CS Student Interested In Trading - How to Prepare for Next Recruiting Season?

I've been browsing around this site for a while and its about time I reach out for some suggestions.

I am an undergrad sophomore in CS at a top 5 CS school with a 3.9+ GPA. I have secured a software engineering internship at a prop trading firm/quant fund, although I've had a growing interest in trading since then and next recruiting season I wish to secure a trading internship at a proprietary trading firm or hedge fund.

I was wondering what other things I could do (at my internship and outside of work/school) to improve my prospects for an internship next year. I already am involved in trading competitions and one related club, are there any other recommendations?
--What types software projects at my internship would be most helpful in giving me skills relevant to being a trader?
--I have no experience trading my own portfolio, would this be a worthwhile activity to start?
--I am working on building my own algorithmic trading platform and simulator for educational/extracurricular use. Should I focus more time on non-programming activities or will this be looked upon favorably at quant-heavy trading firms and hedge funds like Jane Street, Jump, Citadel, etc.
--Do these top firms hire trading interns without experience? Or I should I focus on lower-tier firms?

1 Comments
 
Best Response

Quos id qui dolores iusto in aut. Atque laudantium facere ipsam. Dolor omnis laboriosam et quo ut. Autem aut debitis ex aliquid eius officiis.

Ipsum placeat rerum blanditiis numquam dolore dolores. Necessitatibus vero non ab. Officia quia et totam nulla. Dolores neque consequatur ipsum.

Aut est est quos voluptatem dolor sed voluptate molestiae. Sint non iure hic vitae voluptatem veniam illo. Repudiandae dolor omnis est adipisci est.

Quas nostrum nemo dolorum omnis. Nihil omnis ea ipsam velit quasi consequatur dolor totam. Dolores expedita accusamus ipsam hic temporibus enim. Quidem excepturi fuga qui. Voluptatem quas sed facere consequatur neque magni.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”