Is a Masters in Comp. Finance worth it?

[m_shah]

I'm a rising senior, CS and Finance dual degree student from a non target school that wants to get into quant. I'm thinking about getting a masters in comp. finance but am not sure if it's worth it. Wold it be better to try and get work experience first or would perhaps a masters in a different field be better for me like stats or ML?

For context:
- I go to a borderline top 100 school in the US with a 4.0
- Research in ML(no publications)
- Data science and ML internship at small, nationwide companies that have offices near me.

 

[Paul Lopez]

What work experience are you looking to get? What other MS degrees are you thinking about? It'll be easier to comment once we have things to compare to.

 

[m_shah]

What work experience are you looking to get? What other MS degrees are you thinking about? It'll be easier to comment once we have things to compare to.

Mainly, I'd be trying to get quant-related jobs but I'd also be applying for software engineering/data science roles at financial firms. In terms of other master's degrees, I'd be looking at ML/AI, stats, or applied math programs. I would like to get into a t10 or t20 MS program as well, so I'm not sure if my resume is currently at that level.

 

[achirikhin]

If you have a STEM-ish masters and can program in at least Python, then get a job. Don't waste more time on masters. You will have to learn most real-life job at the job. With high probability, you will not be doing what you think now you will be doing. All in all, there are many quant specialisations, but only very few of them focus on ML and even fewer of them with reasonable pay focus on ML.

Check out sections 1.4, 5.0 and 6.0 of Quantitative Analyst, Developer, Strat: The Profession. They are free and will give you some perspective.

 

[Peter Wagner]

If you have a STEM-ish masters and can program in at least Python, then get a job. Don't waste more time on masters. You will have to learn most real-life job at the job. With high probability, you will not be doing what you think now you will be doing. All in all, there are many quant specialisations, but only very few of them focus on ML and even fewer of them with reasonable pay focus on ML.

Check out sections 1.4, 5.0 and 6.0 of Quantitative Analyst, Developer, Strat: The Profession. They are free and will give you some perspective.

Agree!