Want to get a realistic view

[Killzones]

Hi everyone,

By this post, I am hoping to get a realistic view of my chances of breaking into quant finance. A little about my background, I completed an integrated MSc. In chemstry last year from one of the top colleges in India. Currently, I am working as a data scientist.

As my background is from chemsitry, I realised early enough that with this degree, I have little hope of breaking into this field and hence I had started searching for a good masters program last year during September. Right now, I have an offer from university of nottingham for MSc. Statistics, I am waiting for a few more offers but i think its highly unlikely that I'll get anymore.

I wand to know a few thing, will this degree help in any way? I can assure you that I have the necessary prob stats and programming skills to excel the interviews ( may require brushing some concepts), will this degree help me in getting even the OA of quant firms given that i perform extremely well ( First Class Honours) ??

I would really appreciate any insights on this topic—feel free to be as brutally honest as possible, as I want to know the reality.

 

[CrossGamma]

The top quant trading firms / hedge funds have the luxury of being able to filter very strongly due to the high number of applications they receive. If that's what you're aiming for then going to Nottingham isn't setting you up for success. Their math department is probably not even top 20 in the UK with most firms focusing their recruitment on the top 3-5 unis.

 

[Killzones]

The top quant trading firms / hedge funds have the luxury of being able to filter very strongly due to the high number of applications they receive. If that's what you're aiming for then going to Nottingham isn't setting you up for success. Their math department is probably not even top 20 in the UK with most firms focusing their recruitment on the top 3-5 unis.

In my opinion, this is the best shot that I have to get into this industry. Given my chemistry background, i wouldn't even pass the filters of the smaller firms.

 

[CrossGamma]

In my opinion, this is the best shot that I have to get into this industry. Given my chemistry background, i wouldn't even pass the filters of the smaller firms.

You asked for an honest opinion. The firms I have worked at would generally not recruit from Nottingham. Maybe different if you're open to quant and quant-adjacent roles other than at trading firms / hedge funds.

 

[Killzones]

You asked for an honest opinion. The firms I have worked at would generally not recruit from Nottingham.

Thanks for your insight. Can you give me sme advise based on your experience as to how should I proceed to maximize my chances

 

[CrossGamma]

Thanks for your insight. Can you give me sme advise based on your experience as to how should I proceed to maximize my chances

Conditional on going Nottingham? Rank top in your program, get a top internship (bit of a chicken and egg problem), get scholarships if available, rank highly in competitions (e.g. Kaggle). Roughly in that order. But as mentioned before, selectiveness / reputation of uni & degree is a very big factor.