Quant vs Investment Banker?
(Repost from Off-Topic)
If you're good at STEM and you're at HYPSM, is there any reason to choose investment banking (BB/EB) over quant (JS/Citadel/HRT/etc.)? I'm wrapping up my SA stint and although I didn't enjoy the work, I think I did well.
Which career track do people on Wall Street consider to be more prestigious? Also, which has better exit opps? My understanding is that, in the worst case scenario, while quants can exit to FAANG SWE (which pays quite well), ex-investment bankers are relegated to roles like FP&A and corp dev. Could someone please opine on this?
Do what you want
Go quant
I know a lot of people who were good at STEM but still were not able to get into quant. There is a distinction between being good at STEM and being brilliant, and that’s the cut for Quant. However, there is no harm in trying to recruit for Quant positions as if you get in, you will have a better WLB and better pay compared to IB.
This.
It is extraordinarily rare that someone has both the people/soft skills to work in IBD and also the uber quant skills to work at Citadel/Optiver/JS.
if you have the brain, definitely quant, its a no brainer
Prestige in terms of recognition, BB for sure. No one outside of finance even knows what Quant is, or never even heard of JS, HRT, Citsec, Optiver, etc. (even some finance ppl never heard of those shops).
But definitely quant at those shops much better choice and assuming that you are smart enough to get an offer from those top tier shops, not some junk prop shops where they give you shitty 20K base salary or even forces you to pay money before joining, you can't go wrong in ur career choice.
Only bull case for banking is that you have a big family business to run. Certainly having big BB stamp and transaction experience help in that regard. Otherwise, quant is just a better job. You work half of bankers, make at least double, better benefits, doing smarter works. I know this is a banking forum and might get ms but I’m regretting everyday not studying CS.
Copying my answer from the previous thread.
Just comes down to what kind of work you prefer. Quant pays higher out of school, but both will end up paying about the same after the first few years of your career. Some people like the quant work, others don't. Vice versa for banking/PE.
Also if you're an HYP IB graduate and you exit to corp dev, I feel really sorry for you. And FYI, no one in quant exits to FAANG unless they're in the bottom 10%. FAANG pays like trash. It’s only “good” right after you get out of school, and even then, entry level quant offers blow FAANG pay out of the water.
Why is corp dev a bad exit?
It's not. It just pays less, but the lifestyle is chill.
I feel bad for the guy above based on how he seems to think money is the end all be all...
Copied from other thread.
One of the above posts that says IB and Quant pay the same a few years out really isn't true for most Quant Traders at prop shops that are doing well. The upside is higher a lot quicker into your career for Quant Trading than IB.
If you have the ability to do QT academically speaking, the pay is significantly better with lower hours and usually the people who are academically inclined enough to get through the interview process at places like HRT, Optiver, and CitSec prefer QT work to IB work.
However some quants on the research side have less upside than these risk-taking roles which probably end up having closer to IB upside in a similar timeline to IB. However, these types of quants usually have a significantly more rigorous academic background and a more mathematical interest than IB work demands.
I assume you’re talking about me. Yes, a quant at JS will likely end up making more than some random IB grunt at some MM, but that’s JS. Not everyone makes JS/Cit just like not everyone goes to GS -> Apollo/Viking. So I fully disagree on your point about the “significant difference” in comp progression.
As for enjoying the work, I would most definitely not generalize and say that people who can get past the quant interview will necessarily be enamored by the job description. Yeah, no one likes IB, but most bright-eyed Ivy grads are not in it to become career bankers these days. HF/PE/VC are all very interesting industries and it really comes down to your personal preferences and interests.
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