COMPARE CMU MSCF vs GaTech MSCS (ML track)

[science_and_discovery]

My goals are to work on the buy side, hopefully in research. I would love to see what the community's thoughts are.

 

[_quanty_]

My goals are to work on the buy side, hopefully in research. I would love to see what the community's thoughts are.

I was also deciding between a few programs, among them were CMU MSCF and UChicago MPCS. I talked to several people (admissions counselors, people working in quant finance and SWE), who said if you want to go into quantitative finance, go CMU. If you want to go into SWE, go UChicago. If you're set on quant finance, CMU is probably the way to go.

 

[science_and_discovery]

I was also deciding between a few programs, among them were CMU MSCF and UChicago MPCS. I talked to several people (admissions counselors, people working in quant finance and SWE), who said if you want to go into quantitative finance, go CMU. If you want to go into SWE, go UChicago. If you're set on quant finance, CMU is probably the way to go.

That's helpful, thank you. I have read that ML experience is valuable / can help you stand out? Do you think the focus on ML can compensate for the lack of career services and difference in perception on the part of employers?

 

[_quanty_]

That's helpful, thank you. I have read that ML experience is valuable / can help you stand out? Do you think the focus on ML can compensate for the lack of career services and difference in perception on the part of employers?

There are a couple things to consider:

1) CMU MSCF requires ML courses in the curriculum and has a career services team dedicated to helping you find the perfect job in quant finance (QF) (I met some of them, they're awesome people who are awesome at their job).

2) GA Tech is significantly cheaper than MSCF in tuition, but what about when you account for future earnings? I don't know the answer. The fact that I can't find a career report for the MSCS makes it tough to determine one. Consider the impact Chat GPT will have on data science and SWE jobs.

3) When applying for QF jobs, you will be competing against people who went to CMU MSCF, MIT MFin, Columbia MFE, along with math PhDs, and many others. I'm not a quant, so I don't know if a comparative advantage in ML will help you edge out against the competition. If the CMU grads have taken 2 ML courses, how much more of an advantage do you have if you've taken 3 or 4?

I do know QF firms are looking for people with the following skills: math, statistics, coding, finance, interpersonal skills, problem solving skills. Will you be able to develop those skills at CMU? Definitely. How about at GA Tech? I'm not familiar with the program, so that's for you to explore a bit.

Go to wherever you think you'll be able to develop those skills to the fullest.