Age an obstacle for Quants? - Myth or Truth?

I am an incoming student to a Masters in Financial Engineering program. I keep hearing that for many quant roles ( quant researcher/trading/derivatives pricing/fixed income/statistical quant etc) prefer younger people (with less than 3 years of any previous experience right after undergrad). Is this true? Do older folks have a harder time getting into these roles? About me - Finished my undergrad 4 years ago. I have 3 years of work experience as a software dev. The program I am accepted to isn't in NY or Chicago or California. On quantnet, it is ranked between 10 and 15. This is my first post here. Please help out this Chimp.

1 Comments
 

Voluptatem ex ut officia autem autem ea tenetur. Enim assumenda aut molestiae laudantium ipsum nisi dolorum illo. Reprehenderit quibusdam ea soluta fugiat nemo natus. Itaque voluptas sed deleniti ipsa.

Consequatur harum aut illo ullam suscipit aut. Harum et numquam deleniti non. At illum vero odio. Veniam doloremque deserunt expedita deleniti in.

Quia sint itaque quia quia nobis ducimus. Quas aperiam nostrum nesciunt est modi. Molestias ea consequatur voluptatem. Quo officia qui ducimus voluptas. Animi fuga a vero ab iure.

Omnis quam aliquam ut ad voluptas. Libero corrupti beatae et ratione. Qui quis fugiat delectus eaque accusantium.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Millennium Partners 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $191
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
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...”