2 Msc Degrees Job Prospects

Dear Community,

I am currently studying International Management as an undergraduate degree. The degree is neither numerical and quantitative as it is a Bachelor of Arts. Within the course of my studies I realized that my interest lie wihtin the field of Finance.

I therefore decided to pursue a MSc in Finance and received offers from Trinity College, Bath, Manchester and Lancaster. As I have talked to a few professionals wihtin the industry, many told me to increase my knowledge in the fields of digitalisation/programming/big data etc. My question therefore would be, if a MSc in Data Science (LSE for example) would make sense after my MSc in Finance.

I didn't find a masters degree that combines these two levels effectively. As I dont't have any experiences with programming I wouldn't be able to secure a place in a Data Science program after my undergraduate degree.

My fields of interest for my career lie within asset/Portfolio Management, Investment and corporate Banking (very different fields but as my knowledge in finance is still superficial I would like to keep an open mind). As you see, my fields of interest lie within finance but I think that an education in data science would increase my chances of landing a good job, offer employment in an sustainable and challenging field.

How would you evaluate this idea from your and an employers perspective? Do you think employees would perceive this as indecisive?

Both MSc programs would last 1 year so theoretically I would lose any time (I am from Germany and our masters degree last 2 years which owuld be the case in combining both). I am currently 23 and am working at a brokerage as a working student since last summer.

Thank you for your help

To me I think there's little point doing yet another MSc. Why not just do Data Science* at the outset. And what about the expense of adding another year (£26k for LSE, plus accommodation, London living, etc )?

Also, a small point, but when you say "Trinity College" do you mean Cambridge. The degree is awarded by the university, not the college.

* Although I'm not sure how relevant data science / big data will be unless you really want to go into the quant side of IB. In which case you will be competing against maths/compsci specialists. You can always read around the subject without spending £26k on it...

Thank you for your response.

Sorry, I meant Trinity College Dublin. About the expenses, I would hoep to get a scholarship otherwise I would definiely reconsider.

I do definetly agree with you, especially with your last point. My idea was that experience in the data science field would definitely add value to my application. I wouldn't pursue it as Primary degree as my interest definitely lie within Finance. But as you pointed out, it might make more sense to seek additional education in data science that is not uni..