What is Quantitative Finance?

Quantitative Finance is where mathematics meets money, where data becomes strategy, and where coders, analysts, and dreamers build the future of finance.

In this video, we break down what Quant Finance really is — no jargon, no intimidation — just clear insights to help you understand how it works and where it might take you.


But that’s just the beginning.
Scroll down to explore the most exciting career paths in this field, discover which one fits your background and personality, and learn what it takes to get there. Whether you're curious about trading algorithms, financial models, or risk analysis — there's a place for you in the world of quants.

Quantitative Analyst

What You Do:
As a Quantitative Analyst (or "Quant"), you build mathematical models to assess financial markets, price derivatives, and estimate risk. You work closely with traders and portfolio managers, supplying them with insights and analytics that drive decisions. You may work at investment banks, hedge funds, or asset management firms.

Salary: $95K–$160K
Key Skills: Python, statistics, probability, Monte Carlo simulations, Excel
Learn: Paul Wilmott Introduces Quant Finance

This is the career for you IF…
You enjoy using math to solve real-world problems, love to code, and want to influence trading decisions with rigorous analysis.
A bronze bas relief of a man in an overcoat and sunglasses in a thinking pose, with lots of stock charts on the wall behind him.

Quant Developer

What You Do:
Quant Developers write and maintain the software that underpins financial modeling and trading strategies. They design low-latency trading systems, data pipelines, and analytics dashboards. Their work is crucial in implementing theoretical models into production environments used by traders and analysts.

Salary: $110K–$180K
Key Skills: C++, Python, Java, APIs, systems architecture, version control
Learn: C++ Design Patterns for Quantitative Finance

This is the career for you IF…
You’re a software engineer at heart, love building fast and reliable systems, and are fascinated by finance but don’t want to be the one doing the trades.
bronze bas relief of a person watching a screen with trading lines, fingers on a keyboard

Risk Analyst

What You Do:
Risk Analysts identify and evaluate the financial risks associated with investments, lending, trading, or operations. They quantify how likely a portfolio or firm is to suffer losses under various scenarios and advise on mitigation strategies. You'll often work with compliance teams and regulators, especially in banks and insurance firms.

Salary: $85K–$140K
Key Skills: Excel, Value at Risk (VaR), scenario modeling, SQL, regulatory knowledge
Learn: Risk Management and Financial Institutions (Hull)

This is the career for you IF…
You’re cautious by nature, love understanding how systems break, and want to protect firms from worst-case scenarios.
bronze bas relief of a mathematician writing on a chalkboard with formulas,

Algorithmic Trader

What You Do:
Algorithmic Traders design, test, and deploy automated trading strategies that execute buy/sell decisions without human intervention. These strategies use data science, statistics, and machine learning to identify patterns in the market. Often, these roles exist at hedge funds and proprietary trading firms.

Salary: $120K–$250K (plus performance bonuses)
Key Skills: Python, time series analysis, data pipelines, backtesting, NumPy, pandas
Learn: Advanced Algorithmic Trading by Ernest Chan

This is the career for you IF…
You’re competitive, thrive on rapid feedback loops, and dream of designing a bot that beats the market while you sleep.
bronze bas relief of a person watching a screen with trading lines, fingers on a keyboard

Quant Researcher

What You Do:
Quant Researchers explore deep theoretical questions and develop cutting-edge mathematical models to price complex financial instruments or forecast market behavior. Their work may never be implemented directly, but it lays the foundation for many financial products and strategies. These roles often exist in hedge funds, banks, and academic institutions.

Salary: $100K–$200K
Key Skills: Stochastic calculus, linear algebra, Bayesian inference, R/Python/Matlab
Learn: The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance

This is the career for you IF…
You love deep theoretical work, are driven by curiosity, and prefer proving a model’s elegance over deploying it quickly.
bronze bas relief of a thoughtful person reviewing documents, holding a pen, mathematical symbols in the background

What is Next?

Sign up to stay updated!

If you're curious to explore further, sharpen your skills, and get ready to step into one of these exciting roles — sign up for our Quantitative Finance course (coming soon!) to dive deeper into the concepts, tools, and real-world strategies used by professionals in the field.

Your journey into the world of quants starts here.
Quantitative Finance Course