How to become a Financial Quantitative Analyst

Official title: Financial Quantitative Analysts

Also called: Investment Portfolio Control Consultant, Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Analyst, Quantitative Equity Analyst, Quantitative Research Analyst, Quantitative Strategy Analyst, Research Analyst

Develop quantitative techniques to inform securities investing, equities investing, pricing, or valuation of financial instruments. Develop mathematical or statistical models for risk management, asset optimization, pricing, or relative value analysis.

Main tasks

• Apply mathematical or statistical techniques to address practical issues in finance, such as derivative valuation, securities trading, risk management, or financial market regulation.
• Research or develop analytical tools to address issues such as portfolio construction or optimization, performance measurement, attribution, profit and loss measurement, or pricing models.
• Interpret results of financial analysis procedures.
• Develop core analytical capabilities or model libraries, using advanced statistical, quantitative, or econometric techniques.
• Define or recommend model specifications or data collection methods.
• Produce written summary reports of financial research results.
• Maintain or modify all financial analytic models in use.
• Provide application or analytical support to researchers or traders on issues such as valuations or data.

How to become one

Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Risk Consultation.
• College: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 35 universities in the US

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $81,100 a year The middle half earn $61,290 to $110,410.
• About 137,800 people work in this job now, and about 143,400 are projected by 2035. (+4.1%)
• People already use generative AI for some of this work. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as medium.

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Financial Quantitative Analyst?

Ways in include: Business & Commerce degrees; Risk Consultation.

How much does a Financial Quantitative Analyst earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $81,100 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $61,290 to $110,410.

Is a Financial Quantitative Analyst a growing career in the US?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 4% by 2035, from about 137,800 to about 143,400 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Financial Quantitative Analyst?

Usually. 67% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Financial Quantitative Analyst?

People already use generative AI for some of this work. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as medium.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.