Best Masters (coursework based - NUS/SMU) to land a role in Quant from Singapore?

[randomxyz]

Hello, I'm a newbie here! Are there any Singaporeans here? I'm currently a 3rd year student at SUSS, which is a lower-tier local institution in Singapore. My major is in Mathematics.

I've been looking at several masters programme (by coursework),

1. Mathematics from NUS
2. Statistics from NUS
3. Quantiative Finance from NUS
4. Quantiative Finance from SMU

My questions are:

1. In terms of the masters in QF, would SMU be better than NUS in landing a quant job in Singapore?
2. How difficult is it to get in to any of these programmes?
3. If I take Mathematics (modules closer to applied math) or Statistics, can I still land a quant job in Singapore? Or taking QF would be better?

Thank you!

 

[alan_L]

im singaporean, and i'm currently working in asset management and now at a hedge fund as trader for a while now. though my experience may not be relevant to you, i hope it can shed some light on ur path to discover what u really wanna do.

1. In terms of the masters in QF, would SMU be better than NUS in landing a quant job in Singapore?
- depends on what you really wanna do? running a quant fund? be a developer? according to my research, there are many quant positions available. more and more quants are deployed into risk management areas, as well as sitting with front office traders to develop trading strategies, as well as debugging/maintaining the algo.

Do not intermix roles such as quants/devs as these roles are vastly different, and of course, pays very differently too. One has the discretion in terms of investment/strategies and they are very close to the market buzz (and money of course), while the latter is really just scripting/debugging.

2. How difficult is it to get in to any of these programmes?
- i cant speak for NUS, but i got into SMU QF part time for aug 2021. u need to write a few essays to prove to the institution why u are an ideal candidate and how will u use the newly acquired skills from the program?

i'd say a few years of working experience will allow u to write very succinct plans and ideals for the essay portion, as well as interview with the program chair. just be honest and truthful, as 'inter-view' is a 2 way street.

3. If I take Mathematics (modules closer to applied math) or Statistics, can I still land a quant job in Singapore? Or taking QF would be better?
- ive seen math graduates getting into quant roles and they take up coding along the way, but honestly i dont exactly know what they are doing. ive seen qf grads running a small fund straight out of uni with no working experience, while some grads with masters are essentially doing risk related work. entirely up to individuals' interests. my ex colleague whos a trader graduated with math + biz from NUS, and ive worked with a lady in sales and development with a statistics deg from nus.

i'd be more than happy for any real quants to chime in. sadly this forum is not really that active.

good luck and focus on ur final year, and if ure a real talent, im sure it will not be an issue for u to find a job/career u want to.

 

[Nicholaskkj]

im singaporean, and i'm currently working in asset management and now at a hedge fund as trader for a while now. though my experience may not be relevant to you, i hope it can shed some light on ur path to discover what u really wanna do.

1. In terms of the masters in QF, would SMU be better than NUS in landing a quant job in Singapore?
- depends on what you really wanna do? running a quant fund? be a developer? according to my research, there are many quant positions available. more and more quants are deployed into risk management areas, as well as sitting with front office traders to develop trading strategies, as well as debugging/maintaining the algo.

Do not intermix roles such as quants/devs as these roles are vastly different, and of course, pays very differently too. One has the discretion in terms of investment/strategies and they are very close to the market buzz (and money of course), while the latter is really just scripting/debugging.

2. How difficult is it to get in to any of these programmes?
- i cant speak for NUS, but i got into SMU QF part time for aug 2021. u need to write a few essays to prove to the institution why u are an ideal candidate and how will u use the newly acquired skills from the program?

i'd say a few years of working experience will allow u to write very succinct plans and ideals for the essay portion, as well as interview with the program chair. just be honest and truthful, as 'inter-view' is a 2 way street.

3. If I take Mathematics (modules closer to applied math) or Statistics, can I still land a quant job in Singapore? Or taking QF would be better?
- ive seen math graduates getting into quant roles and they take up coding along the way, but honestly i dont exactly know what they are doing. ive seen qf grads running a small fund straight out of uni with no working experience, while some grads with masters are essentially doing risk related work. entirely up to individuals' interests. my ex colleague whos a trader graduated with math + biz from NUS, and ive worked with a lady in sales and development with a statistics deg from nus.

i'd be more than happy for any real quants to chime in. sadly this forum is not really that active.

good luck and focus on ur final year, and if ure a real talent, im sure it will not be an issue for u to find a job/career u want to.

Thank you for your 2 cents, this is helpful

 

[randomxyz]

im singaporean, and i'm currently working in asset management and now at a hedge fund as trader for a while now. though my experience may not be relevant to you, i hope it can shed some light on ur path to discover what u really wanna do.

1. In terms of the masters in QF, would SMU be better than NUS in landing a quant job in Singapore?
- depends on what you really wanna do? running a quant fund? be a developer? according to my research, there are many quant positions available. more and more quants are deployed into risk management areas, as well as sitting with front office traders to develop trading strategies, as well as debugging/maintaining the algo.

Do not intermix roles such as quants/devs as these roles are vastly different, and of course, pays very differently too. One has the discretion in terms of investment/strategies and they are very close to the market buzz (and money of course), while the latter is really just scripting/debugging.

2. How difficult is it to get in to any of these programmes?
- i cant speak for NUS, but i got into SMU QF part time for aug 2021. u need to write a few essays to prove to the institution why u are an ideal candidate and how will u use the newly acquired skills from the program?

i'd say a few years of working experience will allow u to write very succinct plans and ideals for the essay portion, as well as interview with the program chair. just be honest and truthful, as 'inter-view' is a 2 way street.

3. If I take Mathematics (modules closer to applied math) or Statistics, can I still land a quant job in Singapore? Or taking QF would be better?
- ive seen math graduates getting into quant roles and they take up coding along the way, but honestly i dont exactly know what they are doing. ive seen qf grads running a small fund straight out of uni with no working experience, while some grads with masters are essentially doing risk related work. entirely up to individuals' interests. my ex colleague whos a trader graduated with math + biz from NUS, and ive worked with a lady in sales and development with a statistics deg from nus.

i'd be more than happy for any real quants to chime in. sadly this forum is not really that active.

good luck and focus on ur final year, and if ure a real talent, im sure it will not be an issue for u to find a job/career u want to.

Thank you for your reply! It was insightful!

 

[CrNaRuKa]

collate an excel spreadsheet of graduates for NUS, NTU and SMU from linkedin

filter and see who enters into the type of job you want to pursue

you can reach out to the alumni via the career services if you enter their programme