Is a second Bachelor's degree worth my time?

[Steven Garcia]

Hello all,

I just graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics with a concentration in Finance earlier this year. I was wondering if I should go back to get a second Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. I have dreams of becoming a Quant. Will it help me stand out when I apply to Financial Engineering/Quantitative Finance Master's program or no? I don't have any relevant working experience in my field of study so I'm trying a way to stand out to get a 2nd Bachelor's in CS so I can get relevant work experience in that field. Any help would be appreciated

 

[volmacro]

My recommendation, if you're really keen on getting a CS degree, is to take a few CS courses at a community college and do some other foundational learning. Then apply for Georgia Tech's Online Master of Computer Science (OMSCS) program if you're working and want to do a part-time degree, or some on-campus Masters programs. Masters programs would likely accept you given your Applied Mathematics background, if you can demonstrate some knowledge of algorithms, data structures, and discrete math -- you don't need a Bachelor's to demonstrate this.

In any case, any 2nd Bachelor's degree you get would likely be ranked far lower than a Master's degree in CS from Georgia Tech.

 

[diwei shi]

hey man, I had similar issue. Applying for a BS on CS would be too much work. Also, a Quant Finance Master is more favorable than 2 BS. What I would do is contact your undergrad university to finish a programming course, such as C++ or Python(highly recommended in MFE application and industry), then apply for Master on Quant Finance.
Less time and a Master on your targeted field.
Wall St also hire many with a Math Master or PhD who also has programming skills, so you might consider that too.
Good Luck

 

[Steven Garcia]

hey man, I had similar issue. Applying for a BS on CS would be too much work. Also, a Quant Finance Master is more favorable than 2 BS. What I would do is contact your undergrad university to finish a programming course, such as C++ or Python(highly recommended in MFE application and industry), then apply for Master on Quant Finance.
Less time and a Master on your targeted field.
Wall St also hire many with a Math Master or PhD who also has programming skills, so you might consider that too.
Good Luck

Thank you so much. I have taken a few C++ classes before. But I have never taken a Python course since there is none offered from where I graduated from. I'll probably learn them through Lynda. I thought out doing the Pre MF program at Baruch so I can stand out more.

 

[Steven Garcia]

My recommendation, if you're really keen on getting a CS degree, is to take a few CS courses at a community college and do some other foundational learning. Then apply for Georgia Tech's Online Master of Computer Science (OMSCS) program if you're working and want to do a part-time degree, or some on-campus Masters programs. Masters programs would likely accept you given your Applied Mathematics background, if you can demonstrate some knowledge of algorithms, data structures, and discrete math -- you don't need a Bachelor's to demonstrate this.

In any case, any 2nd Bachelor's degree you get would likely be ranked far lower than a Master's degree in CS from Georgia Tech.

Thank you so much. That was very helpful. I will try to master C++ and Python since they are both extremely important languages in this field. I thought about doing the Baruch Pre MF program to stand out a little bit more.

 

[diwei shi]

If you did programming, I suggest you not to take it again. Now 50% of applicants have the certificate, it won't be highly valued.