Should You Get an Applied Economics Masters?

A subscriber asked, "should you get an applied economics masters for quant finance and/or trading?"
The answer is, it depends. It really depends on the courses you took and you ability to network and explain quantitative topics. I actually have an applied economics masters and work in quantitative finance. I also graduated with many students who didn't have the same skills due to class selection. For example, my electives required me to program in R while other classmates never learned to program.
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[@Diego0wnz]

I think if you know what you want, the degree is less important. There’s plenty of time to shape a degree towards the courses you like, also with extra curriculars.

[@oscarherrera7041]

Tanks Dimitri! Just the video that i needed! Greetings from Chile

[@d36521]

Currently getting my MS in Cyber Security but my school offers a double MS program where you get an MS in Cyber Security and Economics. ML and AI really interest me, but I little coding experience. Currently taking a python bootcamp course to bring me up to speed.

[@matteogirelli1023]

I would take a rigours masters in economics, not strictly applied economics. Meaning theoretical stuff and mathematical economics and econometrics, that doesn't focus only on building skills for the job market.

[@ADAM-hi4uu]

The video helped me a lot It really motivated me to pursue with the Ms in Econometrics

[@DimitriBianco]

Happy to hear the video was helpful!

[@leemz6134]

thanks for your advice. I get into the lehigh's applied economics master

[@DimitriBianco]

Congrats!!!

[@BlackDiamondProdz]

I’m trying to break into the quantitative analyst industry as well but the barrier to entry is insane. I graduated with physics and computation mathematics degrees and find that these interviews are insane and require expertise in these areas right out of college. I’ve read books on options pricing and strategies and still find that they are looking for more. How can I convince a prop/market making firm to take a chance on me. I’ve considered getting a masters in financial engineering etc but feel as though I could just learn all of the finance concepts on the job, considering I probably already have a sufficient knowledge of math and programming.

[@AHeroOfAzeroth]

Hi Dimitri, Do you think Master in Math in finance from NYU courant is a good choice for quant dev or quant researcher role? I want to become a quant researcher.

[@DimitriBianco]

From just the curriculum they look more research driven. I would search on LinkedIn though and see where their graduates are being placed. I don't have any special insight on their program though.

[@zombiekiller-yz5os]

Hello I am at student at the university of oregon bs in economics. I’ve taken a few math/stats, econemtrics 1-2, and intro to forecasting. We have a ms applied econometrics grad degree. Which I can start taking some electives for through an excelerated program. Leading me to the masters in a total of 4 years. Is this a good option ? I think the program was ranked 30th

[@DimitriBianco]

There are pros and cons. The pro is that you get both degrees. The cons are you limit the amount of classes you get to take. As a hiring manager I shy away from 4 years for both degrees. Now that being said I would do the accelerated degree and try to find a job. If you can't find a job, you could always add on a masters from another school.

[@stumblepro1000]

Transfer to UW! ;)

[@charlesmcdowell9436]

Wow you took some traders souls with that snippet.

[@pobchubbington6759]

sorry you've probably said this in another video, but, what area do you work in as a Quant?

[@DimitriBianco]

I work on the sell side (banking). I've done model development, model validation, implementation, and internal audit. I'm currently the head of Quantitative Risk and Research at a fintech.

[@pobchubbington6759]

@@DimitriBianco nice! What master's did you study ?(if you did)

[@DimitriBianco]

@@pobchubbington6759 Applied economics from the University of Michigan.

[@pobchubbington6759]

@@DimitriBianco nicee thanks 😁

[@r18909]

What about masters in computational finance or masters in CS with machine learning specialization.

[@daanialahmad1759]

Dimitri, Applied Economics will be a great option as it builts strong skills in Econometrics, Statistics, Data Mining and Machine learning stuff Many Traders have No formal Quant education but they learn on work

[@emmanuelameyaw9735]

No...run away from anything economics. :). But Dimitry, the fact that you didn't some courses doesn't mean they are easy. As a PhD student, micro is harder than econometrics. Not many people fail econometrics but many people fail micro.

[@Isaiah_McIntosh]

I don't understand why this was the case for me too. Econometrics 1 and 2, statistics, matrix algebra, calculus etc all easier than macro and micro for me or my worst grade which was the random industrial economics class I took which seriously hurt my gpa 😭. At least I'll be well placed skillset wise for the masters, hopefully.

[@leonmilner9994]

Thanks for cutting through the BS!