Late Career Start / Does Being A Little Older Work Against Me In S&T or HF Trading
I was wondering what peoples opinions are on candidates that are a few years older then the rest of the candidates... for example, a 26/27 year old applying for an analyst position or associate (MBA/Grad) position.
I am currently a second year undergrad student who took two years to start college given (That I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life & had personal medical constraints).
Ideally I would be 26/27 with a:
- Undergrad from a mid level school
- MBA or Graduate degree from a top 10-20 school in the (US or UK)
- Personal experience trading a small prop book (Rates & Bond Trading)
- FRM level 2
- Experience working in the Army reserves
- Sufficient experience using (Bloomberg, Excel, SQL)
- Finra SIE...etc
Age doesn't really come into play when you're going through the traditional path. If you're just now doing undergrad, you will be treated as any other undergrad student. I've never been asked my age (other than in official forms), so unsure why they would ask you.
I think your biggest challenge is more related to technical proficiency (on paper, at least), as well as school name brand. You mention you are attending a non-target, and from what I see, no programming/CS background either. Stuff like knowing Bloomberg won't get you anywhere in terms of getting looks.
Lastly, MBA isn't really a feeder to S&T as it is in IB. MBA adds no value to trading, plus you're coming in as an Associate (expensive for someone with the knowledge/experience of an Analyst). So your best, and probably only, bet is to go for a graduate CS/FinEng/Stats type of degree and try to get in that way.
Hey thank you for your response, I mainly asked about my age with regards to the fact that I’m slightly older when compared to my peers (by about 2 years). Makes me feel as if i’m slightly behind (although everyone is in a race against themselves). It’s good to know that this won’t hinder my chances!
With regards to my degree I am currently studying economics with a minor in statistics.
I read online that some desks would give looks to an MBA (depending on the situation) hence my thinking that an MBA from a top school could open doors. However I think there is something to be said with regards to studying stats, fineng...etc (As you pointed out).
Within fixed Income (USTs, MBS, HY, Credit...etc trading) would studying statistics be better than fineng ? or is there no difference?
Also would it be feasible to just learn python or c+ without taking CS in a formal setting ? And also how much would computer programming benefit me in less liquid, more exotic products ?
Finally does working in the Army reserves give me any bit of extra cred ? with regards to showing discipline, attention to detail, leadership...etc ?
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, I really appreciate the guidance!
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