IB to Quant
I am studying STEM at a target. I wrongly pursued IB and find it brain dead and monotonous but will be working in this field due to chasing what everyone else was chasing at some strong banks.
I really want to pivot to trading - especially quant if possible. Currently I am thinking about picking optional modules in my course that are harder and open the door for a masters at a top uni for something quant related and doing quant interview guides and probability problem solving in my free time.
I am unsure if my time is better allocated to easier modules for more free time and pursuing quant related mathematics outside my degree alongside applications in my free time.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
Did this during my junior summer, found a quant masters program I liked and now pursuing that while also doing S&T SA - in summary find a masters to compete with the top quants
He is a STEM major at a target school. He does not need a master's degree to compete with top quants, and firms like JS do not prefer master's degrees. If you are a STEM major at a top target, you will get the OA's for these roles. There are significantly fewer spots for New Grads who are not returning interns, but it is doable.
Your best bet is get ready for the interview/recruiting cycle because if you're at a top target with a STEM degree you should get OAs for most of these firms.
Best bet is to get into a Master AND recruit at the same time and then reassess. As you said spots are limited and taking jane street as an example is just like saying that the world could end tomorrow: what’s the probability of that happening?
Great call. To be honest one of the students I mentor was in an MFE and decided to recruit FT at an OMM in Chicago. They told him he could withdraw if he wanted to since he completed his undergrad. So he ended up withdrawing from his MFE and will start FT as a Quant Trader at an OMM. Masters gives great optionality.
Also STEM at target - doing STEM at target will get you the interviews anyway so i’d pick easier modules and dedicate your time to problem solving - if you know the “green book” and the “red book” from back to back you got a decent shot.
Appreciate the advice from everyone. Thinking I’ll pick a few directly quant related modules in my next academic year and apply to a top masters. Also might buy thequantguide.com course alongside the green and red book.
I’ll hopefully update this thread in 2 years saying I made it.
Either do a ML PHD or break in directly from undergrad
Think about what you just wrote
What’s wrong with what I said ? I’m telling the truth about the optimal path for getting into a risk-taking alpha research seat with individual PnL attribution and clear-cut path to PM. If you just do a master, there’s a high chance that you ends up in 1. risk quant 2. sell-side quant, 3. mutual fund quant, 4. analytic quant for fundamental fund. 5. glorified tech role. All of these have less upsides than ibanking and you’d be going backwards.
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