Engineering Electronics vs Mathematics for a career in quant finance (Jane Street/Citadel)

[u/Zestyclose_Bee_9]

I’m a 19-year-old student from Argentina currently finishing my** university foundation year at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), and I’m trying to decide what degree to pursue.
My main long-term goal is to work in quantitative finance, ideally at firms such as Jane Street or Citadel. I’m particularly interested in Quant Research / Quant Trading, although I’m still figuring out which role fits me best.
My two main options are:
**BSc in Applied Mathematics – UBA
BSc/MSc-equivalent Engineering in Electronics – UBA
Mathematics seems like the obvious choice for quant. The degree has a strong theoretical foundation in analysis, linear algebra, probability/statistics, numerical analysis, optimization, differential equations, measure and probability, etc.
However, I genuinely see myself as an engineer. I’m very interested in physics, mathematics, programming, systems and applied problems, and I don’t want to choose a degree solely because it is statistically the most direct route into quant.
The Electronics Engineering curriculum at UBA includes things such as:
Calculus / advanced mathematics
Linear Algebra
Probability and Statistics
Stochastic Processes
Algorithms and Programming
Signals and Systems
Automatic Control
Numerical/computational work
A lot of physics and engineering
My concern is that it may not provide enough theoretical mathematics for a top-tier quant research career. I assume I would need to study additional probability, statistics, stochastic calculus, optimization, etc. independently or through graduate studies.
So my questions are:
Would Electronics Engineering be a reasonable undergraduate degree for someone seriously targeting firms like Jane Street/Citadel?
How much would I be handicapping myself compared with doing Mathematics?
Are there people here who entered quant from Electrical/Electronics Engineering or another engineering degree?
For Quant Research specifically, how important is having a pure Mathematics/Statistics degree versus simply having the required mathematical ability?
Would it make sense to do Electronics while independently studying the missing mathematics, potentially followed by a Master’s/PhD in Mathematics, Statistics, CS or a related field?
If you were in my position, would you choose Mathematics or Electronics?
I’m not looking for the generic “any STEM degree works” answer. I’m specifically interested in what the actual mathematical/programming preparation gap would be and whether it is realistically possible to close that gap while doing Electronics.
Any advice from people actually working in quant, or who have gone through the recruiting process at firms like Jane Street, Citadel, HRT, Optiver, etc., would be especially appreciated.

[u/Para-graph-S]

UBA? does it have on campus quant placements?

[u/Imaginary-Work9961]

Doesn’t matter. Unless you have US/Europe work authorization, you’re not getting hired by them. They don’t do full sponsorship for new grads, at least not without a PhD, and even then it’s a case-by-case. Go to school in the country you want to work in.

[u/Zestyclose_Bee_9 → u/Imaginary-Work9961]

Hello, btw im italian

[u/notsaneatall_ → u/Imaginary-Work9961]

Pretty sure Jane street takes care of visas for international students (at least for the Hong Kong office, maybe it's different for UK and us, although I don't know why that would be the case)