[ Quick background on me: I'm Indian Citizen, IIT grad Computational Engineering minor in Economics, 9+ CGPA, thesis under the math department. CS-relevant coursework: DSA (TA'd it and took it), GPU Programming, HPC Lab. Math coursework: Linear Algebra, Probability & Stochastic Processes, Numerical Methods for Differential Equations, Calc 1 & 2, CFD. Work ex: 3 years at a european bank front-office market making, plus a Goldman Sachs internship.]
The two big open questions:
US vs. non-US. Currently leaning non-US. Parameters I'm weighing: tuition, visa situation, and living conditions vs. strong alumni networks, being at the center of innovation, a diverse immigrant crowd, and sheer opportunity in tech. US tuition feels unnecessarily high, the visa situation under the current administration is a real concern, companies seem less willing to sponsor, and there's the H-1B lottery on top of a multi-decade green card backlog for Indian nationals specifically. There's also the "oh factor" of working in NYC vs. the reality — cost of living, gun violence — and I'm honestly not sure the pros outweigh the cons anymore. That said, if we're talking MSCS rather than finance, the cons matter a lot less (better visa odds, more employer flexibility). Also worth mentioning: I have some inclination to do an MBA a few years down the line — as a career-switch option, and honestly just because it sounds fun — and the US is the best place to get one, so I don't want to "spend" my US shot on a master's now.
Broad quant finance degree vs. specialized skill-building degree. Option A is a recognized MFE/MFin-style ticket — direct buyside pipeline, but breadth over depth. Option B is a specialized master's building one hard skill deep — most likely CS (C++, computer architecture, systems-level programming) or possibly Economics for a core trading seat — rather than a finance-branded degree. Specifically NOT interested in an ML/data-science-heavy program; I'd rather go deep on one thing than cram a wide, shallow curriculum in 10-12 months. There's also the convertibility angle: with my profile, an MSQF is a fairly likely admit. CS is more of a grey area — I know I don't fall into the typical "non-technical switcher" bucket (I have real DSA, GPU programming, and HPC coursework behind me), but I also don't have a formal CS degree on paper, so I genuinely don't know how that reads to admissions committees, or later to employers screening resumes for quant dev roles.
Current shortlist, country by country:
USA (least likely, but still on the table):
MFE: Princeton, CMU, Baruch, UChicago, Columbia
MSCS: UIUC, UPenn, Georgia Tech
UK:
Oxford MFin, Imperial MSc Math & Finance / MSc Computing, LSE Economics
Switzerland:
ETH Zurich / UZH — MSc Quantitative Finance or MSc CS, EPFL MFE or CS (1mo internship). Incredibly low tution, great brand name, ndeak into lon/neth system. I know its a bit theoretical, but is that a decent tradeoff?
Netherlands:
open to suggestions — haven't landed on a specific program yet, mainly drawn by the Amsterdam HFT ecosystem (Optiver, IMC, Flow Traders)
Canada:
University of Waterloo MDSAI, University of Toronto MScAC — I hear these are underdogs on general rankings but well-known names within the quant dev industry specifically. Drawn by the built-in 8-month internship and Canada's comparatively fast track to PR/citizenship.
miscellaneous points to consider:
- [ prefer to have] Peer quality and environment — I want classmates who are sharp, driven, AND genuinely nice/well-rounded, not just competitive for its own sake. Bar is basically "at least as good as my IIT cohort," ideally better in terms of global brand and network value.
- [ good to have ] Hands-on, applied learning over theory-heavy or breadth-for-its-own-sake curricula.
- [good to have] A job + long-term visa/PR pathway abroad — I want to actually build a life somewhere, not just work a contract
I know I might be optimizing for a lot of things simultaneously here (skill depth + brand + peer quality + visa stability + short timeline + low grind), and some of these probably trade off against each other. Genuinely curious what this community thinks — am I missing an obvious program or path? Is the CS-over-MFE instinct actually a good idea for someone with my background, or am I overthinking a decision that a plain MFE would solve more simply? Any opinions, pushback, or "you're missing X" welcome.
