Breaking into quant funds with a military background

I've spent ten years as an officer in the air force, and while I've enjoyed my job I'm really looking to do something else. I've always been interested in quant funds specifically, and I do think I have a good enough understanding of math and technology to succeed working there. However, I do have a few questions.

  1. Should I get an MBA? Currently I have a b.s and m.s in math from a top school, so I'm not sure if I should add an MBA before applying?

  2. If I were to be applied, would I start at the bottom rung of the hierarchy? Might be wishful thinking, but I hope I might get something of a promotion because of my previous experiences.

  3. Any other advice?

Thanks in advance.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful
"iammachine" 1. Should I get an MBA? Currently I have a b.s and m.s in math from a top school, so I'm not sure if I should add an MBA before applying?
No. Zero value.
"iammachine" 2. If I were to be applied, would I start at the bottom rung of the hierarchy? Might be wishful thinking, but I hope I might get something of a promotion because of my previous experiences.
Well, do you think your experience has any relevance to quant trading? If not, you know the answer. This said, the structure is very flat and you can get paid very well as a guy in the bottom rung (e.g. an analyst for a PM team might take home seven figures in a good year)
"iammachine" 3. Any other advice?
Figure out why you'd like doing it. It's not as easy as the newspapers make it to be and with your skillset you might have an easier time doing data science or something like that for Google. Then figure out what exactly you want to do - trading/PMing? work in an infrastructure group?
I have a friend who lives in the country, and it's supposed to be an hour from 42nd Street. A lie! The only thing that's an hour from 42nd Street is 43rd Street!
 

Eos qui minima quidem. Sunt impedit qui exercitationem esse. Rerum dicta totam ut alias sunt architecto et. Sed ipsa non eaque ea. Consequatur quia et assumenda nihil aut exercitationem et. Sint libero laborum magnam quas at.

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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
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...”