Market Making Interview/Test Preparation

Hello everyone,

I come from a non-quantitative background but I have a goal to land a career with market-making firms (Optiver, Akuna & IMC etc). As a matter of fact, I have been practicing mental math daily and it is getting better every day. However, I do know that there are other tests that they use to qualify a candidate. I know sequence test is another test which I should really focus and practice on. Would anyone be able to share what other things should I focus on for preparation? 

 

I do not have any programming knowledge... What are the firms (non-systematic) that do not require the applicants to have programming knowledge? I mean I do have the passion and eventually will learn them on job, but I think having it as an entry requirement now would put me in disadvantage.

 
Most Helpful

Honestly, most firms (Jane Street, Five Rings, Optiver, IMC, SIG, Akuna being just a few) don’t ask coding questions for the quant trader (at Akuna, just called trader) position.

That’s not to say that you should have 0 ability to code (because there is definitely a good amount of data science type project work on the job) — just that you won’t be asked any coding questions in interviews. It’s just math, brainteasers, probability, betting, etc. Read “A Practical Guide to Quantitative Finance Interviews”. If you have time after that, read Heard on the Street, learn to play poker, and do some AoPS Counting and Probability.

 

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