think there are two points here: (1) gre math is rubbish. (2) masters level fin math isn't advanced. I think we all agree on (1). Two, I'd say depend on the program. UF's masters in fin program, for example, is complete crap when it comes to financial math. on the other hand, an on-the-way masters from chicago is a completely different story.
yeah i agree. my sis went to chicago for undergrad. her calc class was baby rudin LOL. thats so absurdly demanding for a calc class. add that and the no-grade inflation (shiver) its a rough world out in some places. So yeah, i guess it all depends. but generally speaking the material you find in neftci or hull, its not really so bad. but then again, you can just get the chicago prof from hell that's gonna give u the algebra test you'll never forget. lol.
Hull is pretty much undergrad/mba level. I think we are talking about actual quant as a degree and career here. Algebra test? Are you serious?
yeah i'm being serious! i mean, i was in an undergrad prob class at the time, and my prof had forgotten Bayes Thm. i mean i didn't go to a shit school he just straight up forgot lol. ( i mean, seriously why would he even need to know that doing what he's doing ) i agree with you. real quant work, however you want to define that, meaning what isn't taught in a msc program, but research extended upon it is not only tuff, but its advanced. have a good 4th.
Some Quants/Mathematicians say that the math studied in Econ and Finance Master's programs are not advanced compared to fields that deal solely with mathematics. This is mainly true. However, it is implied that these econ and finance scholars do not have the ability to know advanced math. This is not true. If you take the top students and place them in the pure math studies they will succeed just as well and maybe even better than others. In conclusion, it is not far fetched to claim many top econ and finance students do have advanced math aptitude. It is the "knowledge/training" in advance math that they lack. Econ and finance programs do not have time to devote many courses to pure math. Therefore the programs water down the advanced math and devote time to real world applications. If you want a job as a quant you must be able to demonstrate high math aptitude especially if you dont have Ph.D. level training in math/physics. Perhaps take extra courses in math and/or try to do significant research while in school. Also, even with a math background it is rare especially on this board that most aspirees have what it takes to be a multimillion dollar quant. The overwhelming majority of "math" guys on this board wont be able to land a 7 figure quant job. However, any advice you read is valuable even if it is coming from others who have failed.
This is sort of hard to complete agree or disagree with. There are certainly senior risk manager jobs on the sell side and senior quant/pm/etc on the buy side who'll earn that towards to matured phase of their careers. hedge fund fund of funds are also consumers of quants with portfolio allocation/construction bent. On the other hand, most quants will spend their 20s and most of their 30s in the six figure land. There are also the quants who make the full move to either prop trading, portfolio manager (with quant being a skill rather a job), etc. Whether a structurer is a quant and should be in the same category for comp comparison is a difficult and somewhat irrelevant question. EDIT: prop trading = bank prop desks, not the ones people here talk about
As I stated previously it is more about intelligence than money for me. But, I say 6 figure job is fine with me. Regardless, what I learned so far is..take math a lot of math. Change schools ( I am thinking another year in Baruch than switch...when I finish with sophomore year). By the way, I got into the Honor system in Baruch, should look better for transferring. How about programming, I suppose knowing C/C+ will be adequate? I am not minoring or majoring in CS so, I guess this will be learned in part of curriculum and self-study. I still will be majoring in Investments and Math. Although after discussing this with my advisor I will only minor in Eco. What other qulifications are they looking at. Research papers? Do they honestly want me to write a paper before hitting the MS level? I thought that you only require to write papers when you finish MS level and apply for PhD. Anything else that I left? Thanks to all of you so far.
I would think that as an undergrad you should be exposed to research, but that would have to start with your initiative. Not everyone can do meaningful research and its usually done after advance MS level coursework and not everyone can do it. At this point, just do your best in school. Have a great GPA and try to get into top MS/PhD programs. There are just too many paths for you to know for sure what you should really do. Quants dont do one type of job so network more within the industry. I am not a quant so my advice is from a generalist's perspective. Nuclear phynance is a great website for you...
What you need to realize is that not all quants work in the same areas. There are quants in trading (building systems and models to make trading decisions from), pricing (say a method to price CDOs or a structured product for a customer), and risk management (credit risk, trading risk and what not). A PhD or a MS is not strictly necessary to be a quant. There are quants out there who started working with a BS (sciences, engineering, math/stat, econ...although generally double majored with math/stat). Most of these guys performed well, some did very well at Putnam and other competitions, or did research. The main thing you should be focusing on is going to the right schools. The thing is that the top banks/funds/firms recruit at only a select number of places (for undergrad: Ivies+Stanford/Duke/MIT/Caltech etc). It becomes an uphill battle if you don't attend these "target" schools to get into front desk positions. Once you get hired the banks will place you on various desks depending on interest/performance. So do well at Baruch and then give transferring a shot. As for research, yea research is something a lot of guys do. There are high school seniors doing graduate level science research. Obviously research isn't a requirement at the BS level at all schools (I can think of exceptions) but its something that is weighed and hone your problem solving skills.