Unsure about my capabilities. What should I aim for?
Hi all,
this may seem like a weird post, however I am seeking some general advice (anyone who has an opinion on this please answer) about how I should plan the next steps of my career.
To give some background, I'm studying Business and Computer Science in a French semi-target and have good academics. I have previous experience as an intern at a small quant hedge fund and a relatively big asset manager. I have participated in 2 spring weeks at BBs and have a return offer for one of them in S&T summer 2026. However, my main goal is to start at a quant / macro HF as soon as possible. I interviewed for one role and failed at the last round.
My question is, should I aim for a masters at Oxbrige (Computational Finance at Ox or Finance and Economics or Economics and Data Science at Cambridge)? Imagining I receive a FT offer from the BB summer internship, should I take it or apply to internships at the quant / macro hedge funds for summer 2027?
I passed the interviews at the HF quite well except for the last round, where I didn't answer a question that was relatively simple in hindsight. So I am now doubting whether I am educated enough to start at a HF with just a bachelor.
Really open to any feedback and / advice.
Cheers.
Brodie just take it slow and see how the internship goes
Thanks for the advice, but I like to have a plan at least for the next 2 years. Different approaches ig
But why worry about it now? I’m in a very similar position as you (S&T SA 2026 at BB with dreams of HF/Quant/STEM-focused masters). My take is, our future career ambitions will drastically change once we have actual experience in the industry (not the resume-builders that were required to get our foot in the door, but actual, tangible, nuanced knowledge of the financial markets). It’s the unique skill sets and wealth of knowledge/experience that enable individuals to get these $100M HF contracts anyway (not just passing an interview screening). Why don’t you see how good of a trader you can be before already setting sights on jumping into a slightly different sub-industry? Imo there’s no rush now that we’re in the 6-figure, comfortable salary range. Just focus on being the best intern you can be, and/or the investing genius you aspire to become later on. The job title doesn’t mean nearly as much as your innate skill.
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