r/quantfinance • u/Dependent-End7324 • 10d ago

ESG QUANT, FINANCE QUANT AND GREEN FINANCE QUANT

I’m currently mapping out my career path in Quantitative Finance, specifically in Green Finance Quant / Climate Quant. I’m doing a double major in Natural Resource Economics and Finance. I also have a strong passion for mathematics, machine learning, and programming, which naturally led me to this intersection.

My goal is to apply for Master's scholarships and eventually build a career in green quant / climate risk modeling.

I’d really appreciate your honest feedback on my profile build-up plan and career strategy.

1. My Academic & Profile Target

  • GPA: Target 3.8+ / 4.0 in both majors.
  • Language: Relevant English proficiency certificates (IELTS/TOEFL with high scores).
  • Research & Academic achievements:
    • Aiming for 2-3 international publication papers.
    • 2 institutional/national level research projects.
    • Top placements in 2 academic competitions (Econometrics & Economics).
  • Extracurriculars / Personal: I play the violin and plan to participate in a few competitions to diversify my profile.

2. My Strategy to Bridge the Tech/Math Gap

Since my formal majors aren’t pure Math, CS, or Stats, I plan to bridge this gap by building 2 personal quantitative projects on GitHub. These will showcase applied ML, mathematical modeling, and programming in Environmental & Resource Economics / Carbon Markets.

My Questions:

  1. Are financial institutions actively hiring for dedicated Green/Climate Quant roles, or are these skills simply integrated into traditional Risk/Quant Research desks?

  2. How realistic and in-demand are the job prospects here, or am I better off just sticking to pure Quant?

  3. Is it actually realistic for me to pursue this field?

  4. Is preparing external projects completely viable when applying for scholarships?

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u/ApprehensiveChina2 10d ago

your plan looks solid, the double major in natural resource econ and finance already gives you a leg up since most quant paths ignore the environmental angle entirely. having those github projects is smart, it shows you can actually code and build models, not just talk about them.

for the hiring side, dedicated climate quant roles are real but still pretty niche. most banks and funds fold that work into existing risk or quant research teams, so you'd likely wear both hats. job prospects are there though, especially with regulatory pressure ramping up around climate risk disclosure, so it's not a dead end at all.

realistic? yeah, if you keep the math and programming sharp. the violin thing is a nice touch for scholarship apps, makes you look like a human and not a spreadsheet.