hoping i can get into a good MQF or econometrics program :)
If I have a finance degree but I still want to pursue a quant master. Should Should I do another 4 years of a degree like math or stats? Or taking a good base a courses in math area is accepted. For example taking 6 courses or so like Cal 1,2,3 probability… etc. Could take around 1 to 2 years, I wouldn’t get the degree but I would have a good base of math. Is this aceptable for Quant master? Wanted to add I have a minor in CS. I know that is no essential to Quant but wanted to add up.
Once you have a finance degree the best way is to find a quant masters that accepts finance majors. The program will not be as rigorous however it will help you get into the industry. For more technical positions you'll want to catch up on the topics you missed.
@@DimitriBianco thank you so much!!! I should prioritize getting the knowledge and experience from work to try to enter the industry rather than “start all over again”? Thanks again 🙏
@JesusSanta-uu6mt correct. It will be a bit more challenging than having a math undergrad but I don't think it is worth the time and money to start over.
Dimitri,
Are there opportunities for jobs outside the US/UK? I am interested if there are positions in The Netherlands. I can't find too much information online. I am a finance major most likely going for risk management but I'd like to know if there is a quant scene in the Netherlands. Will most likely self study quant material from your book recommendation videos for fun. Thanks.
There are quant jobs around the world however they are less common. I'm sure there are quant jobs in the Netherlands but it will just take some research of jobs and companies.
Can you do a "Physics undergrad to Quant Finance Career". There are LOADS of physicists I know who are amazing quants but just can't get the jobs as banks don't want to take the risk.
Right now I'm double majoring in finance and Data Analytics, with a minor in mathematics. My plan is to get a stats or data science masters. I'd love to work as a data scientist in the financial sector, maybe one day even as a quant?
Excellent insight! Curious, why do you recommend learning linear regression as it seems analysis related to ML techniques will be become increasingly relevant - rendering LR increasingly less so?
Hey dimitri. This is a side question that’s not related to the video. When I go on LinkedIn and look at all the quant researchers who are at firms (top firms, tier 2 firms etc), all across the board I see mathematicians. Phd, pure mathematics, phd applied mathematics. Just mathematicians, mathematicians, and even more mathematicians, and insert a physicist here or there.
My question to you is, are statisticians not sought out as much much as mathematicians for quant research roles? Do firms have this idea of mathematicians > physicists > statisticians?
Or is this the phenomenon we saw earlier with low statistics majors in MFE programs, where it was due to the fact that they went to other ms programs, ie. Data science & statistics.
My hunch is that maybe it’s the same reason, that statisticians are going to data science, or pharma, or tech, and not really putting quant firms first.
However, I read an interesting discussion on Reddit, which, of course is not ground truth, but they were comparing the differences in the skillsets between mathematicians/physicists and statisticians. They were saying how, statisticians are not trained in “modeling from first principles” like mathematicians and physicists are. Ie, where a statistician would do analysis, assess assumptions, and fit a model maybe tweak an existing model to their liking, a mathematicians or Physicist would be essentially reinventing the wheel every time in modeling, where they make customized models for everything, ie, first principles.
What do you think about this? Do you think that maybe I’m just seeing the phenomenon you talked about in the no stats majors in MFE video?
Dimitri,
For someone looking to begin coding for finance, would you recommend Python, C++, or R? Specifically for a practitioner rather than someone in/pursuing the academic route.
I would go with Python. It is more versatile and is becoming more popular in finance every year.
@@DimitriBianco much appreciated!
I have the opposite problem. I just finished a BS in Financial Math and Stats class at a top 30 school with a good GPA. All the math, stats, and coding requirements in the videos are more than met. However, the school barely touched on any finance stuff. I am taking a gap year before applying to quant/ MFE programs. Do you have advice for what kind of job should I apply for to better prep me for grad school and just about applying for finance jobs in general.
Like Dimitri said in one of his videos, Trad Finance is only 5% of QF. So I personally don't think you should worry about it.
Hey Dimitri,
Tell me please the application of Differential Geometry in QF and what advantages/drawbacks such a knowledge has compared to the PDE.
Thank you
Dimitri,
I'm looking to become a quant analyst or data scientist and currently weighing up 2 options for my degree and masters..
Options are for degree are BSc in Math & Finance or BSc in Math & Computer Science.
Options for masters are MSc in Data Analysis or MSc in Quantitative Finance. Not sure what the best path would be?
Hi Dimitri! Do you know whether there are age restrictions for entering the quant scene?
For ex, if someone got undegr in non-quant degree (History or Languages), and after that get undegr in applied math/math with 30 years-old finishing. How banks/quant firms look at such a case?
hey can you please suggest a path to become a quant if you are a cs major?
It depends what you want to do. I have another video on career paths but if you want to continue to program a lot but do it inside of quant finance, look for a masters program that teaches more programming. This education can land you in a job called, "quant dev" where you are a cs professional who knows more math than most cs people.
is there another route by getting a CFA/& CQF/FRM with a boot camp or rigorous self-learning in data science a way to becomee a quant
In the US where most of the jobs are, no. Many places even prefer PhDs.
@DimitriBianco thank you so much. This was helpful. I have a law background. Will you recommend having an MFE or its equivalent a better route for a quant role/quant developer role. I'm considering a career switch.
@pelumiobisesan6122 a quant masters is the most common path. Having a graduate degree in something quantitative is usually the first thing we look at when hiring.
@DimitriBianco thank you so much. This has been helpful.
Dimitri, after watching your video about MS in applied economics, I was thinking that getting into quant finance through that program could require less quant prerequisites (and harder work during the program) because people with more generalist (and less quant) focus are also going to that program. What do think about this “backdoor”?
It's a possible path if you take the right courses. You still need the statistical rigor which includes understanding a lot of the math. Most applied economic masters students are unqualified to work as quants because they didn't take the proper classes. Now that being said, if you find a rigorous program with good electives it can be a better path for many.
Best degree for private equity?
Would this be identical for economics undergrads?
Yes
R and Python are also not real programming languages :D, examples of real programming languages - C/C++/Cuda, Java, GoLang
by the way Julia is a very new and interesting language
@@meteor8076 those aren’t real programming languages. Assembly code is the only real programming language.
If you're good enough to make it from traditional finance to quant finance, It's better not to; because you will make more money in finance thanks to the opportunity cost, if you're not good enough don't waste your time, if you're passionate about it read research papers in your free time.
Thanks for this comment.
Are you saying that there are more job opportunities (spread out over different sectors) in traditional finance?
@@dwight4k Yes definitely. Quant finance is more niche and harder to get into.
@@Wa7edmenalnass Ah OK. I get it. Thanks.
@@dwight4k U welcome, glad to help.
What’s a good degree to get into to make money in finance ? I’m working as a data analyst and don’t have a degree but I want to go to college I’m currently 24years old and don’t have a really good understanding of all these finance degrees and why so many people say they are bad. I want to do less coding and more talking and working with people but I also would like the pay to be in the 6 figures since I would take a pay cut if from my current job and I don’t want that to happen