Advice for a student aspiring career in HF

Hi!

I am 20 years old and I am in my finishing my first year of the my Bachelors at the University of St.Gallen.

I have been in tune with the HF industry for a couple of months now as I am trying to figure out where to spend my efforts for the next 5 years. From my understanding, I really like the work and feel like I could see myself in a career there. I have done some analysis and strategies on behalf of the Investment Club for my University and I really liked the whole experience. My grades, due to the nature of the Swiss system, will reset in my 2nd year of the bachelor giving me another opportunity to pursue a higher average.

But I have some doubts about the industry:
- Are top marks in your bachelor a requirement?
- Is a masters, from an EU/UK perspective, a requirement or necessary?
- Would starting at Equity Research give me an advantage over other competitors?
- I am going to attend a data science bootcamp this summer, will this help my chances in landing an internship or position in the industry?
- And finally, I do some analysis and investing from my own side, should I continue this or focus more on my grades?

Thank you for the time you took to look at my post!

1 Comments
 

Voluptate aut voluptatem rem. Vel dicta molestiae et qui qui quae facilis incidunt. Amet a maxime voluptates. At eaque ex ad sit omnis.

Vel velit repudiandae itaque qui voluptatem quia. Quisquam excepturi modi optio laudantium dignissimos eos dolorem. Quam facere maiores deserunt veritatis.

Quod earum nam officiis delectus voluptas non. Aut voluptas sunt qui molestiae id voluptatem in. Ut distinctio ut ipsa qui. Non animi ipsa aut ipsa repudiandae qui unde. Consequatur iste excepturi laborum est aut aut.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (11) $372
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $193
  • Analysts (234) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $95
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”