This is a great video! Long overdue. Great recommendations, FE or mathematical finance masters programs should take note. 👍🏼

Totally agree with you on why an academic masters program is more rigorous. People can get caught up on “why aren’t we focusing on real world applications?” when nailing down the theory will pay dividends in the future.

Hi Dimitri! What are your thoughts on Quant Masters from top UK unis where the majority of them are 1 year courses? From your experiences, do you notice a difference between UK and US quants in their academically rigorous? Thank you!

man you posted this at the perfect time as I am comparing programs. Thank you!

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:03 *🎓 Differentiating Academic and Professional Degrees* - Academic masters focus on theory, rigorous training in math, stats, and computer science, often lacking hands-on application. - Professional degrees, like MBAs, emphasize vocational training for specific job tasks, with more hands-on, industry-focused learning. - Academic programs typically require 3-4 courses per semester, ensuring depth of study, while professional degrees may allow for more courses with less rigor. 07:34 *📚 Importance of Academic Rigor in Quantitative Finance* - Academic masters provide a deeper understanding of quantitative finance principles, essential for excelling in roles like derivatives pricing or risk management. - Programs lacking academic rigor often result in graduates needing extensive on-the-job training, impacting their competitiveness in the job market. - Academic rigor ensures graduates are well-prepared with necessary academic tools for success in quantitative finance careers. 11:18 *💼 Quantitative Finance Industry Expectations and Challenges* - The industry demands rigorous education, with academic degrees preferred over professional ones due to the depth of knowledge they provide. - Programs not meeting industry standards in academic rigor may struggle to adequately prepare graduates for quantitative finance roles. - Competition for quantitative finance positions is intense, necessitating a strong academic foundation for job readiness and career advancement. 19:10 *📚 The importance of a rigorous quant finance thesis* - The quant finance thesis should involve legitimate, rigorous research, not superficial factor models. - Instructors should include both academic professors and industry practitioners to provide cutting-edge insights and real-world problems. - Students should engage in hands-on research, addressing actual industry challenges, under the mentorship of faculty. 21:04 *🎓 Summary: Academic rigor, course load, and professional mentorship* - A balance of academic rigor and industry relevance is crucial for a comprehensive quantitative finance master's program. - The proposed curriculum includes 12 courses spread over two years, emphasizing the depth of learning. - Professional mentorship and career services are essential for grooming students to succeed in the industry, including practical skills like resume writing and interviewing techniques. Made with HARPA AI

I don’t know if the academic vs professional is spot on. Baruch’s MFE is a Master in Financial Engineering. Dan Stefanica told me personally when I was on campus last year that it is a professional program, not an academic program. They have the best placement that I have seen. I’m in a Master in Statistics program right now that is very highly ranked and so far, very rigorous. 3 courses in my first semester required an extraordinary amount of work. 3-4 semesters in total plus a statistical consulting practicum where we do consulting for large corporations in the summer instead of an internship (I think this is common in Stats programs from what I have seen). But I understand your concern about MBA-like programs where it’s almost an executive overview of QF with no rigor. The rest of the video is great. I always appreciate your perspectives. Question: What topics should MS Stats students self teach if they want to work in the Quant Finance world? Stochastic Processes, Time Series, Bayesian Methods? Any books that you recommend for the transition into QF?

This was one of your best videos in my opinion. Also, I'm not sure if you've changed anything but I only got 1 ad instead of like 6 so thank you for that its greatly appreciated.

I completely agree that 2 years should be ideal for Masters. Even 2 years of study isn't enough. In order to become successful you need to be able to live and breathe in Quantitative Finance. From wherever you study, one should have an individual spark to become successful and bear challenges.

Two MBAs already watched the video XD

Hi Dimitri, I would be very interested on your view about the CQF certificate from Paul Willmot. I have already a MSc in Quantitative Finance, but as you mentioned I don't think a one year degree is sufficient to cover in depth this field.

Good breakdown, that should help students in undergrad like myself to prepare them well for grad school.

Very well said. Nice video and explanations, Dimitri! You have motivated and helped me a lot to keeping my studies and goals in quantitative finance focused on the main points that really matter. You are my inspiration. Thank you for dedicate your time to share this liquid gold contents and experience with us.

Back in the 90's, I was looking to leave a career in quantitative equity trading to get a PhD in Finance. One of the quants who used to work with John Meriwether at Solomon referred me to finance professors at the top business schools in SF and NY. I applied to the PhD programs and took a week off work to visit them. But I was disappointed to find the professors completely disconnected from real-world problems. Their focus seemed to be getting published in journals which no one outside academia bothered to read. I joined a hedge fund instead.

Dimitri your video has been absolutely helpful for me. Can you make a video on debunking some myths about technical analysis? I have heard that most of the indicators used in TA has been developed for econometrics data considering stationarity and day traders randomly apply them to charts.

Hello Dimitri! I want to break into the finance industry. What do you think about a totally academic master's? Some people say the degree that is so academic (traditional statistics masters, etc.) would not be suitable to get a job. Moreover, even they have a rigorous curriculum, they are less preferred than Ph.D.s. Is academic degree disadvantageous than professional degrees in terms of getting a job, and disadvantageous than Ph.D. degrees in terms of research ability and rigorousness?

Dear Dimitri thank you very much for this fascinating video, indeed this video is very helpful for me. Particularly, these days that I need to choose one of two programmes; a) Master's in quantitative finance at the University of Kiel (Germany) and b) Master's in Quantitative Finance at Rotterdam School of Economics. I would be very happy and grateful to you if you are able to advice the career opportunity for Quant Finance graduates in European market. Once again many thanks, please keep producing such educated content.

Great list Dimitri. If someone is not necessarily interested in Quant Finance as a career, but simply interested as a hobby, and thus the academic rigor and time investment is neither desired nor affordable, what in your opinion would be a good source to learn the basics of all these topics?

Dimitri, I'm having a very hard time picking a graduate school to go to. You recommended Risk Management as a career for me because I like math, stats, and finance but don't want to do software engineering, and you recommended I pursue a graduate degree in statistics. However, there are so many schools offering statistics degrees without seeming to offer financial engineering or financial mathematics courses. Filtering is hard when there are thousands of programs. How can I figure out the best program to pursue? Also, you mentioned that many would discount an unheard-of school. Does this mean I would want to go to a school that's well known specifically for statistics, a school that is well known specifically for financial engineering/mathematics, or a school that is well known in general? I feel so lost and anxious...

amazing video. very instructive. very well structured curriculum. I hoped that you would mention a bit more about the numerical method part. which courses would be appropriate? nonlinear optimization, discrete optimization/ numerical pde etc? i'm starting my master in maths here in germany, we can structure our own courses. im finishing my bachelor in mathematics-specialized in optimization and statistics, thesis on deep learning- with minor cs. Im considering to combine statistics, optimization and cs-machine learning in my master, but not really sure if i should reduce optimization a bit and take some more cs- data science. we can choose two fields of specialization, and my options are: A- stats and cs- machine learning and data science and then a bit of opti as a side dish. B- stats and optimization, and a bit of cs- machine learning as a minor. what would you comment on this?

Hi Dimitri. It sounds like if you want to be a good quant you should basically do an undergrad in CS or EE, then a MS in applied econ and then a MS in CS.

Hey thanks for the video. Do you think it's wise to go straight into a Master's after graduating, or should I work for a few years then do a master's? Cheers

hey dimitri love your videos. what paths are there into Quant having a UK bachelors degree in computer science from a top 25 overall school in the UK and having significant experience in coding projects and also lots of experience with machine learning and NLP projects. I'm 20 and i also have previous work experience at a startup for 1 year doing Data Science / Analytics

I think using years as a metric for masters is not good. I would rather you say units. Some people can take lax schedule for a years worth of units in masters and make it two years.

What programs would you recommend? What should one study during undergrad? What program for undergrad at nyu would best prepare me?

What is your opinion on PRM? Is it any good like FRM? I have a bsc in economics and studied msc in applied statistics and I am considering to take exams for either PRM or FRM, because I want to start my career as a credit risk modeler, or even market risk modeler, but preferably credit risk.

What about applied statistics vs statistics programs

The come up with your own fun problem Quant thesis describes my MQF program...

Which program has all of these requirements? I am having trouble finding them. Please help.

Any opinion on Erasmus school of economics msc in quantitative finance?

Please do a video about quant masters in the UK

will that be much more difficult to find quant jobs in US if my master/phd is not in US, although it is a top school with ranking

I think there is no program with all of that! If there is, can anyone point them out?

Can you be self taught quant?

Hello do you mind sharing your salaries in your first 3 years after your masters