What should one prepare to enter Renaissance Tech or D.E.Shaw?

Hi everyone.

I am a first-year student in a Top 20 Math PhD program in US without any internship experiences in finance industry. Besides maintain a good progress toward the PhD degree, I wonder what else I should do to increase the chance to enter a top-tier hedge fund (such as the two I mentioned in the title).

My own thoughts are:

To improve myself: I could take CFA, learn more about finance, algorithms, stochastic processes,etc. To build my resume: I should have some internship experiences.

But I am not sure what I should do particularly and their priorities.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could answer my questions with specific suggestions.

4 Comments
 
Best Response

One does not simply choose RenTech. RenTech chooses you (100% serious).

No one should ever 'aim' to get into RenTech because that's just not how it works. Instead, I'd focus on places like DE Shaw, Two Sigma, Citadel, ect.

Forget the CFA - it is worthless for you.

quantnet.com nuclearphynance.com

These forums will all be able to help you out.

 

Quibusdam quia consequatur ut. Voluptatum temporibus reprehenderit dolores natus et autem. At et magni sequi quod sit esse nostrum. Numquam vel omnis praesentium rerum incidunt voluptas. Cumque quis voluptatibus sint tenetur et dignissimos. Consequuntur maxime fugiat a voluptas cum. Corrupti odit autem necessitatibus illo nobis sit in.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (11) $372
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $193
  • Analysts (233) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $95
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...”