Path to Quantitative Trader at Hedge Fund
I am currently a high school junior, and I know this is an extremely competitive field, but I want to be a quantitative trader at a firm like Renaissance Technologies, Two Sigma, Citadel, DE Shaw, etc.
1. An article titled "Getting a Job in a Top Tier Quant Hedge Fund" on QuantStart mentioned that it's better to get a PhD in a pure research field like Maths/Physics/CS/Engineering instead of getting a MFE, but other sites such as Mergers and Inquisitions have said the exact opposite, claiming that it's better to:
- Complete a “mixed” technical degree, such as something that combines elements of math, stats, and computer science. A pure math or physics degree will be much more difficult and won’t necessarily provide a big benefit.
What is the community consensus on this? (sorry I am new here, and cannot post any links)
2. For undergrad, should I be applying to a pure maths course or a maths with finance/statistics course? For example Imperial College London has these undergraduate courses for maths:
- BSc Mathematics with Statistics for Finance
- BSc Mathematics with Statistics
- BSc Mathematics with Applied Mathematics/Mathematical Physics
- BSc Mathematics with Mathematical Computation
- BSc Mathematics
- BSc Mathematics (Pure Mathematics)
- BEng Mathematics and Computer Science
Could anyone advice me as to which courses I should be applying to?
3. What are the various career paths to a quantitative hedge fund? I'm thinking of paths like investment banking, equity research, etc etc...
An article on 80000hours said that
- To enter the industry, initially you’ll spend 4-8 years working as an analyst. The ideal path is usually said to be 2-3 years at a top investment bank, then 2-5 years working at a hedge fund as an analyst. In these stages, you’ll be paid typical investment banking salaries (perhaps $100-$300k). An alternative but slower route is to continue in investment banking until you’re known as the best analyst in your sector, then switch.
but this is for a traditional non-quant hedge fund, so I was wondering how the career progression for a quant fund compares.
4. Lastly, if anyone knows any quantitative finance jobs (maths/stats/cs) that involve some degree of (preferably international) travel, please let me know!
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