How relevant is M.Sc in Scientific computating to get in the quant career

Is M.Sc in Scientific Computing relevant to the quantative analyst career path?

  • Yes

  • No

  • Yes, if you specialize in statistics and/or with Economics minor

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SanjanaW

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After a computer science bachelor's, I have decided to pursue masters in Germany. One of the colleges I'm set on is University of Heidelberg. They have a M.Sc in Scientific computation program. This is what the university website says the course includes:

Mathematical methods taught in this master program include:
Numerical methods for ODE and PDE,
Statistics and data analysis,
Differential geometry and computer algebra,
Linear and non-linear optimization methods,
Computational methods in fluid dynamics,

Computer Science methods list for example
Parallel computing,
Scientific visualization,
Mixed-integer programming,
Spatial databases,
Image processing techniques,

Applications for Scientific Computing come from:
Physics and Astronomy,
Robotics,
Weather and Climate Modelling,
Text and Data Mining,
Theoretical Chemistry,
Biology,
Scientific Visualization,
Economics,
Social Sciences,
Cultural Heritage,

List of specializations:
Data & Text Mining,
Simulation & Optimization,
Statistics,
Modelling and Applied Analysis,
Computational Mathematics,
Imaging Science,
Scientific visualization,

Furthermore, they also provide a minor in economics.

I plan on choosing Statistics for my specialization and Economics for Application area(minor)
Is this course right for me if I want to become a quant researcher later?
What should I expect after pursuing this course.
Heidelberg is close to Frankfurt, which could be a good thing since they have a well developed finance industry in that city.

Any help would be appreciated!
Mistake - Scientific Computing in the Title.*
 
It depends on what kind of quant role you are looking for after graduation. I work at a trading company and would consider this profile - we don't place a very high weight on the specific course or module you took though. The true hurdle is not passing the resume stage but making it through the interview process. There are not many trading companies or desk quant roles in Frankfurt these days - the interesting ones in Europe are in London or Amsterdam (unless you speak French - then you can add Paris to the list). There are quant consultancies like d-fine and risk jobs in banks in Frankfurt though. d-fine is looking for general STEM graduates and would also likely consider you. I am not familiar enough with what profiles bank risk departments are currently recruiting in Germany. Generally, the banking industry is not doing great there - Commerzbank (Germany's 2nd biggest bank) recently announced 10,000 job cuts, Deutsche cut their equities trading business last year.
 
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CrossGamma said:
It depends on what kind of quant role you are looking for after graduation. I work at a trading company and would consider this profile - we don't place a very high weight on the specific course or module you took though. The true hurdle is not passing the resume stage but making it through the interview process. There are not many trading companies or desk quant roles in Frankfurt these days - the interesting ones in Europe are in London or Amsterdam (unless you speak French - then you can add Paris to the list). There a quant consultancies like d-fine and risk jobs in banks in Frankfurt though. d-fine is looking for general STEM graduates and would also likely consider you. I am not familiar enough with what profiles bank risk departments are currently recruiting in Germany. Generally, the banking industry is not doing great there - Commerzbank (Germany's 2nd biggest bank) recently announced 10,000 job cuts, Deutsche cut their equities trading business last year.
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Thank you for such an informative answer.
I feel like a quant researcher would suit me better as I'd be doing the program that is mostly leaning towards research which I also happen to enjoy.
About Frankfurt, that sounds bad. Are there any other jobs I could possibly fill in the financial industry with such credentials? What's the pay like for quants at the quant consultancies you mentioned. Does Paris pay well to quants? Is it comparable to the salaries in USA or Switzerland?
 
d-fine hires a lot of STEM Ph.D.s - they pay about 65 KEUR total in the first year and around 85 KEUR in the third year. That's decent but not super high in Frankfurt and you probably need to discount this a bit for a Masters graduate. No idea what the Paris salary is like but if you speak French you should be able to find out. If you don't then you probably don't want to go / wouldn't be considered.
 
CrossGamma said:
d-fine hires a lot of STEM Ph.D.s - they pay about 65 KEUR total in the first year and around 85 KEUR in the this. You probably need to discount this a bit for a Masters graduate. No idea what the Paris salary is like but if you speak French you should be able to find out. If you don't then you probably don't want to go / wouldn't be considered.
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I plan on learning French and German both, and fortunately I have 2 years of time to practice so I won't let language limit my options, certainly.
What are the things that i could play to my advantage to secure a high paying job? Or rather what skills should I possess to be a strong candidate for these jobs?
 
2 years to learn German _and_ French? Do you speak any other Indo-Europen languages?
 
CrossGamma said:
I Generally, the banking industry is not doing great there - Commerzbank (Germany's 2nd biggest bank) recently announced 10,000 job cuts, Deutsche cut their equities trading business last year.
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They're both technically insolvent -- but I think the same applies to the big French and Italian banks as well.
 
Daniel Duffy said:
2 years to learn German _and_ French? Do you speak any other Indo-Europen languages?
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I dont. I will be learning german till A2 before I get there and then I intend to learn it there by speaking to people and practicing more.
French I've read is easier than German and especially if you know English. So, I might be a little optimistic but I intend to speak comfortably in a year.
 
You are extremely (read overly) optimistic I’d say especially given that you’re not going to study the languages full time. Coming out of the Masters degree and having working proficiency in German alone is already a steep goal.
 
SanjanaW said:
I dont. I will be learning german till A2 before I get there and then I intend to learn it there by speaking to people and practicing more.
French I've read is easier than German and especially if you know English. So, I might be a little optimistic but I intend to speak comfortably in a year.
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I doubt it. At least in NL the locals won't give you a chance. Solution is to marry a Dutch woman!
 
On the topic of learning languages nowadays. People don't have the discipline/patience to learn them properly. Everything is in the present tense. So a phrase like

"I don't smoke, but if I were to smoke, I would smoke Marlboro'

is a bridge too far.

In the old days school kinds learned Latin and learned it by rote.

 
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CrossGamma said:
You are extremely (read overly) optimistic I’d say especially given that you’re not going to study the languages full time. Coming out of the Masters degree and having working proficiency in German alone is already a steep goal.
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Are the lectures in Germany through English?
 
Daniel Duffy said:
"I don't smoke, but if I were to smoke, I would smoke Marlboro'

is a bridge too far.
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Anyone who talks like this in the USA is upper middle class or above and went to a private school. Maybe a WASP. I might change the sentence slightly: "I don't smoke but were I to smoke, I would smoke Marlboro."
 
bigbadwolf said:
Anyone who talks like this in the USA is upper middle class or above and went to a private school. Maybe a WASP. I might change the sentence slightly: "I don't smoke but were I to smoke, I would smoke Marlboro."
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It's an example of linguistic ability, the test is does the student understand grammar in all its forms.
People learning foreign languages tend not to get beyond present tense.

"I don't smoke, but if I do smoke, I smoke Marlboro"
 
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