Like a lot of people here I have always like computers, math and especially the markets. I really would like to pursue a career as a quant analyst but I don’t have the traditional background i.e. I can’t get into Georgia Tech’s “50 people accepted a year” quant Master’s program. I’ve been working in the industry for a little under 4 years and I have a History degree along with my licenses. I never regretted this or thought it would hold me back - Meredith Whitney has a history background - and I’m sure you all know there is diversity in our field. OBVIOUSLY this is why I wanted to pursue the CFA as kind of an entry way into something more technical. What do you all recommend? Should I just learn SQL and Python on my own like I’ve been doing, work and try and get my Charter? Any online quant degrees thats worth the time/money ? Opinions. Thanks!
Look into something called CQF. i know a few people who have this. not sure how well established it is in the industry though.
I saw that on the banner here - 18 grand for 6 months? It looks like something you do post-CFA no ?
Becoming a quant (and probably anything else) requires more than a piece of paper. You first have to determine what type of quant work you want to do, if it is something more in line with fundamental based quant models ( StarMine, Earnings Quality Models,… …) , then you don’t need heavy math and the CFA will help you a lot along with programs like Matlab or anything similar (no hard core C++ coding required here), but if you’re looking for stat_arb or high-frequency type of work, then you need to focus more on your math and programming skills, the CFA will be of little value in that case.
Definitely - I never viewed the CFA as a piece of paper and I don’t think anyone should. I could see an MBA as a piece of paper. That was why I wanted the charter, not to get “the charter” but to get all the knowledge that you absorb in that process. I considered that information to be highly relevant when working in a PM role in almost any respect.
Studying SQL and Python on your own won’t help much. Getting a CFA charter won’t help you be a quant. If you want to be a quant, you need to learn some quant (even an undergrad degree in quant is not all that helpful). Do you live near Georgia Tech? If so, you should figure out how to get involved in quant there. Take classes as an evening student. Go to talks and listen to enough that you can ask an intelligent question. Depending on how much quant you know, you may need to take a calculus class or something. Tech has billions of calc classes since everyone there has to pass it. Routing by the registrar’s office to take calc is easy and there is just no hope for you in finance if you can’t come up with a way to do it.
it’s also worth noting that if you’re going the self-study route MIT OCW has a number of quantitative finance courses available online for free
Hmm - yeah I should have mentioned that: I have taken mult-variable calc. I suppose I should start with taking differential equations and linear algebra now. No I don’t live near GT - its just one quant program that came to mind. Thanks for the feedback - definitely going to check out the MIT OCW courses!
Why don’t you get a PhD in stat/math/cs/physics?
That’s kind of what I am debating… I really might go to a Cal State program or a UC program, I just wanted to know if there were any programs anyone would suggest that weren’t like 685028025802593 dollars a year and didn’t have a .00001 acceptance rate. I’m not dramatic, what? 
I work in a quantitative trading team. I am pretty much the only one without a PhD. I come from a computer programming background, and the only reason I got the job was because of luck and I was very highly recommended by another member of the team. I think it is extremely difficult to break into the quant world without a PhD or an MFE. I don’t think having a CFA Charter will help, as the quants I work with only know what the CFA is because I have been studying it. Do the CFA if you want to get a broad knowledge in finance and the markets. The knowledge you gain may open some doors, but the charter will not.
tman2 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I work in a quantitative trading team. I am > pretty much the only one without a PhD. I come > from a computer programming background, and the > only reason I got the job was because of luck and > I was very highly recommended by another member of > the team. > > I think it is extremely difficult to break into > the quant world without a PhD or an MFE. > > I don’t think having a CFA Charter will help, as > the quants I work with only know what the CFA is > because I have been studying it. > > Do the CFA if you want to get a broad knowledge in > finance and the markets. The knowledge you gain > may open some doors, but the charter will not. agreed with everything
Quant is BS. The reason for the current credit crisis. Look for a real career.
FINforLIL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Quant is BS. The reason for the current credit > crisis. Look for a real career. You sound like a first grader. First you say “as far as I’m concerned Bayes is BS”, which is equivalent to saying " I’m an ignorant and please do not pay attention to anything I have to say" . Just curious, what a genius like you considers a “real career” ?
“Quant is BS.” “Bayes is BS.” You know what’s telling? FINforLIL is like, ultra-right wing. It seems the correlation between extreme right-wingedness and stupidity is high. Also, stupidity, conditioned on extreme right-wingedness - is high as well.
^ +1
stig Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That’s kind of what I am debating… > > I really might go to a Cal State program or a UC > program, I just wanted to know if there were any > programs anyone would suggest that weren’t like > 685028025802593 dollars a year and didn’t have a > .00001 acceptance rate. > > > > I’m not dramatic, what? > > I went to grad school in psychology. I probably knew in the spring of me senior year in college that I didn’t want to do that, but just followed momentum. When you are in grad school, you can pretty much take any classes you want as long as you are doing the core curriculum of your major. I took a couple of statistics classes in the stat program while I was doing the psych degree and in late spring of my first year, I went to my stats prof (also head of stat admissions) and told him I wanted to transfer into statistics. He said “Well, we’ve already given out funding so I don’t know…”. I said “I have my own funding” (a transportable fellowship). He said “Well, great, you’re in”. A few years later, Ph.D. Stat. You may have to do some two step program like this.
I’ll bet at 20:1 that FINforLIL doesn’t know what a Bayes estimator is. Doesn’t know that virtually all the estimators that have ever been calculated are Bayes estimators with the world’s most “I have no clue” prior. Doesn’t know what a prior is. Doesn’t know that the way that one can gain a serious edge in financial decision making is to use Bayes estimation combined with solid prior knowledge expressed through the prior distribution. I have a whole bunch of other bets about FINforLIL too.
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’ll bet at 20:1 that FINforLIL doesn’t know what > a Bayes estimator is. Doesn’t know that virtually > all the estimators that have ever been calculated > are Bayes estimators with the world’s most “I have > no clue” prior. Doesn’t know what a prior is. > Doesn’t know that the way that one can gain a > serious edge in financial decision making is to > use Bayes estimation combined with solid prior > knowledge expressed through the prior > distribution. > > I have a whole bunch of other bets about FINforLIL > too. As a good Bayesian (given priors about FINforLIL), I wouldn’t take the other side of that bet.
I have to say, the comments made by PtrainerNY, FINforLIL, and kkent in particular are pushing me more and more towards being a Democrat. These guys are so extreme and paranoid.