COMPARE Gatech QCF or Columnbia MSOR

[oliveryoung]

Guys, Need your helps.
I prefer programming to Math.
If I want to become a software developer in financial industrial which program shall I choose?

 

[Weiyi CHEN]

Georgia tech QCF absolutely. Students in QCF are also able to take courses in CS major, and Georgia Tech is one of the top universities in CS. If you really want to be a software developer, it will be your better choice.

 

[GoIllini]

If you want to work for a bank in NYC , Columbia is kind of a no-brainer here.

Georgia Tech is a great school, too, but in NYC banking and much of finance, Columbia is a very good name.

If you had told me you wanted to be a mechanical engineer or study CS, my answer would have been different. But given that you want to work for a bank, Columbia opens more doors in finance than Ga Tech does.

Now, GT may be cheaper than Columbia and that also may be worth considering. I also know GT alumns who work at hedge funds and prop shops, though most of them were undergrads.

 

[Jean Claude]

Would you say it's worth picking Georgia Tech QCF over Columbia MSOR if I am looking to work in a hedge fund? I'm not too much into software development, but I have the same school dilemma.

 

[oliveryoung]

Georgia tech QCF absolutely. Students in QCF are also able to take courses in CS major, and Georgia Tech is one of the top universities in CS. If you really want to be a software developer, it will be your better choice.

Could I choose any courses I want in Cs department or just a limited range of Cs course?
Besides, is that possible to pursue a double degree?

 

[oliveryoung]

If you want to work for a bank in NYC , Columbia is kind of a no-brainer here.

Georgia Tech is a great school, too, but in NYC banking and much of finance, Columbia is a very good name.

If you had told me you wanted to be a mechanical engineer or study CS, my answer would have been different. But given that you want to work for a bank, Columbia opens more doors in finance than Ga Tech does.

Now, GT may be cheaper than Columbia and that also may be worth considering. I also know GT alumns who work at hedge funds and prop shops, though most of them were undergrads.

I'm aware of the fact that Columbia is a big name in Finance. However, when I look for development job in Finance, the employers usually are willing to hire people with skills like C++, Unix, Algorithms and their application in Finance. I don't think that's the kind of skills I can learn in Columbia.

 

[GoIllini]

My understanding is that Columbia's MSOR program is pretty flexible and Columbia has a top ~30 CS program.

Columbia will get you more interviews than Ga Tech. Said interviews will also involve a 15 minute cab ride rather than a ~2 hour flight.

My suspicion is that you are leaning towards Ga Tech anyways. I am not going to tell you that Ga Tech is a serious mistake, but I am also not going to say that it's the better school if you want to be a financial programmer.

When I worked in analytics (financial programming) at my previous firm, I knew ~4 people from Columbia and 0 people from Georgia Tech. I'm sure there are GT folks on the street, but there are many more programmers from Columbia. This is a feature of geography and Wall Street hiring habits, not a function of the relative quality of the two programs.

 

[IntoDarkness]

just listen to goillini... srsly, one has way better chance to break into wallstreet from local college such as cooper union than gatech

 

[Weiyi CHEN]

Could I choose any courses I want in Cs department or just a limited range of Cs course?
Besides, is that possible to pursue a double degree?

Any courses in CS department for sure, I have exchanged there for a half year and been the TA for QCF students in a course.

I have to say it's a tradeoff between these two programs. It's the truth that Columbia provides a better location and more potential job opportunities, but you might not be able to train yourself to be the person you want to be, like with solid skills in programming. If you investigate more through Linkedin about MSOR graduates, or communicate a little bit with one of them, you would easily find that more going to consulting industry or others rather than financial, especially developer or quant at hedge funds. One serious problem you need to note is that, too many similar programs in Columbia, implies too many competitions with your schoolmate for limited career service.

And according to my experience, (sorry to say) top financial firms would indicate their positions only open to MSFE students. You may also find lots of candidates in MSOR are transferred from MSFE failed applicants as well.

It's right that Georgia Tech is not as big name as Columbia, but why not build yourself a solid background for the person you want to be first? And I do believe the cost (tuition) is much lower in GT.

I know the shortage of QCF is its finance branch. But it doesn't matter if you just want to be a software engineer in hedge fund. I'm sure they won't test you anything in finance, based on my former interview for this position in JaneStreet.