Is this career path right for me?

[Bastiza]

I'm a recent grad with master's in pure math from mid-tier Canadian university.

During my job search I was given advice to apply to a few financial engineering programs to become a quant and boost my salary potential.

I'd like to get a second opinion to figure out if this is a good idea for me.

I love working on hard math problems and making a career out of it would be amazing.

My master's thesis had a heavy algebra focus. I've studied a decent bit of analysis but I'm rusty at best (measure theory would need a lot of review) and I'm comparatively even weaker at probability and stats.

I can write loops and basic classes in Python and C++ but I've never done what I would consider serious coding in these languages.

I know what a stock and a bond is and how basic derivatives like forwards, futures and calls/puts work but that's about the extent of my financial knowledge.

A sentiment I've seen in threads and articles about quants is that this a career for math geniuses. I can say without reservation I am not one of them. I am good at math but I'm also realistic about where I stand. I had classmates in my undergrad who were Putnam competitors, who finished their degrees early and direct entried to PhD at top schools, and I cannot hold a candle to them.

Is quantitative finance a field I can enter and succeed in after some schooling or should I not waste my time and continue my search elsewhere?

 

[Paul Lopez]

You'll definitely have the math background, which I think is one of the most important determinants in being a quant. Finance/product/econ knowledge you can easily learn with time. Also of very high importance is your ability to implement solutions in code and produce reliable, and hopefully well designed software. The sky is really the limit if you enjoy solving hard problems.

I say welcome!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Quant finance is a broad field with numerous job profiles for people with different skill sets and personalities even. There are FO (front office), MO (middle office), BO (back office), each with countless roles that have a decent salary.
Take your time to figure out where you will fit in and learn about the roles and skillsets for those roles.
To get into top programs or programs with decent job prospect, you need to strengthen your background.
Take a C++ or Python course. Or both.
You don't want to go into this field without some decent technical skills.