Advice for maths student interested in quantitative finance

Hi all,

This is my first time posting so hopefully this question is acceptable. So, a bit about me: I'm currently a Masters student in pure maths at (I guess you would call a target university in my country Australia). I finished my undergrad at the same university in mathematical physics with first class honours. I don't have any previous internships in finance but I do have a previous internship working in computational physics (specifically the application of Monte Carlo methods). I have an interest in quantitative finance and I was wondering if anyone in the Asia-Pacific region (or elsewhere) has any advice as to how I could break into quantitative finance, trading, or something similar. Is it too late at this point since I haven't obtained any internships in finance?

The thing about Australia is there doesn't seem to be too many quant roles, and so I've been applying for internships at commercial banks mostly in risk. I tried a couple trading firms but had no luck since they were very competitive. I think my best bet would be applying for entry level jobs overseas early next year a few months before I graduate (but I'm not sure if Skype interviews are common and I don't really have the money to travel to do interviews). I'm also considering starting a PhD in either mathematical physics or quantitative finance (not sure what would be more helpful in getting a quant role) and I'll be spending the upcoming summer learning as much about quantitative finance as I can and preparing for interviews. So anyway, does anyone have any advice regarding steps I can take from here?