Rethinking being a Quant; searching for options
Hello all,
I'm a math and finance double major at a borderline semi-target (like top 50) state school. As the title suggests, I really wanted to become a Quant dev coming out of high school and all through freshman year (currently a Sophomore). However, I am beginning to rethink this career path for a few reasons.
Firstly, I'm starting to view getting a Ph.D. with an increasing degree of apprehensiveness, as both my student debt and alcoholism increase with every additional day of education. I also am beginning to develop a keener interest in the markets, and I think I'd enjoy a role that is more directly involved with the markets than, say, doing back-office derivative pricing at a BB. Finally, and most importantly, I don't think my personality is a good fit for being a Quant.
Regrettably, I didn't get an internship freshman summer, so I know I'm already behind when it comes to recruiting. I'm now shooting for something that combines math and CS, like prop trading. Honestly, I wouldn't even mind trading a technical product at BB S&T like FX or exotics, but realistically I know that my lack of internship experience might preclude me from doing that.
Right now I have a 3.8 flat, but I'm probably gonna 4.0 this semester. I know that there's a metric shit-ton of threads about internships and networking on here, but I'd really appreciate any/all advice on what I should be thinking about with regards to internships this Spring/Summer, specifically given my interests and the fact that I didn't have an internship last summer.
Thanks :)
If you didn't have an internship last summer, it may be difficult for you to get an internship at a larger firm. I would shoot for small shops in your local area, as it's a hell of a lot easier to get internships at smaller shops (less competition), and then leverage that to get an internship/full time role at a larger firm. As far as what you would be interested in, it sounds like portfolio analysis and research would be good for you, eventually becoming a portfolio manager, or something prop/execution trading. DM me if you have further questions.
There are a lot of jobs in between Quant and cash equities in Dallas. You don't need a PhD for all of them.
Recruiting is the tough part at a top50 school versus something higher ranked. You get fewer shots but all you need is one interview and to ace it.
I've seen lots of IB interview prep out there but I definetly think some SandT interview prep would be a great add at schools. I read about a Wall Street Prep S&T Interview Prep class out there but haven't found anything I could sign up for other than a S&T boot camp next week.
The other guys that do modeling training don't really have anything for S&T.
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