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Originally from a small village near Patna, Bihar in northeast India, Kumari Anjali’s mother told her from a young age that “education is the only liberating force which can multiply our chance of success.” She has been following that advice ever since.

After losing her father, Kumari poured her focus and energy into getting an education to support her family. She began working as a tutor to earn enough money to pay for tuition to attend university and earn a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Applications. Her dedication launched a 15-year career in software engineering with organizations across India and abroad, where she worked on software and analytics services.

“While working on different software and analytics projects, I came across the buzzwords ‘Quant’ and ‘Financial Engineering,’” said Kumari. “My intense thirst for learning inspired me to learn more about quants and financial engineers, and I became so fascinated that I made the craziest decision of my life — to quit my 15-year career in software engineering and pursue my new dream of becoming a financial engineer.”

Although Kumari originally hoped to attend a US-based institution to study financial engineering, the financial burden was too high. Around that same time, she discovered WorldQuant University, and was inspired by the mission. “I was simply delighted to see the mission of WorldQuant University is to make advanced, quality education accessible to capable students everywhere by leveraging technology at scale to deliver an entirely online, tuition-free MSc in Financial Engineering.”

After being accepted into the MScFE program, she dove into the content headfirst. Some of her favorite classes were Machine Learning in Finance and Cases of Risk Management. It wasn’t always easy, but the work paid off. Overall, she said, “to become a successful quant and learn lessons thoroughly, one has to make a trade-off with leisure, holidays and vacations, but since the course is so systematic, it can be completed alongside full-time employment and family engagement.”

While finishing her degree at WorldQuant University, Kumari started a full-time position at the BNY Mellon (Pune, India office) as a quantitative researcher in fixed income. Her final pieces of advice for anyone considering the MScFE program?

“Do it not only to gain an expensive degree free of cost, but to be a more effective financial professional. It pays you more in the long run of your career as a Financial Engineer.”