lemme confirm this
surfing the web i came across with this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analyst. I got a much clearer vision of the different quant jobs but still I wanted some1 to confirm my insight of this business area. Given that I do NOT want to code 90% of my time (so cut library quants, ATQs, and MV/innovation/development), I focused on risk Management, front office quant and quant inv management. Here’s my thinking:
RiskM: standard hours 9 to 6 with a little extra writing reports and similar stuff. Hard career path. Not that prestigious. You don’t code that much but rather you use VBA, excel, MATLAB to run simulations and tests
FOQ: [here I am referring to the various desks (commodities, Fixed income, FX, credit, equity, derivatives,etc)] longer hours (especially in FX and FI). Pay is generally great and it flows according to your PnL track. C++ widely used =50% of your time spent there and a bit of MATLAB/R. career can be done if talented.
PortfolioA: unknown hours, superb pay. A lot of time series analysis, backtesting, balancing portfolio risk, running simulations with matlab, use of excel and VBA. Great career opportunity (PM someday, obviously not tomorrow morning)
If you made to this point, you deserve a big thanks for your patience!
dude, i have an interview for market risk; your summary sounds right. are you interviewing as well? background is mech. engineering. how about you?
any advice for 2nd round interview?
actually i have no interview lol! it's just me trying to figure out the dark maze of finance! as for dos and donts in interviews i'd suggest reading this http://www.efinancialcareers-recruiter.com/12/default_uk.aspx (download it) and obviously hearing from some1 else out there as well =)
hey i see. good luck!
any other view on my summary?
That Wikipedia page looks like it was written by someone in college. For instance, the "innovation" section is utter nonsense. I wouldn't give it too much credence.
I wouldn't shy away from coding in a quant job, particularly at the entry level. You'll need the experience later on when you're trying to make the junior -> senior transition.
clarity is always welcome! anyway would the rest of my description fit the reality?
besides given these jobs: http://lavori.efinancialcareers.it/job-4000000000882833.htm/keywordAny=… http://lavori.efinancialcareers.it/job-4000000000883525.htm/keywordAny=… http://lavori.efinancialcareers.it/job-4000000000905762.htm/keywordAny=…
would they lead to a PM position one day? or just to a senior one? do you get crazy hours (like IB)?
p.s.: i am very sorry if these links violate the policy of this forum but i copied them for a better understanding.
There's no single job description for quant analyst; you're trying to generalize something that is not generalizable.
I didn't read those job descriptions, but the main way your job leads to a PM/trader position is if your boss (or boss's boss) is a PM/trader. For any other position, particularly a risk mgmt position, the likelihood of magically landing a risk-taking role is low.
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