CFA or Masters in Quant Finance

[Tom Sun]

Hi all, I just came out of undergraduate school last year as a Systems Engineer. I'm working as a quality engineer right now in a software company and working on learning full stack engineering, while learning C/C++ at the same time.

I'm trying to get into quantitative finance as either a quant trader or a quant dev. I don't really have a finance background except for all the things I read. I looked into getting a Masters in Quant Finance but it seems really competitive. My GPA wasn't stellar (3.2) and I didn't do too much research with professors. If I really try I can get a couple academic references but I don't know if those are going to be outstanding ones.

So it seems like trying to study CFA would be the good alternative. I know the study load is tremendous but I'm pretty good with plowing through large volumes of work. Do you guys think being a CFA charterholder is valuable for this pursuit? Should I still try to apply to quant finance Masters program?

 

[mhy]

The CFA will not point you in the quant direction.

 

[Tom Sun]

The CFA will not point you in the quant direction.

I see. Any suggestions in terms of where I should go?

 

[Gnasher]

I've a similar question.

CFA seems to be the jack-of-all-trades within finance. I would have thought FRM is specifically focussed on Quant skills. However, comparing the two syllabuses: if you hold CFA then you should be able to do FRM with only revision.

If CFA is no good, then what is?

 

[mhy]

I've a similar question.

CFA seems to be the jack-of-all-trades within finance. I would have thought FRM is specifically focussed on Quant skills. However, comparing the two syllabuses: if you hold CFA then you should be able to do FRM with only revision.

If CFA is no good, then what is?

CFA is an asset management / equity research-oriented certification. It is mostly useful if you're in an asset manager / hedge fund or you're in sell-side research.

FRM is a specialized certification that caters to risk management.

Neither contains anything like the level of math you will encounter in an MFE or quant program. However, they are commonly taken by MFE applicants to demonstrate their 'interest' in finance and the markets. It's not a deal breaker/maker; it is simply another small data point you use in admissions when differentiating yourself from thousands of other applicants.

 

[Jae Sang Shim]

CFA is good in that it makes you capture the whole picture of finance, although at a basic level.

 

[Tom Sun]

CFA is good in that it makes you capture the whole picture of finance, although at a basic level.

So I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to take the test, and understanding finance from a high level.

 

[Gnasher]

So I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to take the test, and understanding finance from a high level.

Agreed, if it wasn't for the fact that it will likely take 3 years to complete CFA because it covers regulations etc. in addition to quant basics.

There is nothing wrong with investing 3 years if its critical, but by the sounds of it, an MFE is a faster ways to progress our careers. Sadly I already have three degrees so would prefer a professional qualification if a suitable one exists?

 

[Tom Sun]

Agreed, if it wasn't for the fact that it will likely take 3 years to complete CFA because it covers regulations etc. in addition to quant basics.

There is nothing wrong with investing 3 years if its critical, but by the sounds of it, an MFE is a faster ways to progress our careers. Sadly I already have three degrees so would prefer a professional qualification if a suitable one exists?

That's really impressive. I don't know if I can get into a good MFE program so I'm looking at the alternatives. It would've been my first choice if I had more respectable GPA and working in finance already.

Also you could check out CQF. I got accepted earlier but I'm contemplating on whether I should enroll. The price is not trivial and I don't know how much value it can bring in terms of changing career.