Which degree is the best for going into both investment banking or becoming a quant?
In advance I just want to say thanks for any help.
Currently, I'm doing Accounting and Finance at LSE but I have the possibility to switch to one of the following course:
Finance
Econometric and Mathematical Economics(This is a slightly niche and new course so I'm hesitant about taking it)
I've read that to get into investment banking anyone of these course would be fine as they are all from a target uni, however is any one of them slightly better or have just a small edge over the others from an IB recruiting aspect.
And the secondly, which one would be also be able to get me the best shot at possible becoming a quant? I know ideally a degree like Maths and Econ would be the a great fit and give me an amazing shot at both IB and being a quant but unfortunately it and similar degrees are off the table.
Basically, which degree out of Accounting and Finace, plain Economics and plain Finance will offer me the best high earning career opportunities, mainly looking at IB, Quant or even consulting.
TL;DR; Which degree has the best and widest employability.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's what you need to know:
Investment Banking (IB) Recruiting:
Becoming a Quant:
Overall Employability:
Summary:
Remember, all these degrees from LSE are highly regarded, so your choice should also consider your personal interest and comfort with the course material.
Sources: Intro to Investment Banking, Profile Evaluation: MSc in Finance at LBS, LSE, Imperial, Said or MIT, MSc Finance Profile Evaluation (LSE Finance, LBS Financial Analysis, Oxford Financial Economics), 2018 UK Target Uni - MSc - for FO jobs: put your POV, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/uk-master-in-finance-advice?customgpt=1
For quant, the only choice that would really give you a chance is Econometric and Mathematical Economics. Nearly everyone in quant does maths/phyics/engineering/cs so the other options would almost definitely be seen as not mathematical enough. I wouldn't worry about it being a new course or too niche - econometrics is not exactly a new concept.
I would also strongly consider if you really like doing maths. If you didn't really enjoy maths (and probably further maths) at A-Level and get fairly easy A*s, then you probably won't enjoy econometrics (let alone a career as a quant).
For IB, they're all equally sufficient.
But would one make my cv looked slightly more favourable, I know it won’t make a massive difference just a small edge over the competition.
as for a level maths, I did very good and was quite leisurely with my revision. I also for further maths which I didn’t find much harder than normal maths but I did very little revision and did only okay in the end. But I do enjoy maths and in my free time do a lot with regression and Ai model and so forth.
what I meant about econometrics and mathematical economies is that its new at lse and while it is listed under undergraduate course which you can apply to on ucas, it says it only takes 2nd and 3rd year transfer or something of the sort. I also worry that while it would be good for a quant, it would be looked at lower than a maths and econ degree or a plain maths degree for a quant and in IB it would be slightly worse than a pure finance or pure econ degree.
So assuming econometrics and mathematical economies is first on my list anyways, would pure finance or pure econ be better to have the best chance for IB and consulting with a solid but not great chance for being a quant or which of these two would be better to have it apply for a more mathematical masters such as Financial Maths at LSE.
Sorry for the mistake, especially capitalisation, I’ve had to type this on my phone.
For IB both are fine. TBH would pick the one where you think it will be easier to get a higher GPA - know plenty of people who landed BB's with very standard Econ degrees from my school
Sorry for being bothersome, but would maths and econ be perfect for what I’m talking about?
I’m unable to transfer in the Departement of Maths which maths and econ is in due to an expectation but it not a requirement so going directly to the head of maths for first years and pleading my case might allowed me to get transferred in.
the expectation is an a in further maths if taken, I got a B. It’s my fault but I really flopped the last paper which was decision but did paper 1(Pure math) and paper 3( decision) to an a* standard and also paper 2( pure maths) to an A standard.
I did very good in maths and chocked a little on further maths in a level and also enjoy working with modelling, regressions and etc, so I am looking for a more quantitative degree. Would you say these other course are that?
My only worry with accounting and finance is that it is the most marketable but rather it being the best for the jobs I would most like and some more is that it will be good for any finance job such as an analyst, I hope that makes more sense. I do plan to talk to a career advisor as soon as I can from LSE
Sorry for this, I accidentally commented on my post rather than replied to a comment and i couldn’t find where to delete a comment
I understand that in the UK you might as well read Philosophy or History of Literature at Oxbrigde if you want to get into banking. LSE if fine, presumably finance is the best track, but from my understanding that’s still Oxbridge.
I’d have to disagree with you on that, while I am biased towards LSE, it reputation is that it is an IB factory. While I don’t know alot about course specifics, I’ve put allot of energy into researching each school. The best of the best in the uk is Cambridge, LSE, Oxford and Imperial. UCL and Warwick are an incredibly close second. LSE and Imperial both suffer from the same problem when up against oxbridge, they offer much more specialised courses and a tiny amount of variety compared to oxbridge. The age of Oxford and Cambridge also adds to both their prestige aswell but don’t get me wrong Cambridge and Oxford are incredible schools at the top of the pecking order.
Take my views with a grain of salt as I don’t have proper statistics
I do think you are quite off in terms of Imperial, on the closeness of the tier 2 you mentioned and the oversight of LBS
Plus if one had read lit or phil at oxbridge one would be less likely to make 3 spelling mistakes when sending something out to a client ;)
you need coding skills and math skills for quant, it doesn't matter what your degree is in.
How would I prove this though if I don’t have a relevant degree?
Would I get test/interview questions similar to how Leetcode might be for programmers?
Like yes on paper, but good luck convincing someone that that outweighs a proper degree in it
By having a portfolio and showing you can apply those skills. For example, including a GitHub link with your projects using useful programming languages with a math component (like PDEs). Obviously it would help if even if your degree wasn't in something heavily quantitative that you take some courses in quantitative subjects and write that on your resume
This is just to get an interview by the way, it's up to you to do the mathematical finance practice questions and leetcode practice questions
Easy answer: Econometrics and Mathematical Finance.
You can do both with that, you can’t do both with any of the other options.
Would it allow me to be a great candidate for both an IB analyst or a quant as I would rather have a great chance for once than an alright for both? Also, would it allow me to get into any other high-paying finance jobs apart from IB or Quant?
Pure econometrics trumps anything else in becoming a quant tbh, but they are pretty much exclusively a thing in Europe. The reality is that just having a mere degree in math/physics/CS wont get you near a quant role by itself. The vast majority of people saying that math/cs/phys majors are quant role guarantees have no experience in the quant world. Additionally, a masters degree (with a thesis) is genuinely a good idea for becoming a quant. My personal ranking of degrees (for US bros) would be:
1. MFE
2. Stats
3. Econometrics/Applied Econ
4. Applied Math
5. CS/Physics
Stay away from DS degrees, honestly
In the UK at least, pure maths/physics/CS is a very common background for quant and there’s no expectation of any particular knowledge of financial mathematics etc. This is true at least for quant trading / dev roles at prop trading firms. Roles more focussed on quant research might require more specific knowledge. This also just might be a UK/US difference.
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