Another MS FE or something else?

Hi Everyone,

I'm a little confused about what masters to pursue, with my main goal being getting a job in Quantitative Trading/Quantitative Research. I'm doing a master's in Financial Engineering offered by WorldQuant university and should finish it by August this year. I have admits from MS-CS at Stevens in New York, MS-FE at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and MS-CS from the University of Warwick; and I can't decide which one of these will maximize my chances of getting into the Quantitative Trading industry. Should I opt for UIUC MSFE, which might reinforce to employers that I'm serious about the field, or should I go for an MS in CS which might complement my profile better, considering I'm already doing an MSFE from Worldquant? The only problem is that Worldquant's MSFE is online, which I'm not sure how seriously employers will take (They don't take it seriously in India, hence the decision to do another master - Full time). Also, as an immigrant master's student, Location is important. Is the US (New York) better than the UK (London). I would be extremely grateful if someone who has very good knowledge about the industry, landscape and the location help me out with this.

 

[RowYourBoat]

I may be wrong but I don't think many employers will place any importance on the worldquant degree. With a MS in CS you will be prepared for a dev job and with a MS in FE you will be prepared for a quant job. None guarantee a position in quant trading/research but you are more likely to get one coming from a MS in FE especially given that many firms recruit directly from these programs. If not in research/trading then maybe in another quant position.

Took a quick glance at the rankings and UIUC's employment rate within 3 months is not the best but i'm sure that in a 1yr window it is near 100%.

For UK vs US it depends on your preference. In the US you make more $ but less vacation and UK less $ more vacation

 

[kmonks]

I may be wrong but I don't think many employers will place any importance on the worldquant degree. With a MS in CS you will be prepared for a dev job and with a MS in FE you will be prepared for a quant job. None guarantee a position in quant trading/research but you are more likely to get one coming from a MS in FE especially given that many firms recruit directly from these programs. If not in research/trading then maybe in another quant position.

Took a quick glance at the rankings and UIUC's employment rate within 3 months is not the best but i'm sure that in a 1yr window it is near 100%.

For UK vs US it depends on your preference. In the US you make more $ but less vacation and UK less $ more vacation

Thank you so much for your reply! I was a bit confused too, given a lot of reputed firms mention quantitative degrees like Physics, maths and computer science in their job posts. I think it's best I ask someone on LinkedIn.