MSc in Economics to get into S&T
Hi everyone, hope you all are doing well.
My question is: is attending a 2 years Msc in Economics a good path to get into Trading? Since the Master is a quantitative one (a lot of econometrics, calculus, machine learning, stats, programming etc.) and it is focused on macro and microeconomics plus a couple of finance (markets) exams and monetary policy is it a good way to pursue a trading career in Fixed Income/FX given that I should know a lot about macroeconomics and monetary policy? If you have some other trading divisions where you think is it possible to get into let me know and let me know your opinion and if you'd like to see the entire programme too.
Personally, I think it’s overkill and this is how I would explain it: it’s like thinking a degree in Nutrition will get you drafted by an NFL team. Its a nice complement to have but it’s not the reason you’re going to get into S&T. I do think that you should go for it though because a Masters degree is useful and will strengthen your CV worst comes to the worst. I would also say however, that a degree of this kind would be more useful in applying to a research division, both buy- and sellside. Also, working for the ECB and S&T are two vastly different goals, the former would also be a better fit for this type of degree
I think both economics and quantitative finance as masters degrees are better suited to prepare you for research and other analytical roles. Sales and Trading is immensely “hands on” and while a Masters in these subjects will grant you far better knowledge than most in these seats, it will do very little (if anything) to prepare you for the day to day which is (sadly) what people are more concerned about when making junior level hires. Also, a key difference between these and the classic MFIN is the perception people have the different masters programs. An MFIN for the most part is undertaken by kids straight after their undergrad or 1-2 years removed and is characterized by candidates of a younger age and serves as a stepping stone to getting into any finance related role. An economics and quant fin master is, from my understanding, much more focused and seen not as a stepping stone, but rather as a goal in and of itself. Also, I would assume the age range of candidates to be more spread out. Due to this if you do get interviews I guarantee you the first question you will be asked is “if you want to get into S&T, why did you pursue this course and not an MFIN?”. These will be perfectly good for landing in research, at a fund or at the ECB but I wouldn’t put all my eggs in this basket if your true goal is S&T