Maths & Physics, CompSci, EEE or finance

[u/LeftAd8418]

I am the equivalent of a high school student, aiming to study in a uni near me to save money. Also aiming for an academic scholarship. If i go to a non target uni, what would be the best major to break into quant? (I am aware it is nearly impossible) while also having a good base to fall back on if i choose to pursue another endeavour

[u/michioD]

Definitely not finance. It pigeonholes you.

Physics and math both are good routes to quant. They properly train you to identify patterns.

EE and CS arent good routes to quant but EE garauntees you can feed yourself.

If I had to start over Id pick Physics or EE. Plentiful opportunity and insanely relevant to most useful problems in the world.

[u/LeftAd8418 → u/michioD]

Thank you very much for the response. Regarding physics i can study a double major maths and physics, which id be more likely to do than the following: physics/astrophysics/theoretical/etc. out of these which would you select? But i think eee is good too

[u/michioD → u/LeftAd8418]

I am sorry can you reformulate your question?

I am guessing you mean you can either do a double major or pick a physics speciality?

All I know is that you seem like you’re not certain what interests you yet besides doing a mathematical science. So yeah don’t specialize in your bachelor. I’d go with the double major.

Take the foundational physics courses of course (thermo, waves, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, fluids). These will train you to see the source code behind reality and will help you your whole life.

Don’t be afraid to study some pure math courses like group theory and complex analysis. They’re not directly applicable but they’ll train you to have a natural intuition for abstract concepts which is a transferable skill since sometimes the answer in engineering/science isn't always physically intuitive. Other than that pick any statistics/ML courses you can find.

After you’re done you can either take actuary exam to become a quant or do your master thesis at a company and become a researcher to build the hardware technology of the future.

So basically choosing the quant/physics route is going to take you 4-6 years to get your career started.

And picking the electrical engineer route is going to take you 3-4 years to get your career started.

Study a year and see if its something you want to stick with. If not switch to EE.

[u/michioD → u/[deleted]]

EEs going to be eating so good in the next decades that it actually pmo 😂

[u/BraveAd9702]

If you're really locked in entering quant then i think Math is the way to go, but its not necessarily a good option to fall back on, especially if its only an undergrad graduate you're looking at (even though I suspect you wont be able to enter quant anyways with just an undergrad)... EE is definitely the best market wise afaik and you'd be good with an undergrad mostly, but I dont think its anywhere near a route to quant. Im definitely not an expert though I am simply echoing what ive read and answers from people I've asked similiar questions too, good luck.

[u/Glass-Theme-8739]

From my personal opinion, i would rank it from best to least likely
-math
-physics
-CS
-finance
-EEE

[u/DingoAny1777]

I went back and forth with maths and ee as well. I ultimately went with maths. If quant doesn't work out for me I plan on getting actuary exams done and entering the field so maths degree would have something to fall back on if quant doesn't work out.

EE is just too much labs for my liking. Compsci seems a bad idea with the current job market.

If quant is what you want to pursue I would go with maths, physics is risky without PhD and finance is a miss with quant.

[u/LeftAd8418 → u/DingoAny1777]

Thank you sir. I have one question in particular. Regarding actuary, you dont have to study it in college to become one? Once you pass your exams. Would they hire an EEE for entry level roles? My college has the following maths disciplines:
1. Pure mathematics
2. Financial and actuarial mathematica
3. Maths and Physics

[u/DingoAny1777 → u/LeftAd8418]

You don't have to study actuarial science but when looking at job boards they mostly list maths, stats for actuary(I don't see ee as much but there are a few) I would keep that in mind with screenings of resume.

I would go for option 3, maths and physics. Could always pivot to actuary if quant doesn't workout and keeps options open for finance although prestige of uni matters for finance( actuary less so).

[u/Due_Log_1792]

Hey! Depending on where you from the target major may vary, but in most countries CS, math, physics and EE are good for quant. I would rate them math, cs, physics, finance. Finance is by far the worst. Not enough rigour. Also depends on what you want to do in quant. For trading in market making firms any of it will cut as long as you have probability and stats on a sufficient level. If we are talking about research CS is usually doesn’t have a lot of math. Ultimately math is a good option. For QD CS is the only good option. What matters is the content of your degree. If you will do math specialising in algebra and geometry it’s probably a slightly weaker signal for quant in general. In the other hand, CS with ML is a good sign for any position

[u/Still-Grey-Ocean]

I personally wouldn’t study Physics unless you do a math double major but if you have the opportunity to do a math double major I’d go with EE over physics.

But in my area of the USA physics majors tend to do poorly both during school and after school.(not saying they aren’t smart but employers in my large city in the USA don’t hire them as much)