Nick Brown

Nick Brown chose Cal Poly’s MSQE program for its practical approach, affordability, and one-year timeline. Born and raised in Iowa with a B.A. in Economics, Nick sought a program that would equip him with real-world applications of economic and quantitative concepts.

“I appreciated Cal Poly’s emphasis on practical education over purely academic approaches,” Nick explained. “The learn-by-doing philosophy, combined with San Luis Obispo’s amazing year-round weather, made the decision easy.”

The program provided Nick with a strong quantitative foundation and computational programming skills essential for his career. “The challenging courses helped me get comfortable with ambiguity and prepared me to solve complex problems, whether in energy finance or marketing measurement,” he shared.

Among his favorite experiences were courses focused on coding academic concepts for practical use, which directly prepared him for professional applications. He also valued a project with the World Bank, where he worked with messy data and ambiguous objectives to deliver meaningful results, mirroring real-world challenges.

Though COVID limited extracurricular activities, Nick spent time enjoying the natural beauty of San Luis Obispo and the Central Coast. His hard work paid off as he earned the Academic Excellence designation upon graduating. His performance at his first post-graduation employer, cQuant, was so strong that it inspired the company to recruit more MSQE graduates.

Since graduating, Nick has advanced from Quantitative Developer at cQuant in Denver to Data Scientist at Haus in Chicago. He continues to apply the skills he honed during the program to solve real-world problems.

Nick advises prospective students to prepare by reviewing linear algebra and statistics, as a solid foundation in these areas allows for better focus on the program’s economic and computational content.

Looking ahead, Nick aims to continue solving challenging problems while delivering impactful, real-world solutions.

This profile was published in the Winter of 2024.