IT/Technology Department in IBs from an engineering background?

I am recent graduate majored in Biomedical Engineering from a non-target school. I just decided to switch my career from engineering to IT finance. I have absolutely no internship/work experience in Finance and have not taken any courses related to Finance.

I just want to know what kinds of roles I can play in IT/technology department in IBs. I know a little bit of programming and am very proficient in SQL, UNIX, and EXCEL.

When is the typical recruiting time for a recent grad? What positions in IT can I apply for? If I apply for all positions online, would i be still able to get any interviews? Do I stand in a chance in those smaller Boutique firms?

6 Comments
 
Best Response

Without a CS degree it'll be difficult but not impossible, you might want to look at operations, back office+middle office functions, trade support, application support. There are a lot of non-programming roles you could go for but aside from the non-CS degree I think the biggest problem will be the job market itself as there have been drastic cuts over the years in finance IT with lots of experienced techs on the street looking for work. If it gives you any comfort, an intern I used to know was a chemical engineer after he graduated he stayed in financial IT and is now managing a support group at another firm.

There is always someone hiring somewhere, you just need to find them.

Good luck.

 

What division does application support or trade support belong to, operations or technology? Should I start networking with alumni, so that I have a better chance? What about those smaller firms?

 

It's different from firm to firm and role to role but App support tends to be IT, and trade support could be either as the title and actual roles vary greatly. Some trade support does middle/back office clearing and p+l while others do market access connectivity or production support and front office execution issues. For the IT version of these roles the requirements can also differ but often include Linux, oracle/kdb/sybase, perl, Python, and bash shell scripting.

Networking cannot hurt as it is a tough market out there, an edge can be found anywhere.

Smaller firms can sometimes be harder too because they may require you to do a wider range of tasks and could expect more as there are less people in your team compared to a big bank. It also depends on what you mean by smaller firm, at the prop or hedges if they are a quant or hft shop they often require you to be more tech savvy and may have a more intensive google-like interview process.

 

I had no previous IT experience, except the software development role in a research lab. I am proficient in Unix, Oracle SQL, Excel, and got a foundation certificate for ITIL. My GPA is 3.43 in a second tier school with a degree in engineering. Do I still stand a chance to get an interview by applying analyst position? Or is it more realistic for me just to get an some internship experience first? Thank you.

 

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