Any chance for me to break into quant trading?

Just looking for some guidance as my junior year comes to an end and I am seriously contemplating my future prospects.

I am a undergrad at a non-target majoring in Mathematics, and for the upcoming summer have an IB internship lined up an EB. I tried my hand at quant trading internships for 2023 summer but didn't come up with anything. Furthest I got to was the round before the final one for IMC. It's a lame excuse, but I didn't really prepare as I was busy with IB stuff, but I always felt that if I really put my mind to it I might be able to break in.

I think I have the basic raw skills, like mental math (Zetamac score of 115~120 average), and am comfortable with basic probability concepts, but not so much with statistics.

Just wondering, with my background is it possible to break into this field? How does FT recruiting look like for quant trading positions? What are the best resources to get myself prepared? Greatly appreciated!

4 Comments
 

You’re AVERAGING 115-120 on Zetamac ?? Pretty insane m8

NORM(117.5, 25) puts you at better than a question per second about 1/3rd of the time.

You’re cracked on the numpad

 
Most Helpful

Usual advice is Green Book (Xinfeng Zhou) along with a very strong understanding of conditional probability (something like Blitzstein/Hwang Ch. 1-3 very thoroughly), a very plausible story for why you're applying to quant trading having spent your junior summer doing IB, and a lot of talent and luck. Quant trading interviews are amongst the hardest out there but mathematics is a good major, and plenty of firms will give you a look if you network with their recruiting in advance. It's a pretty long shot at this point, but certainly possible.

 

Est perspiciatis quo consequatur sed explicabo laboriosam. Sit quae magnam quod tempore sit quaerat esse. Recusandae non eos qui ab beatae autem.

Deserunt corporis hic fugiat eveniet. Rerum sit dolores qui vero perferendis magnam.

Et unde corrupti modi eveniet qui. Quisquam saepe et recusandae neque id. Praesentium provident sint aut cupiditate. Nesciunt quibusdam nisi excepturi.

Quia atque dolorum incidunt temporibus. Quis velit exercitationem corrupti modi qui eum ut. Alias rerum nobis eveniet dicta cum itaque eius. Vero corporis reiciendis quos rerum omnis vel impedit. Omnis autem velit dolorem dolore dolore. Rerum cum rerum quidem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”