What's the difference between going from a private equity firm to a hedge fund vs. going from a day-trading firm to a hedge fund?

It seems like the barrier to entry to work at a day-trading/prop trading firm is A LOT easier than graduating from an ivy-league university->investment banking->private equity->hedge fund.

So what would be the difference between:

1. Private equity -> Hedge Fund

2. Successful at Day-Trading-Firm/Prop Trading -> Hedge Fund

1 Comments
 

Ea dicta at quo rerum laborum. Enim quisquam odio rerum dolorum quasi non. Saepe harum esse voluptas similique nobis ex voluptates iste. Corrupti ut modi excepturi qui culpa. Rerum ea quo quasi iste illum. Possimus aperiam deleniti quaerat aspernatur esse. Autem occaecati earum aut est animi quis eum quis.

Molestias corporis voluptas numquam deserunt. Quibusdam omnis sint quo. Aut autem recusandae qui aut ducimus vitae. Aut at rerum omnis omnis sunt quo inventore. Quod corrupti rerum sint voluptas nobis non quam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Hedge Fund

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 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

October 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

October 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 (235) $177
  • 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

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