Master's in the UK -- Fintech or Finance?
Hi all,
I am set to graduate from with an undergraduate degree in finance in two years. I plan to go on to a Master's program in the UK. My question is this -- is a FinTech program more competitive/harder to get into than a Finance program? I am interested in Fintech but I suppose that going into a Finance program and then doing extra studying and pivoting into FinTech is possible
Thanks
- Fiodor
Finance. Fintech if anything is a elective course, or segment of a finance degree. A fintech degree is some loosely defined thing, not prestigious and most importantly hardly accredited or known to be good given how loose it is.
Like could you list a fintech program? It really doesn't stack up against any of the old school finance programs
Prestigious universities offer Fintech programs, like UCL and Imperial. Can this not be considered accreditation?
No
Strongly disagree with the above. The Imperial one is an excellent, albeit expensive, programme and has exceptional placement, although I do think that straight Finance is a safer choice for non-TMT IB. Would assume UCL is the same but don’t know anyone on it.
If you’re interested in consulting or tech companies you’ll get excellent placement from this.
May I email you or PM you in any way? I have a few questions. Thanks in advance
Also, is Fintech more competitive/harder to get into?
Finance. Fintech is for nerds. More seriously, being generalist is much better than a specialist at this stage in your life. Never seen anyone with a fintech degree in banking. Also UCL at the post grad level is really not that great.
Is banking the end-all-be-all? Where did you see fintech graduates?
Imperial is a more of a STEM university. UCL also. They are trying to enter the business field but really go for LSE or LBS, the traditional leaders in this field in London for years :)
Personally, if you like Maths (or can cope with maths) I would go for a quantitative finance masters and get good at coding. More generalist but it would give you more options post-graduation and I don't think it would hurt your job prospects in Fintech. I would look at Imperial, LSE, Warwick. The above says LBS however LBS only offer a masters in financial analysis for pre-experience as far as I am aware, and I don't think that is what you want.
I don't work in Fintech though so I'm sure there are people more qualified on here to answer this question than me. I did however do an undergrad degree in Finance and then a Master's in Finance at a target UK uni and although I did not go into Fintech, I think my educational background would have been looked upon favourably if I were to apply to jobs in the Fintech space. And I also know someone in my course that interviewed at a very large, and relatively new household Fintech name, and I did a generic finance masters, albeit rather quantitative nonetheless.
Having said all that, it probably doesn't matter - if you are dead set on Fintech and don't have work experience in Fintech, a solid story for why Fintech or proven interest in Fintech from your past experiences, I would definitely do the Master in Fintech, tick that box. If you do however have one or any of these boxes ticked, refer to the above, in my opinion.
Good luck sir.
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