>That's interesting, the prevailing opinion here on HN seems to be that being in 'finance' is better then in CS.

I strongly disagree, as to HN's "conventional opinion". I think most participants and probably most lurkers, would say that finance is probably, on average, a more lucrative field, but a CS degree from a no-name university would probably be better for getting into finance, the field, than an equivalent finance degree. This assumes you're working for someone else.

A finance degree is less useful for a technology/coding business/startup than a CS one. This is the raison d'etre of the forum. I would also contend that for getting FY$, personally financially independent rich, a startup is probably at minimum equivalent to working in finance. As such, neither is a bad choice, but the CS degree has better options.

I work in finance and have an undergrad CS degree.

It's common for folks in finance to have undergrad technical degrees (e.g., physics, math, CS) and graduate degrees in something more closely related to finance such as an MBA or MS in quantitative finance. (Although the pure quants will usually have a PhD in math or physics.)

But frankly if you're a technical person IMO finance is a ghetto: once you're in, it's hard to get out. In no other industry can you make as much money to do work that generally speaking is substantially behind the curve technically (e.g., pre-STL C++ is the standard development language and mindset, and most of the time you're just moving stuff to and from CSV files and databases). But if you're disciplined with your spending it's a great way to save seed capital if one day you want to jump ship and try a startup.

RFI: What do people think of quant finance Bachelors and Masters? Obviously it depends on the programme and school, but what do Ph.D. mathematician or pfysicist quants think of them, and otoh, what do traders and such think of them?

I don't get the sense from HN that being a finance major in school, especially as an undergraduate, would be better than CS. As someone who is doing both finance and CS courses as an undergrad currently, the jobs for finance majors all end up being analyst positions. A CS degrees gives you much more, better options if you're good at it, and allow more flexibility if you want to go out on your own. Finance is only glorious if you're one of the handful of people who get a potentially soul-crushing i-banking job as an Excel drone with opportunity to move up or do an Ivy MBA.

It's not from the glory point of view, not even from the interesting work angle but simply from a money making perspective.

It's different in my case because the traditional finance career bath does not appeal to me. I went to a large state school in a (relatively) small city, got married, and stayed here, which doesn't bode well for a career in finance. I got a job at a small regional bank in commercial lending, right when the credit crisis was hitting its stride. Stayed there for about 6 months, then left to start a company with my wife. My finance education has come in handy running the business, but I feel like I would have also benefited from some CS education as well. A half CS/half finance program may have been a good fit for me (not that something like that exists where I went to school).

I hope that makes some sense. Obviously it's hard to say where I'd be if I had gotten a degree in CS (or if I'd have made it out alive!); hindsight is of course 20/20.

That makes perfect sense, thank you!

You bet. It's very much an individual thing, but I also think that with a CS background, you're more likely to be able to create a "sky's the limit" situation for yourself financially. More potential for knocking something completely out of the park, if that makes sense. Of course, the very best people in finance will also be able to write their own ticket. I think the real focus should be on what makes the most sense for an individual given their personality, learning styles, and situation.

It seems many simply wish they had gotten a different degree in general. It may just be a "grass is greener" scenario. Or like somebody who learns a lot of math knows: when you finally understand something and look back it seems trivial. Following that, worth less than some not understood problem.

I don't get that sense from posts.

But even if being in finance is better than being in CS, in places where performance is rewarded being in finance with a CS degree is better than being in finance with a finance degree.

Just one sample:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1613347

There are many more besides it.