Yes, it’s possible. You will probably need either a CS minor or major or something else technical to do it. You don’t need a Master’s degree to do engineering at a fintech company. If you want to spend most of your time coding, a CS major is better because you’ll be taken more seriously.

Sort of along similar lines, is it possible to work at a fintech/A.I. company in a role that mainly involves coding/data science (or similar quantitative skills) but also requires a good understanding of finance right out of undergrad? If so, what would be the best major/minor combo? I know you have an article on fintech but I believe that it was geared towards business roles.

For background, I’m currently a freshman at Cornell majoring in Applied Economics and Management (AEM), and planning to concentrate in Finance and minor in CS. A third of AEM graduates go into investment banking and job placement is heavily skewed towards traditional banking/consulting paths. Because of this, I was originally planning on doing a 1-2 year MFE and then work as a quant at a fund, but I’ve become more attracted to companies where the final product primarily involves tech rather than generating returns. Is a higher degree still required for such a job that also pays well? Or does it depend on the specific company?

I appreciate any advice you might have.

Anything’s possible, but if you want to do that, you need to move into more of a leadership role early on rather than remaining a quant for ~10 years (for example). So, I think you just have to do a few internships in these areas and see what you like. Not sure of the hierarchy at quant funds, but I’m fairly certain that even if you move up, you’ll still be doing mostly technical work (even PMs at non-quant hedge funds do a lot of investment analysis and reviews).

Thank you for response.

I am a European student interested in becoming a quant researcher.

In spite of having a heavy STEM background, I’m pretty decent with people and I’m a strong communicator. Hence, I really want to take on some type of leadership position later in my career. Do you have any insight into how that could work out? Basically, what’s the hierarchy like in the quant world? Considering that would you recommend me to pursue an quant researcher career? Or are there better options out there?

Yes, quants can earn a lot of money, but it’s not for everyone. Burnout/turnover rates are quite high, and it’s not that appealing to some because you never develop “soft skills” outside the pure math/programming, meaning that you wouldn’t be well-positioned to start or run a company afterward, move into management/leadership roles, etc. People often go into it and then switch out once they realize those downsides:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/quant-to-equity-research-associate/

I’ve been hearing more and more about “quants” and how some of them make 250k-400k straight out of undergrad and how it’s so many people’s “dream job.” I’ve looked a bit at what a quant does and most of the time it’ll entail a ton of math, including stochastic calculus and Brownian motion. If I’m good at programming and good at math, then is this the career path I should be trying to go for? What are the downsides of being a quant? Why are quant guys the smartest people in Finance?

Probably something with statistics, math, and CS… you need to know how to code but you don’t need to be an expert for these roles. A minor in CS is probably better, and then major in finance or statistics or at least make sure you take classes in both. I can’t comment on quant funds to look at because I don’t know the industry well enough. Also, it’s almost impossible to win this type of role right out of undergrad, so it may be better to work at a large bank first and then move over… or go back to grad school first since many of these funds will require a higher degree.

It’s a great article. I am currently an upcoming junior at the University of Rochester majoring in financial economics and minoring in comp sci. I am very interested in algorithmic/quantitative trading and want to work in a quant fund (or fintech) as a trader or in a role which is a combination of both finance and coding, not just coding. To pursue such a career path, what would be the optimal major choice.? I am sure about my financial econ major, but I am in a dilemma whether I should pursue a major in comp sci instead of a minor. As a minor, I do the extra work to learn and am currently working on algorithms to backtest strategies much as moving average and directional movement index. Would that major be a requirement to break into the industry because it sure will wear down my GPA a bit (which I can afford because I have a 3.8 and probably won’t go below a 3.6)? Also, if I want to work in quant funds, what companies should I be looking into considering I don’t go to a core school? The resources at my school are pretty good (for IB, S&T and consulting) but not for the industry I am trying to pursue because it’s very new. Are there any resources you recommend I check out?

I would appreciate any advice you could provide.

Sincerely,
Sahaj

If you’re more interested in trading, the S&T internship at JPM is better. IBD and S&T are completely different fields, so it really comes down to your personal interests. But if you want to do anything related to trading, quant research, or the public markets, starting in electronic trading and gaining some experience with automation is better.