MSc Data Science (Statistics) or MSc Statistical Science

Hi guys,

I am a power trader, with a total of 4 years experience in commodity trading (gas and power). My background is BSc in Economics (but I would say the curriculum is more like Business Administration) and MSc in Finance. I currently lack of programming skills besides a basic knowledge of Python.

I would like to address my lack of hard skills with an online part-time MSc and I am currently an offer holder for both the "MSc Data Science (Statistics)" programme by Leeds University and for "MSc Statistical Science" by Nottingham University.

I am a bit scared that even though the Leeds programme has an explicit focus on Statistics (and it's managed by the School of Mathematics in collaboration with the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics), its rigour may be lower than that of a more traditional Statistics master. I wouldn't like to become a person that implement models without really knowing what he is doing. However, on the other side I really like its greater flexibility and that it contains a bit of Python while Nottingham only uses R (in my field Python is preferred and the most required).

What do you think about the curriculum of the Data Science (Statistics) programme? Does it seem rigorous enough to progress in trading (potentially quantitative trading would be very interesting to me)?

Unfortunately I cannot post links but course details can be easily found in Uni websites if you guys want to.

Thank you for your help.

4 Comments
 

Not sure about either school nor programs. Knowing Python is definitely an advantage. But you can pick it up independently in your evenings and weekends after class. Data analysis in Python (Pandas) is similar to R. 

Would suggest picking a school with the best career opportunities and coursework. Spend the rest of your time working on independent projects (ideally open source) and networking. 

 

Thank you for your feedback. Moreover, given that I am already working I don't really know how important the Uni ranking and prestige is. Another program that seems interesting is the MSc in Applied Statistics by Strathclyde University. I don't really know this Uni and I am bit worried about how is perceived, I see it usually ranks lower than Leeds/Nottingham.

Do you have any feedback on it? Thank you very much!

 

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