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Career Resources
Transitioning from being a quant at a hedge fund (HF) to a quant trader/researcher at a high-frequency trading (HFT) firm or market maker like Jane Street, Two Sigma, HRT, or Optiver is feasible but comes with challenges. Here's what you need to know:
Feasibility of Transition:
Skillset Alignment:
Cultural Fit:
Networking and Reputation:
Pay Comparison:
Career Progression and Upside:
HFT/Market Makers:
Hedge Funds:
Challenges:
Conclusion:
Transitioning is feasible but requires aligning your skillset with the demands of HFT firms. HFT/market makers generally offer better pay and career upside, especially for those who excel in their roles. However, the competition is fierce, and success depends on your ability to demonstrate relevant expertise and adaptability.
Sources: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/hedge-fund/quant-hedge-fund-career-progression?customgpt=1, So you want to be a Quant?, Quant Researcher in Quant Funds: Dead-End Career Path?, Q&A: Top Quant Firms First Year Comp 250k to 400k, So you want to be a Quant?
Probably wouldn't be terribly hard, most firms just look for talent, but most people chose not to make the switch because the payouts in hedge funds tend to be higher for very talented people, and people who are at hedge funds tend to prefer the hedge fund culture/work over prop shops. It'd probably be more common to join another HF over a prop shop, or even just retire after a few good years. Also, 2Sig is a HF with a MM arm.
To any "normal person" who's never worked on Wall Street, a HF and a prop shop seem like the exact same thing, so that person would never ask this question. But anyone who *has* worked with quants on Wall Street will have already met coworkers who switched jobs between HF/prop and know it's not unusual for quants (and also there's so many different kinds of hedge funds focused on different time horizons that "HF vs prop" is not a meaningful distinction for quants anyway) so that person would never ask this question either.
I don't understand who did ask it here.
A better thing to look at is asset class and medium/high frequency. I know only one person out of 20-30 who did that move. Most people get locked into whatever they started in as fresh grads, the work and skills are not very transferrable (or at least that is the perception of hiring teams).
Perhaps someone who isn’t in the industry yet but is looking at opportunities as a student?
super rare to switch between the two but it happens
Really? Assuming prop shop vs HF simply means whether or not you take external money, then I switched from a HF to a prop shop and then back to a HF again. I know lots of people who've done that.
Of if you define prop shop vs HFs as "HFT/market-making vs long term discretionary/fundamental" then sure, that's less common. But plenty of hedge funds do short term algorithm trading too, and any of those is a straightforward transition.
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