Landed 2026 Internship, Desk/Fit Concerns

I come from a complete non-target, no alumni, no networking done prior/during the interview process. No real finance experience (I'm CS/Math), but I had a chance to dabble in some "core finance" recently and found it honestly quite unenjoyable; the only parts I really found interesting were the bits that included math, and those were few and far in-between. 

I honestly can't see myself being happy if I'm not allowed/expected to code (language agnostic), but this isn't to say I don't enjoy learning and being in markets. I'm going to be at a smaller middle market bank, so I'm concerned about the intern desk selection process (it's a rotational program) as I'd prefer a more quantitative desk, maybe something in algo or commodities (which I have some experience in)? 

How should I approach the selection process, and how should I best position myself to figure out whether S&T is for me (and if it's not, have potential exit opps in the future)?

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Not sure how much a BB will differ from a MM, but interned in trading at a BB as a CS + Math major and would estimate 50-75% of desks wanted someone with a coding skillset. Among those, would say, 25% would fall under the “quanty” category where you will be using coding on a daily basis and at a deeper level. Some desks will have more of a culture pushing towards implementing quant methods than others though, so would feel that out before settling on any team. There is a reason S&T recruits a good portion of their intern class with CS/Math/Engineering backgrounds, so there will obviously be room to use these skills on the job

 

I assume you mean 50-75% of trading desks specifically? Got an offer for Sales at JPM as a math major. Are there any “quanty” sales desks or should I try to move to trading?

 

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