A Beginner’s Reading Path into Quantitative Finance

Summary

The post asks for practical guidance for an engineering student beginning a career in quantitative finance. Its answer recommends starting with introductory mathematical finance and quantitative finance texts, then moving to stochastic calculus after building the basics. It also points learners toward probability, statistics, and econometrics resources when prerequisites are weak, and suggests an investments textbook to understand financial products and markets.

This is a suggested self-study sequence rather than a hands-on trading guide. It names books but gives no exercises, projects, trading methods, or evidence comparing learning paths. The sequence assumes prior calculus, basic probability and statistics, and numerical methods; readers without those foundations may need to fill gaps first. The recommendations are personal, including a strong negative opinion about one derivatives textbook, so they should not be treated as a consensus ranking.

Key ideas

• Begin with introductory mathematical finance and quantitative finance before studying stochastic calculus.
• Strengthen probability, statistics, and econometrics when these prerequisites are difficult.
• Study investments to build understanding of financial products alongside mathematical methods.
• The suggested path is personal guidance and does not include practical projects or a tested curriculum.

Tags

# Is there any beginner guide to quant not just theory but practical


# Is there any beginner guide to quant not just theory but practical












IM a student in 3rd year of Engg. want to make career in quant finance hence seek small guidance of how to start.. hope experienced folk answers

## Answer by Dimitri Vulis (score 1)

https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/85652

Assuming that as an engineering student you've studied some calculus (not stochastic), basic probability/statistics/numerical methods, I recommend that you start with these 2 books for self-study:

- Mathematics for Finance: An Introduction to Financial Engineering by Marek Capiński and Tomasz Zastawniak

- An Introduction to Quantitative Finance by Stephen Blyth

. Also possibly: Introduction to the Mathematics of Finance by R. J. Williams

Great book to continue your self-studies AFTER you've read on your own one or both of the above:

- Stochastic Calculus for Finance vols I and II by Steven Shreve

If you find yourself struggling with any prerequisite probability/statistics/econometrics, there are plenty of good books on those. If you want to understand the "product" better, I suggest Investments by Bodie, Kane, Marcus.

I do NOT like at all:

Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives by the late John Hull

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