I want to go to college and study quantitative finance (aka computational finance or financial mathematics) and eventually get a job as a quant after grad school. But after thinking about it, what exactly are the job opportunities in this field, as in, where does this career path lead? Is this essentially an “I want to work on wall street” occupation? I’ve also heard that jobs as quantitative analysts are found in hedge funds, banks, and other financial institutions. Does anyone know more about this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
It depends on what you mean by “quantitative analyst”. There are quantitative analysts in every field known to man - in finance and banking of course, but also in medicine, health, and biotech; in metereology, sustainability and environmental studies; in technology; in the social sciences at nonprofits and NGOs and think tanks…everywhere.
If you specifically mean as a quantitative analyst within finance, it’s not necessarily a Wall Street occupation. That’s a route for many graduates of elite schools with quantitative chops. You might get a start with a BA for 2-3 years, but after that return for a master’s in a quantitative field (like mathematics, statistics, economics, or finance). You can, of course, work at many Wall Street firms - hedge funds, private equity, investment banking, etc. You could also work at non-Wall Street firms that provide financial services, as well as other finance-adjacent fields that require number crunching (like insurance and risk management - huge fields for quants).
With some additional computer science chops you could move laterally into data science, which is another one of those careers that’s used across a wide range of fields - finance yes but also tech and health and the social sciences - and pays well.
So the career path is wide and varied, and it depends on your skills and preferences.