I know it depends on what you want to do afterwards but I am 29 yrs and currently working in IT for a major IB in London. I would like to make a career switch and become a trader, a structurer or work in a portfolio optimization team. I would go for a master in finance but I feel like one in fin math could be more useful in finding a job. I could get a quant dev role easier than a pure front office one and, even if it is not my first choice, it’s still something I would enjoy a lot. I have an Italian Laurea in Computer Science (= BSc + MSc) and a graduate master in Operational Research (optimization, statistics, etc.).The masters I am looking at are:1. LSE MSc in Finance (good reputation of the faculty)2. Cass MSc in Investment Management (it seems very well organized and with a good history)3. Cass MSc in Math Trading and Finance (both finance and math)4. King’s MSc Financial Mathematics (purely fin math)5. Birkbeck MSc Financial Engineer (purely fin math)6. Tanaka MSc Risk Management (good reputation of the faculty)I really have difficulties in choosing the right one. Is the reputation of the LSE so much better than Cass if you want to work in the UK? Anyone coming from Cass? How would you rate the abouve courses?Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

IMHO, the topics you work on are a lot more imporant than univ brand name. And once you get to the stage of a phone interview, all that matters is how you handle it, not where you came from. Make sure you get as much real-world exposure as you can - the degree with the word 'trading' in it sounds good if it lives up to it. And you _do_ have to make up your mind whether you want to go for quant or trader - quite different profiles I'd say

yes but if the uni's brand name is not good one, can't get an interview even if he is very bright, so don't underestimate that

Thanks for the advices. I agree it is more important what I learn from the master rather than the name of the institution, no doubt about it, but the institution matters anyway, for the name and for the networking.I am sure about the brand name of LSE and IC, but what about Cass? Is it well considered by IBs?If I look at what I would like to do after the masters, then the best one is probably either the MSc in Investment Management or the MTF at Cass, but I don't know how many chances I have got to find a job given my age. Given my background I believe it is safer to go for a fin math one, which will give me more chances to use my IT background, hence to find a job. What I don't really know is how IBs look at people 30 years old who want to make a career switch. Do they prefer to hire people in their early 20s or they just look at what you can do and what you know?Besides, has anyone attended one of the two masters mentioned at Cass? I would like to get in contact with someone who graduated from this school to find out more on how they good they are. You can't really rely on open evenings as they are trying to sell a product...