Help to a confused student

Hi all.
I did my bachelor's degree in Mathematics in Greece and now I am doing my master's in Financial Mathematics, at the London School of Economics (LSE). The application period has almost ended and I am worried a lot about my future. I have no prior working experience (no internships) and as a result it is all but impossible to find a full time position in a graduate scheme. At the same time, the majority of the internships are offered only for penultimate year students, which is not applicable to my case. My aspiration is to work as a Trader or Quant in a trading firm, but I am (apparently) open to a large variety of roles, from Risk Management and Investment Banking to Actuarial and Consulting, in order to start from somewhere. An alternative is pursuing PhD but I am not sure whether I really want it (Maybe after a PhD will be easier to find a Quant position). Moreover, if I get rejected by all companies now (I have applied to 12, but they dont go well), is it possible to apply again when I finish my master? What should I do? What do you suggest me to do? I am honestly SO CONFUSED and depressed at the moment, that I can barely study for the course, feeling all this situation turning against me. Every opinion and contribution to this matter is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance for considering my worry and I am sorry for this long post.

 

Have you considered working in the Netherlands yet? There are some interesting market makers over there looking for quants and traders, such as Optiver, Flow Traders, and IMC Financial Markets. Also, you could check out the graduate scheme programmes at Dutch banks such as ING, ABN AMRO, and Rabobank. Financial institutions in the Netherlands are actually highly interested in candidates with a strong quantitative background.

Regarding your situation in the UK, are there any Greek alumni of LSE working in London? Perhaps you could reach out to them via LinkedIn or e-mail and ask for specific advice.

Levered Lloyd
 

You need work experience ASAP. You're in London, start cold emailing/calling local firms/funds to get anything on your resume, especially ones with LSE alums. That's probably what's keeping you back.

To infinity... and beyond!
 

Sure it is, that's how the industry works. Plenty of cold-emailing threads here, look them up & start hitting up firms. You can either directly as for internships or do the networking dance, depends on what your timeframe is.

To infinity... and beyond!
 
Most Helpful

Molestias est eaque quia rerum velit ducimus incidunt. Voluptatem aliquid molestiae quia qui corrupti laborum nostrum aut. Qui earum iure saepe dolore aut. Deleniti eligendi sit culpa ad. Ullam quo nemo et libero. Perspiciatis eveniet libero placeat.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
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...”