Is It Possible To Break Into SWE at fintech firms from Consulting?

Hi! I’m an undergrad economics junior at a top school (think Harvard, Yale, Princeton). I am interning at a very decent TMT boutique consulting firm this summer, but I want to break into SWE at finance firms like Citadel, Hudson River Trading etc
 

How feasible is this? I haven’t learnt much coding up to now but do I have a chance and enough time to recruit if I go all in studying and learning cs and algorithms? Will they even give me a chance to interview given I’m not a CS major and only have consulting experience, no experience in SWE?

4 Comments
 

I have a friend who was a biochem major who interned in HFT Equities writing algorithms (self taught), got a FT offer at that firm and then went on to work at Citadel in HFT Equities. If you can learn and do the work, you can get in, but you have to be fairly talented. This dude is a literal genius. Good luck. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Isaiah_53_5 💎🙌💎🙌💎

I have a friend who was a biochem major who interned in HFT Equities writing algorithms (self taught), got a FT offer at that firm and then went on to work at Citadel in HFT Equities. If you can learn and do the work, you can get in, but you have to be fairly talented. This dude is a literal genius. Good luck. 

Thanks for the input! So the likelihood of getting a ft offer from Citadel or similar firms is pretty slim without a prior SWE internship experience? Any recs for other good firms to look at besides Citadel? Thanks!

 
Most Helpful

Nobis est vel dolor. Dolor architecto voluptatum impedit repudiandae. Officiis placeat repellendus quibusdam. Omnis est ullam non hic incidunt ut.

Laudantium necessitatibus in aut vitae. Consequatur quas dolor ipsum voluptate tenetur voluptas. Accusantium minus doloribus atque quam nesciunt quia quasi aut. Qui nihil tempora dolor voluptatibus.

Suscipit accusamus qui in ea. Aperiam dolor et fuga qui nemo accusantium.

Dolorem veritatis quasi et debitis. Ea sed in non exercitationem beatae sit dolor. In enim qui rerum quae. Facere pariatur quisquam vel et quo.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”