Tech Analyst at BB
I'm interning this summer as a Technology Analyst for a BB and I've got some questions:
What kind of work should I expect to be doing? I really don't want to be doing boring shit like coding payroll systems.
I ultimately want to be a quant. How easy is it to transfer from IT to a quant role? How would I even go about doing this? As of now I'm thinking that I'll just apply to MFE programs next year. I go to a non-target so the rebranding would help a lot (assuming I get into a top MFE like Columbia).
What is "placement day" like? I don't have a supervisor yet, so they'll be picking me there. Right now I could either end up in NYC or Jersey City for the summer. I'd really prefer NYC (for obvious reasons). Any tips? I guess just suck the NYC managers' dicks?
My C++ is very weak. Should I work on my C++ before the internship? (I'm comfortable with Java and MySQL)
A little background on me: I'm a junior math major at a non-target. Although I have some work experience in web development and have taken a few CS courses, I don't even plan to get a minor in CS. I'm a little confused as to what they're expecting of me.
I should add that I've taken a math-finance course (stoch calc, Black-Scholes,pricing exotic derivatives, etc) and told my interviewer that I'm very interested in working on software related to the pricing of exotic derivatives. Do tech analysts even do that kind of work or is it just the quant developers doing it?
Comments (15)
Do you know what kind of a system you'll be working on?
No. A bunch of resumes get handed around and the decisions will probably be made- at least for your internship- at least a couple weeks before you even get there. Be nice, but you do not need to be a suckup.What was the first language you listed on your resume? I'd recommend being proficient in that. But typically, most stuff is written in C++, C#, or Java.I'd much rather see you be able to understand object-oriented programming, data structures, and algorithms than a given programming language. You can learn C# in a week with templates.
Then you might wind up in analytics (AKA "pricing and risk", AKA quant analytics). That's a good starting point if you want to become a quant.If you want to get a full-time offer, the key for this summer is very, very simple:
Finish the darned project.
If you finish the project, you typically get an offer.
Thanks a lot for the info, it's extremely helpful. It's a huge relief to know that I may end up in quant analytics.
The first language on my resume is Java followed by C++. I've never used C#. When asked if I was good at C++ during the interview, I said something along the lines of "not as good as I am at Java, but I'm still proficient. All of my CS classes used Java". I was under the impression that all quant software was written in C++. Do they really use Java for that too? Since I didn't claim bold confidence in C++, I've been afraid that they'd be less likely to give me quant-related work.
Here's the job description:
There are five job profiles and I picked "Developer".
On a separate note, what's the pay like for quants? What are the exit opps like?
So it basically sounds like you could wind up anywhere in IT.
You made the right choice here. It looks like their developers are also business analysts, but they did not mention supporting these systems, which means you will probably have to deal with RTB-BTB and a lot of paperwork every time you make a change. If you hear RTB-BTB mentioned at work, try to find a place that doesn't have to deal with it.Firm policy prevents me from discussing anything on pay, but you see kids who could go off to Google go to Wall Street all the time, and one would have to assume that the pay would have to be competitive, right?Fair enough. What's RTB-BTB?
run-the-bank, build-the-bank.
Technology Analyst (Originally Posted: 03/19/2013)
Hi I'm interning this summer as a Technology Analyst(IT) at an Investment Bank. I was wondering what my future could possibly look like. Would this be a reasonable path?
Tech Analyst-->Sr. Tech Analyst --> MBA t14 --> Quant/S&T/Consulting/IB
Would love to hear from anyone who started out in this position as well - I'm joining full time as a Technology Analyst at an IB.
I would like to hear more on this topic as well. Thank you in advance.
I would also like to hear more on this.
From what I've researched, you could do a lot. Typically if you stay at the bank in a tech role, you go through the standard promotional chain (Analyst->Associate->VP...etc)
If you're doing a lot of coding, you could potentially go into more of a quant type role. Check out quantnet and read some of their information.
Technology Analyst Exit ops? Mobility within the IB? Nature of the work? Salary? Interviews? (Originally Posted: 10/05/2009)
I know this is not the ideal position but I was wondering what you guys know about it. Exit ops? Mobility within the IB? Nature of the work? Salary? Interviews? Anything would be helpful. Also, I want to eventually get into MBB, if this is all I get this fall... would it be worth it to go for it or go for another backup plan?
I know two people working in the technology side. One works closely with traders and said that many of his colleagues made the leap to trading or other areas of finance. The other person was telling me that a lot of people from his analyst class ended up going to business school (all top 10).
I've also heard the work is very boring.
It is generally difficult to transition from technology to front office. Read M&I website has lot of insight on this. I know only one who transitioned to trading but he developed good rapport with traders
I did a technology analyst summer internship at a BB and they actively discouraged people from going into the role if their intention is to try to move to a front office role...as in the recruiters actually brought it up and was like don't come here for full time if that is what you plan to do. It sounds like you know some people that managed to make the switch, but I wouldn't underestimate how difficult that move is. If you really want to trade I would just go to another place and do it.
The work that everyone was doing wasn't particular interesting. People looked rather bored at work. They made the same analyst salary as everyone else, which was 60K at the time. It didn't seem like there was much or any mobility options. Traders gave some of the tech analysts a hard time when stuff didn't work right. The main interesting thing was that it added a finance element to the software engineering problems you work on, but really if you want to do software engineering you could go to a tech firm, not a bank.
I agree with the points . Traders give very hard time to Tech. As a tech person in banking you will make more money than a tech guy at telecom industry however work gets boring after while. You will have much better career satisfaction if you work at a tech firm at Silicon valley
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