Path to finance as FAANG SWE
Current a software engineer at a FAANG company and quite interested in finance and trading. In my free time I built a trading app and trade derivatives pretty frequently. What are some common paths tech folks take to get into finance? I’m interested in the quant side of things at the moment but could see myself becoming a PM (it this is even likely). It seems like a challenging transition but wanted to get some thoughts. Most of my network works in the tech industry so looking for a starting point. Does it make sense to practice some quant problems and then apply to some firms directly? Thanks!
I really hope this is some overworked analyst or angsty college student headed into IB doing this as a shit post or to make themselves feel better about ib. TOP SWE >> 99% of IB opps (exc tier 1 banks).
If you made it into FAANG SWE just enjoy your easy hours and keep TC jumping until u hit crazy #'s. Life on easy mode
I didn't say IB specifically, more like a quant trader role idk. I like trading and economics
Why do you do this? Like it's so very obvious that you make these accounts and shill tech jobs/try to demoralize junior bankers on WSO moonlighting as "[X Position] in [Y Industry]" every couple of days and I'm genuinely curious what you get out of it. I assume it comes out of a place of insecurity, but it's just so bizarre to me that anyone would spend this much time on the internet on an activity that bears no tangible benefits.
i think it's just an internet nerd thing. this is slightly different but i'm graduating from stanford in a bit and i had a roommate from freshman year who would do the same thing except with college prestige rankings. he'd go on reddit and spend a couple hours every other day spamming college comparison posts on r/applyingtocollege with support for stanford and super long comments to put down harvard and princeton. and then he'd ask me to upvote his comments lol so i honestly think it's just typical internet forum behavior
This is my first time posting on this app and legitimately trying to learn more about career opportunities in finance because I’m bored and don’t see myself in this space for much longer. Why is everyone so dramatic here lmao
you definitely dream about sucking some FAA(N)G SWE LO5 dick at night
Given your skillset, you can try applying to quantitative trading positions but you're most likely going to have to go back to school if you want to break into finance. MBA at an M7 or a masters in quantitative finance would be your best bets
Hmm yeah idk, I've heard of SWE -> Quant Dev, but SWE -> Quant Trading is much more rare I think, because the skillsets are so different. And quant trading heavily recruits either from college or straight out of college; I'd say it's near impossible to externally get a quant trading job, because the competition is so fierce, whereas you can definitely land a FAANG SWE job externally.
A lot of FAANG SWE interview for quant roles in prop shops and quant hedge funds. I think you will get decent amount of feedback for interviews. If not, you can do SWE at these places and move laterally to the quant team.
Try to transition into quantitative development at an HF or trading firm? At least that's what I'm currently trying to do lol
Honestly, the demand for software engineers and quant-y people in traditional finance is red hot right now. Perhaps not for traditional voice trading seats at banks, but for just about everything else. Take a look at HFTs, HFs, quant market-making shops, etc. The competition for talent in that area of finance is fierce right now and compensation packages are reflecting it. Lastly, I doubt you will become a PM right off the bat. I would first focus on getting in the door and then take it from there.
Thanks yea I’m going to target proprietary shops but undecided whether to do SWE or take a shot a quant. The quant roles seem very difficult to get if you only have Faang experience
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