Need help on intern hunting, thanks!

Hi guys,

I just got a financial computing master offer from a UK top school, starting September this year; and this program is actually more inclined to programing and computing (IT), rather than mathematics.

I do think that I need to go out getting a intern or even just work experience in a small company will definitely do great help on my CV and future job hunting. However, my bachelor degree was totally not relevant to finance (my major was marketing).

How am I supposed to get an intern or work experience, please do advise me, guys. Any help is appreciated.

And excuse my awkward wording and poor information quality, I will add on to make you all more informed about my situation.

And with all due respect, please do not state that there is no chance; and I do think most of time is all about reaching out and making it. Whatever the way is, there's got to be a possible and realistic way to make it.

I definitely will open an account and start spread betting 1p a time, gaining some trading experience, but I still want to go to a proper company learning more things.

Great Thanks, guys.

 
Best Response

Intern Hunts

You need to get a nondescript van with blacked out windows. Tell the interns that you're taking them to a secret meeting with some of our institutional clients and that they need to put some blindfolds on. The clients are also really weird and they will need to change out of their suit into (this) t-shirt and jeans.

Bring them down to the van, drive to the closest paintball range, release the interns (unblindfolded), grab your guns, and go hunting. Also just make sure you collect their cell phones ahead of time so they do not call the police. Last thing you want is for a bunch of cop cars showing up and you getting arrested for assault and battery for shooting some panicked intern with a couple of paintballs.


In all seriousness, it's going to be difficult to do this in an English-speaking country if you don't have strong English communication skills. If you have strong programming skills, you can try to go for quant analytics. But I'd recommend finding a position in a country where your native language is commonly spoken, take a speech class, or aim for quant analytics.

Andy on QuantNet is going to give you some good advice. It doesn't hurt to try and find an internship in technology, learn to speak English flawlessly, and then move into a more risk-management or quant type role.

 
IlliniProgrammer:
Intern Hunts

You need to get a nondescript van with blacked out windows. Tell the interns that you're taking them to a secret meeting with some of our institutional clients and that they need to put some blindfolds on. The clients are also really weird and they will need to change out of their suit into (this) t-shirt and jeans.

Bring them down to the van, drive to the closest paintball range, release the interns (unblindfolded), grab your guns, and go hunting. Also just make sure you collect their cell phones ahead of time so they do not call the police. Last thing you want is for a bunch of cop cars showing up and you getting arrested for assault and battery for shooting some panicked intern with a couple of paintballs.


In all seriousness, it's going to be difficult to do this in an English-speaking country if you don't have strong English communication skills. If you have strong programming skills, you can try to go for quant analytics. But I'd recommend finding a position in a country where your native language is commonly spoken, take a speech class, or aim for quant analytics.

Andy on QuantNet is going to give you some good advice. It doesn't hurt to try and find an internship in technology, learn to speak English flawlessly, and then move into a more risk-management or quant type role.

Hi, Illiniprogrammer, thanks for your genuine advice on my situation, which is based on vague information. Not only you but also myself can see obvious flaws in my post. Thank you for pointing them out straightaway.

As you said I am not from English speaking country; I have been intensively speaking and writing in English for approximately the last six or seven years; I am still learning to speak flawlessly and decently. I will try harder. : ). Genuine apologies for the stupid mistakes i made in the original post. However, I do believe that I am able to be crystal clear and decent when I talk to you, if possible; and I also believe that you can understand me well enough in this post. Therefore, I also need to apologise that I made you mistook me as a poor English speaker.

I have posted my information on QuantNet already, and Andy gave me a list of companies. It seems that I need to take a further step to ask some more advices from Andy.

Is it right for you to translate your reply as that if I don't have any previous industrial experience or academic background, I won't be able to get an internship in financial industry? I am talking to English people everyday so I am actually taking speech class; I will be able to learn strong programming skills during my master programme. The problem for me is that I hope I can find a company that is able to take me in as an internship to get some knowledge about the industry before I start my master programme. I do think this will help when I start my job hunting in the near future.

Is there any chance for me?

Genuine thanks!

 
stucash:
As you said I am not from English speaking country; I have been intensively speaking and writing in English for approximately the last six or seven years; I am still learning to speak flawlessly and decently. I will try harder. : ). Genuine apologies for the stupid mistakes i made in the original post. However, I do believe that I am able to be crystal clear and decent when I talk to you, if possible; and I also believe that you can understand me well enough in this post. Therefore, I also need to apologise that I made you mistook me as a poor English speaker.
Sure, but for most front office roles, you're going to need to demonstrate that you can not only communicate with folks in English but also relate with them. This is something that you're going to develop, but you still need more work. You're good at English, but I'm not really seeing all the English idioms and culture. Your interviewers are going to pick up on that- subconsciously- and it will really hurt you going for roles requiring strong communication skills.
Is it right for you to translate your reply as that if I don't have any previous industrial experience or academic background, I won't be able to get an internship in financial industry?
No. You can get a job at a bank, but it will probably be in quant analytics, programming, or risk management. You can get your start there, and as you pick up on the idioms and maybe also relating to Americans, you'll be poised to move into roles in trading or research and use more of your finance background.

You have excellent English skills- it's just the idioms. If you're good at coding, you can definitely land in middle-office analytics working as a financial programmer. Once you master the idioms and you're talking about Baseball with your American friends, you can try to work your way into a purely financial role. That's what I would focus on.

 

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