What would I need to do if I have a B.S. in physics?

[PotentiallythinkingofQuant]

Hello,

I am graduating this spring from UF with a B.S. in physics. After some reevaluating and deciding that medical physics is not for me I have decided that I want to pursue a career in quant. I was wondering what the next steps would be and if this would really be viable? To be honest my gpa wasn't great (3.3 on 4.0 scale) and I am comfortable but not great with Python and C++ and am confident in my abilities with Excel. Outside of that I don't think I currently have any related good experience aside from 2 years on a research project in medical physics/dosimetry/phantom modeling.

Any input is appreciated as I've been trying to apply to internships and temp positions and have yet to hear back from anything. I have also been considering looking into financial engineering masters programs but it seems like I don't meet the requirements, so I was wondering if I could also apply for Mech E and transition from a Masters in that?

 

[johnthecrowe]

I was in a similar position to you (b.s. physics, no relevant work experience in quant finance, slightly lower gpa). You might be able to get into the industry right out of undergrad, but if that isn't working I would recommend doing an MFE. You'll learn way more about what exactly you want to do, and you should be able to complete some projects that will help you have things to discuss in interviews. Plus the classes will help with learning the basics in quant. That's the path I took.

 

[PotentiallythinkingofQuant]

I was in a similar position to you (b.s. physics, no relevant work experience in quant finance, slightly lower gpa). You might be able to get into the industry right out of undergrad, but if that isn't working I would recommend doing an MFE. You'll learn way more about what exactly you want to do, and you should be able to complete some projects that will help you have things to discuss in interviews. Plus the classes will help with learning the basics in quant. That's the path I took.

Did you apply to quant positions or something like financial analyst at first? also where and for like smaller businesses or bigger hedge funds?