Transitioning from Software Engineering to Finance/Trading

I'm currently a software developer but my passion is Finance and I want to become a Trader. Given the following, what are my odds at even getting an interview for a (Junior) Trader role at a decent prop trading firm (i.e. Optiver, Hudson River Trading, Flow Traders, etc): - B.S. in Computer Science (GPA: ~3.3) from average school - Worked at a big 4 consulting firm for a couple years as a developer - Currently working as a developer at decent tech company (not FANG tier but about same tier as Salesforce/Workday/etc)

What would be the best way to tailor my resume to show that I have a passion for Finance/Trading? I'm fairly good at mental math and math/logic puzzles so I think I would have a shot at passing the interview but getting a response seems to be the biggest challenge.

I'm also thinking about getting a M.S in Computer Science - would that significantly increase my chances?

Any insights/help would be greatly appreciated.

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3 Comments

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7y

Hey nero8, sorry about the delay, but are any of these useful:

Please Review My Resume and Cover Letter pursing my MBA in Energy Finance/Trading. Please Help ... I am an engineer transitioning into finance. I aspire to be a power trader one day. I am currently ...
Mac Excel Vs. Window Excel other finance/ trading related business. Suggestions and thoughts? Would like to hear from someone with ... What are the major differences in the 2 products (mac vs windows for excel)? Is it possible to run ... regression on mac? I want to use it for financial modeling, running regression, finding correlations and ...
Is Banking or Consulting "Easier" To Break Into From A Non-Target? I'll get shut out, so any ideas? Also, would you recommend I major in accounting or finance? trading ... Hey, I was wondering if banking, equity research, or trading is easier to break into (relatively ... speaking of course as they are all tough) from a non-target? I know all those industries are prestige ...
Software Engineering seems like the best job one could have alright chance at making it to Partner and the guy at Google could probably move up from L5 to L6 and have ... abilities as an engineer and as an added bonus, you don't need to kill yourself to stay at this level. ... you stay late. Google, on the other hand, offers free food (even dinner is offered to the engineers ...
Optiver Interview Process? new to all of this (finance, trading, etc.). I have an educational background in mechanical ... been told it's an " informational interview " with HR, from what I've gathered ... interview process? What kinds of questions do they ask? Also can someone describe to me the difference ...
How to Get into Investment Banking from Engineering land a full-time position so I chose a Software Engineering position because I needed the money. I am ... junior year and the summer of 2015. They were really small boutiques, nothing big. I wasn't able to ... get into banking and that I should give up and pursue something else. I don't want to give up so ...
Why not skip the MBA and go back to school for Software Engineering? The US only has 10,000 CS graduates a year when software engineering is the future. Machine ... learning is set to be a lucrative industry. I wonder what a post MBA from a top school would make even if ... he joined a firm like this, worked his two years off as an associate VS say someone who went to ...
More suggestions...

Hope that helps.

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7y

Have you considered personal projects such as automizing a trading strategy? Perhaps side projects can help show your passion for Finance/Trading and also be part of your resume.

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2pct_melk

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7y

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