Considering a career move to something quant related...

[MAOakley]

I am currently an Officer in the Army who is considering making a change to something quant related. I studied both Marketing and Finance as an undergraduate, and found that quant plays a huge role in each. Ever since graduating and moving through both the civilian and military world, I have found that my quant skills were useful and usually placed me ahead of others. I am considering making a shift to something that is more quant related and I am at a bit of a loss on where to start.

If I stay in the Army, we have ORSAs who perform basically OR to determine the operational effectiveness, manning requirements, projections for future requirements, etc. This would be a method for me to get my feet wet. Through this, I may also be able to have a degree in OR, Analytics, Econ, Financial Engineering, Systems or Industrial Engineer, or a similar degree paid for by the Army.

However, I am considering my civilian options at at this point. Right now, I am considering pursuing an online quant program combined with a MBA. I am going to complete a degree in Operations Management this year (mostly driven by the Army), and will have the ability to pursue an online program after I complete this MS.

The programs I am considering are:
MS in Computation Finance-Carnegie Mellon
MS in Computational Finance and Risk Management-Washington
MS in Financial Engineering-USC
MS in Financial Engineering-Stevens
MS in Predictive Analytics-Northwestern
MS in Data Science-Berkley
MS in OR-Columbia
MS in OR or Data Analytics-SMU

I would also then probably add an MBA from Lehigh, Hofstra, Indiana, Baylor, or Syracuse. I would also consider a good Executive program if I lived near a top school.

With my military benefits, all of this would be very low-cost.

My questions are:
-What are the actual prospects of someone looking to break into this field? Being a mid-career professional I am a bit concerned with the salary not being there or the job market being too soft
-How much will the school I attend play into career options?
-Would a MS in Finance be more suitable to someone wanting to work primarily in Finance or would one of the degrees above be more advantageous?
-Is there anything that I may actually be missing in the process here? I know I am a bit broad right now, but I am wanting to really see how to narrow my focus and get my plan together.
-What are the long-term prospects? Is this something that is somewhat trendy now or should it have real long-term options?

I appreciate everyone's time. I am doing my best to research all of this and I am trying to sort through what is just simply marketing and what is a legitimate information source. If you look at many websites, they paint such a rosey picture of the career field and options.

 

[bigbadwolf]

What specifically is your math and coding background? I'm inclined to be sceptical when you write things like this:

I studied both Marketing and Finance as an undergraduate, and found that quant plays a huge role in each.

It's possible an OR or finance degree might be more appropriate for you than one of the quant programs you've listed (e.g., the computational finance program at Carnegie-Mellon). Depends on your math and coding background.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

quantnet.com/guide
Start there. The rosy pictures you get on programs website may be because they haven't been updated since 2006?
Realistically, you can get a better picture here because majority of members here have been there, done that.

Quant is a very technical field so you need to measure up in math/programming. It is not as lucrative field as it used to be. Demand/supply is not balanced.
Big data is a new and growing field so we don't know how it will work out in the next field years.
I see MBA in your picture so I would suggest that you do more research. It may take months reading, talking to people to come to one sense.
We are here to help if you have more specific questions.

 

[MAOakley]

Math through Calc III. I have plans to take DiffEq and Linear Algebra prior to enrolling in any program. I have also taken 2 statistics courses, one quant course, and one quant-heavy research course.

I have done some C++, but plan to increase this knowledge through at least one more class and probably some open courses like MIT.

 

[MAOakley]

Thank you for the link. I think that will help me in narrowing all of this down.

 

[Ken Abbott]

Thank you for your service.

With respect to masters programs, go big or go home. Are you sure you want to be in Finance? PM me and we can chat. I've spoken to many guys coming out of the military about the Wall Street job market. I'd be happy to help.