Quant Finance or Operations Research?

[jerrymaguire]

I'd like to get feedback on whether a Quant Finance program would be helpful for me. I'm specifically considering the UWaterloo MQF program as the only program I want to apply to as I'd like to use the internship component in setting up a business.

Age: 30
Education: Engineering ugrad (India), MBA (US)
Work Ex: 10 years - startups, financial technology, energy finance, software products, digital marketing. Worked in 4 countries in product management, sales and consulting roles
Goals post MQF: Setup a firm specialized in analytics for the high tech sector (think health, space exploration)

I've been out of school for a while, so my academic statistics and calculus skills are rusty to non existent (I have used regressions and simulations to develop pricing and energy finance models at work). I have an academic understanding of programming languages and am currently studying in Prof. Ng's Machine Learning class on Coursera while building Python coding skills.

The reason I'm considering going back to school is to build skills in applied math to serve clients in high tech industries where you need heavy quant skills. I'd like to hear from the community on what they think about an MQF vs an Operations Research program for my goals. Also, given I've been out of school for many years, how much ground will I need to clear Waterloo's selection test?

 

[muttiah]

I don't think MQF makes sense for you.. Masters or PhD in operations research or applied math seems way more applicable. MQF from Waterloo will lead you to positions like risk management type roles in the big 5 Canadian banks. That doesn't seem like that's your ultimate goal.

Also could you elaborate on :

I'm specifically considering theUWaterloo MQF program as the only program I want to apply to as I'd like to use the internship component in setting up a business.

MFE/MQF degrees aren't the path to entrepreneur careers. You already have an MBA.

BTW I did my masters in math at Waterloo. Feel free to message me if you have questions or want to connect. I currently write software in the supply chain industry. The type of math I use is taught in typical operations research programs (optimization theory, stochastic processes, statistical forecasting, graph theory etc).

 

[jerrymaguire]

Thanks muttiah, that's the kind of hard feedback I was hoping to get. You're right, I'm not focused on a Bay St / Wall St quant career and am trying to figure out if the math component of an MFE/MQF program will help me push into building an analytics business in a specialized domain.

My MBA has given me an excellent base in general management, but did not cover highly analytical math or technology. Apropos using the internship to start a business, the MQF has a 4 month work component and my plan was to use that time to incorporate my business and do customer development to build product-market fit in lieu of working a corporate job.

I'd love to connect with you and get your thoughts. I'm new to this forum, so can you help me understand how I can message you?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Maybe a MS in Stats or some Big Data courses would help? The kind of math in MQF/MFE programs are finance-focused, you won't use Black-Scholes in your business.
Click on his username and then Start a Conversation

 

[jerrymaguire]

Thanks Andy! Fair point. And thanks for the tip. I'm on it.

 

[RaviKumar]

If you want to enhance skills in research or in finance and then you can easily go for skills in it technology. For this you can easily go for live project training course

 

[longgamma]

OR is the way to go. Easy to get into management consulting, data science, supply chain.