Are interdisciplinary undergraduate degrees like "Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science" suitable for becoming a quant?

[Nharalanov]

First of all, I am 16 years old and have two years of high school left. I'm from Bulgaria, but I plan to study in the US or in the UK.

I've been investing on the stock market since I was 14 years old and only recently have begun looking into the world of quantitative finance. I'm really fascinated by this field, as I study in a mathematical high school and am really keen on working with data, but I am still not sure if I want to go the classical value/macro way of investing or the way of computational finance. So, I thought that a mixed degree between finance/economics and computer science/data science/mathematics would be a good option.

What would you recommend me to choose and what are overall the best degrees for becoming a quant hedge fund manager?

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Excellent command of the English language, right up to the Oxford comma.

 

[SD_]

What would you recommend me to choose and what are overall the best degrees for becoming a quant hedge fund manager?

Would recommend Math/Stat/CS undergrad, and taking some economics modules if that is possible (for ex: as a minor).
You can also check the background of professionals working in Hedge funds on LinkedIn. That'll help.

 

[Nharalanov]

Would recommend Math/Stat/CS undergrad, and taking some economics modules if that is possible (for ex: as a minor).
You can also check the background of professionals working in Hedge funds on LinkedIn. That'll help.

Thanks a lot for the answer. So, it isn't worth it going to a business school like Wharton?

 

[SD_]

Thanks a lot for the answer. So, it isn't worth it going to a business school like Wharton?

Undergraduate degree from a BSchool for a carrer at a quant hedge fund, only if you want to maybe work as an economist or an accountant there.
I would recommend an engineering school like MIT instead.

 

[Nharalanov]

Undergraduate degree from a BSchool for a carrer at a quant hedge fund, only if you want to maybe work as an economist or an accountant there.
I would recommend an engineering school like MIT instead.

Do you think that a degree like BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science from Imperial College London offers sufficient technical skills (i.e. data science)?

 

[CrossGamma]

Do you think that a degree like BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science from Imperial College London offers sufficient technical skills (i.e. data science)?

It’s too soft if you want to work in quant trading. Not impossible but doesn’t set you up for success.

 

[Nharalanov]

It’s too soft if you want to work in quant trading. Not impossible but doesn’t set you up for success.

In this case, are programs such as BSc Mathematics with Statistics for Finance from Imperial College London or BSc Financial Mathematics and Statistics from LSE considered enough "math intensive"?

 

[CrossGamma]

In this case, are programs such as BSc Mathematics with Statistics for Finance from Imperial College London or BSc Financial Mathematics and Statistics from LSE considered enough "math intensive"?

Not familiar with either of them really but they look decent at first glance. As a rule of thumb, stay away from programs run by the business school.

 

[SD_]

I agree with @CrossGamma, however, you can study a subject or two from the B-school (if the university has one, for ex: Imperial) as an elective. LSE is not a B-school however, it's not an engineering school too. I would prefer to attend a university with a good ranking in all the individual subjects {math, stats, and programming}.
If you can afford to, try getting into an engineering school in the US.

 

[Nharalanov]

@Sudhansh Dua, @CrossGamma, thank you again for your responses, I find them very helpful.

Would Columbia be a good candidate as they have a quite decent engineering school and a top ranked business school? Also what other universities in the US or in the UK would you recommend?

 

[hmmashmmm]

@Sudhansh Dua, @CrossGamma, thank you again for your responses, I find them very helpful.

 Would Columbia be a good candidate as they have a quite decent engineering school and a top ranked business school? Also what other universities in the US or in the UK would you recommend?

You should definitely apply to all IVY league if you are quite confident
Columbia is definitely good as well

 

[Nharalanov]

What extracurriculars would you recommend me to do during my junior and senior year to help me advance in and prepare for my career?

I was thinking about doing internships and continuing trading on my own.

What else would you recommend?

 

[CrossGamma]

What extracurriculars would you recommend me to do during my junior and senior year to help me advance in and prepare for my career?

I was thinking about doing internships and continuing trading on my own.

What else would you recommend?

Definitely be on top of internships and make sure you apply to all the competitive places. Investing on your own account is only mildly useful. It does give you a bit of a feel of markets but is very different from what you’d do in most places in the industry. I always recommend students to look into toying with algorithmically trading cryptos. E.g. try to build a mean reversion or trend following system that trades autonomously. It’s a non-trivial effort which means it will make you stand out if you can pull it off. You also gain lots of programming experience along the way dealing with APIs, connectivity, persistence, … No matter what you think about crypto, it’s one of the most accessible markets / even playing fields and as a retail investor you can actually directly interact with the exchange. Inefficiencies are also still rampant and minimal order sizes are typically very small. Don’t get rekt.

 

[Nharalanov]

Definitely be on top of internships and make sure you apply to all the competitive places. Investing on your own account is only mildly useful. It does give you a bit of a feel of markets but is very different from what you’d do in most places in the industry. I always recommend students to look into toying with algorithmically trading cryptos. E.g. try to build a mean reversion or trend following system that trades autonomously. It’s a non-trivial effort which means it will make you stand out if you can pull it off. You also gain lots of programming experience along the way dealing with APIs, connectivity, persistence, … No matter what you think about crypto, it’s one of the most accessible markets / even playing fields and as a retail investor you can actually directly interact with the exchange. Inefficiencies are also still rampant and minimal order sizes are typically very small. Don’t get rekt.

Thanks for the advice.

I was thinking of doing an internship at a prop trading group, because I thought that this will give me some insight into the industry. Would it be worth it to proceed with this internship?

 

[CrossGamma]

Thanks for the advice.

I was thinking of doing an internship at a prop trading group, because I thought that this will give me some insight into the industry. Would it be worth it to proceed with this internship?

Of course. Just be aware that internships at the top prop firms are extremely competitive and prepare accordingly.

 

[AppliedMath]

Mixed degrees tend to give mixed results. You should figure out how well you can study on your own, and bypass the need for a MS in Financial Engineering/Quant Finance, by learning the core material by the time you finish undergraduate. If you continue with math and into a Statistics or Applied Math bachelors degree, the core of quant finance will be applications or extensions of what you are learning.

I wouldn't suggest Computer science, nor Economics as undergraduate degrees. It would be more beneficial to continue with mathematics. No math. No Quant.

Last thought is that you sound like you might want to consider being a Trader, Quantitative or otherwise, as your are already gaining the exposure to actual investing, which isn't taught in schools, not easy to duplicate, and invaluable when done with integrity (i.e. no meme stocks and no "chart reading"/technical analysis).