Aurum
Download

Quant Finance Self-Study Curriculum

A self-study route into quantitative finance: a maths diagnostic, a twelve-month curriculum map, core textbooks, weekly problem sets, four portfolio coding projects and an evidence pack you can show an employer.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Quant Finance Self-Study Curriculum, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

Before you start: this plan is general information to help you organise your own money decisions. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Check decisions that matter with a qualified, licensed adviser in your country, and remember that investing and trading can lose money.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

201

Starter tasks

🧮 Quantitative Finance & Trading

Quant Finance Self-Study Curriculum

A self-study plan for quantitative finance: maths prerequisites, core textbooks, coding projects, paper reading and milestones you can show an employer.

  1. Target quant role and study goal statement
  2. Maths prerequisites diagnostic
  3. Weekly study hours budget
  4. Twelve-month quant curriculum map
  5. Core textbook shortlist by subject
  6. Python study environment set-up
  7. Formula sheet and study notes system
  8. Study budget for books, data and courses
  9. Free practice data sources
  10. Weekly study session schedule
  11. Weekly problem set routine
  12. Spaced repetition deck for definitions and results
  13. Monthly curriculum progress review
  14. Weekly quant paper reading slot
  15. Quarterly curriculum reset
  16. Study hours and topics log
  17. Study partner monthly check-in
  18. Monthly numerical methods coding exercise
  19. Linear algebra for quant work
  20. Calculus and optimisation refresher
  21. Probability theory core sequence
  22. Statistics and regression for returns
  23. Numerical methods in Python
  24. Markets and instruments for career changers
  25. Stochastic processes first pass
  26. SQL and data wrangling for market data
  27. Reading a quant paper in one sitting
  28. Returns and risk analytics library project
  29. Option pricer with Monte Carlo and closed form
  30. Cross-sectional factor backtest project
  31. Volatility forecast comparison project
  32. Textbook-first or project-first study decision
  33. Paid course or certificate versus free material
  34. Cutting topics that do not serve the target role
  35. Employer-facing evidence pack
  36. Ninety-day curriculum checkpoint
  37. Six-month self-set mock exam
  38. Public portfolio launch on a code hosting site
  39. Presenting a study project to a meetup or reading group
  40. Twelve-month curriculum review and next-year plan
  41. Self-study alongside a maths, physics or CS degree
  42. Study plan around a full-time job
  43. Moving into quant from software engineering
  44. Moving into quant from accounting or traditional finance
  45. Full-time study break with a fixed budget
  46. Study plan for a parent with fragmented time
  47. Quant developer self-study track
  48. Derivatives and pricing specialist track
  49. Systematic research specialist track
  50. Contributing to an open-source quant library

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Target quant role and study goal statement

Quant research, quant trading, quant development and risk modelling need overlapping but different preparation, and a self-study plan without a target drifts into reading everything. Writing one paragraph that names the role you are aiming at, the kind of employer and a rough date gives every later choice of book, project and topic something to be measured against.

First tasks

  • Save three job adverts for the quant role that interests you most
  • List every skill and qualification the three adverts ask for
  • Write a 120-word goal statement with role, employer type and target date
  • Pin the goal statement at the top of your study notes

Maths prerequisites diagnostic

Most self-taught quants either repeat material they already know or skip a gap that later stops them cold, usually in linear algebra or probability. A two-evening diagnostic across calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics shows exactly where to start each subject and stops weeks being spent on the wrong chapter.

First tasks

  • Pick ten problems each in calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics
  • Attempt each subject's set in one timed sitting without notes
  • Mark your answers against worked solutions and rate each subject
  • Write a starting chapter for each subject in the skills grid

Weekly study hours budget

A curriculum built on twenty hours a week collapses within a month for someone who really has eight. Counting the hours you can protect, across work, family, sleep and exercise, sets the pace of everything else and makes the twelve-month map honest from the start.

First tasks

  • Map last week hour by hour and mark every fixed commitment
  • Count the hours you could realistically protect for study
  • Agree the study hours with anyone whose time it affects
  • Write the weekly figure and its split at the top of the curriculum map

Make it yours.

Install Quant Finance Self-Study Curriculum, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.