Advice for Aspiring Quant
So this is my first time posting here, but I was hoping I could get some big picture advice on what I should be doing over the next couple of years to eventually line up a quant position. I am currently a CS major at the University of Illinois (5th rank CS program, but maybe lacks the prestigious name, so does this hurt me?). I am a sophomore, but I am capable of graduating after the first semester of my junior year. We have a program that let's me start my MS as I'm wrapping up my BS credits here, but is it more worthwhile to do a MFE or something else?
I am currently reading "Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives and DerivaGem CD Package (8th Edition)" by John Hull and doing some self-study with the Financial Engineering Club here, but is there something specific I should be self-studying? Is it important to have some trading algorithms developed using Quantopian or a similar tool? Lastly, are there any specific CS/Math courses I should be aiming to take? I figured going through the entire Numerical Methods series (including grad courses) and Machine learning are important.
I'm trying to get as much self-study in while still networking through greek life and clubs as I can, so any tips on maximizing the time I have would be great. Any answers to these questions, and general advice for someone in my situation would be greatly appreciated.