Just some background on myself, I have a diploma in accountancy and a degree in economics and finance. I’m 24 this year and is also working towards a CFA. I have spoken to a couple of Analysts who had some working experience and they’re generally concerned about how tech would take over their jobs.
While I have plans to take a MBA, I’m also trying to learn some new skills such as Python to assist myself in being relevant to the sector. Question is, is self-learning sufficient for quantitative roles, or do I have to attain a degree like a Masters in Quantitative Finance?
There’s no point in doing an MBA if you want to be a quant and you really need a PhD in math, stats, or computer science to work at a top fund.
Self learning alone will probably take you years to get a quant Analyst position because yes, 95 percent of shops want a masters in a quantitative discipline.
At a bare minimum, you’d probably need a graduate degree in financial mathematics or financial engineering to have a chance of getting a foot in the door in some quantitative finance role.
As was mentioned above by Iprofit4sure, the “pure” quants are the ones rolling around with a stem PhD in pure mathematics, physics, engineering, etc.