Question speaks for itself, but from what I've heard, making the USAMO/MOSP/TST exams and placing top at PUMaC/HMMT has gotten me nowhere. Everybody rejects IB I'm not sure why, I am much smarter than average, exceptionally proficient in mathematics and computer science.
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Because IB is a sales job. You need to look good, dress well, speak good English, be personable and charming, can carry yourself in front of clients. What part of that requires complex math?
Making the USAMO or whatever other exams can get you a job at a quant fund if you are smart enough, but you are just a doer not a thinker and don't have a sense of how market works, you will never get to work for Jim Simons or Cliff Asness and the likes.
First, this level of mathematics is not needed. Also, they may be worried that you could get bored and start looking for another job. If you are a quant and love math, then go for quant jobs. Odds are you will find it more interesting then plucking basic arithmetic into excel. As the previous poster pointed out being presentable to the client is important. Nearly everyone in this field is intelligent, but if you have a 'smarter than thou' attitude it can be a real turn off for a lot of people. No idea if you do or don't present yourself that way, but it is something to take into account.
One of the big issues is with IB recruiting unlike some other professions is, that certificates, tests, high placements, professional designations, etc, don't really count for shit until you actually get the interview. What i mean by this, is, that while an engineering, computer science, or related firm, might see these types of qualifications on an online application or something of that sort and be interested/impressed enough to bring you in for an interview based on that, IB firms wont. IB recruiting is completely dominated by on campus recruitment and networking based referrals. I see a good amount of posts like this pop on on the forum every once and a while, and I'd be willing to bet if you asked 90%+ of those people who make posts like this about their networking or if their university has on campus recruitment, they would say that they merely submitted on online application. Online applications (at least for entry level SA, analyst, and post MBA associate roles) are straight up black holes... no one is even reading them most of the time.
Now, I'd be willing to bet if you could network your way into an interview, explain what these exam scores even mean (i honestly have no clue), how it makes you qualified for IB, and, most importantly, articulate how you're not a huge math/science nerd who cares about doing complicated, intellectually stimulating work, and that you would be happy be an excel/powerpoint grunt for three years, it would potentially help you win roles.
Why would you want to do IB if you could get a top score on usamo? You should get looks from quant funds, prop shops.
IB doesn't hate quants. When it comes down to it, the math in banking is just not that complicated. Playing up these math scores is like saying you won a bunch of writing awards. It's impressive and interesting, but not necessary for summarizing bullets on a slide.
Decent numerical proficiency is just a check the box item. You're not getting any bonus points for much beyond that. To the extent that you're not getting the opportunities your interested in, it'd due to all the other factors that go into the recruiting process (networking, how presentable/likable you are, etc)
Quant to IBD probability (Originally Posted: 02/19/2017)
So, I'm asking this question on behalf of a friend here. He's currently a sell-side quant at a top tier-2 bank, in an emerging market office, and wants to make the move into IBD possibly through an internal transfer. What are his chances, if any?
why would he want to? i would imagine quant lifestyle and pay are both better than ibd...i could be wrong.
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