Honours in AP math for Quantitive finance?

[Acorns844]

Should i do honours in Applied Mathematics , Computer Science , Operations Research or Financial Modelling ?

I am in third (final)year in Bsc Applied mathematics and Computer Science , i want to get into something finance in a bank or investment firm
so i want to know what is the best honours degree i could do to get into that field or at the very least something data science related.

any advice ? I have no gotten a graduate program as yet so im looking to do honours should a graduate role or internship not come up.

 

[Jehosefat]

Of the ones you have listed, I would avoid Comp Sci Honours if you are trying to get into finance but other than that, go with what you are most interested in.
Getting in to grad programs and the like are about: (most of these specific details are for quants grad programs because that's what I'm involved in)

1. Having a degree in the appropriate subject (math, stats, applied maths, econometrics, actuarial science etc. for quants grad programs; can be a bit broader for general banking grad programs)
2. Make sure your marks are good enough to get you an interview
3. Demonstrate interest in the industry (e.g. for banking ensure you you know about Basel III, bank specific IFRS regulations (IFRS9) etc., for investments, show that you have invested yourself or researched companies or taken part in stock market challenges etc.)
4. Most of the grad program interview processes will have case studies/problem solving questions so having the ability to think laterally, reason through problems, and come up with reasonable answers to questions that you have never seen before is key

 

[cguy]

I would say that applied maths is most important - it’s the core work/concepts. Assuming you’ve also got some undergrad stats, that side of things will be a reasonably easy independent study.

Financial modeling courses can be a bit dated. Depending on what you end up doing, understanding the maths behind AI is also good for any types of modern forecasting work being done.

Almost everything you do will be via code (whether written by an agent or not), so it’s good to have strong coding skills too (although for the purposes of studying, a lot of the CS hons will be less relevant (and easier to pick up in the job) than mathematical maturity).