I&#x27;m an incoming Quant Trader - AMA

OP

Original post by MalcolmX

What degree subject did you study and where did you study?

Maths at Cambridge (BA) which seems to be a kind of standard background. Most people I've seen with offers are COWI/LSE Maths/CS/Econ/Stats or some mixture with a few Engineers dropped in. With a lot of the people having masters/PhDs

Reply 4

Original post by Forshooey

Happy to answer any questions about my background and the application process and can guide prospective applicants to various good resources.

what grades did you get at GCSE,A level (and what subjects did you take), and how do you become a quant trader?

thanks

Whats that?

OP

Original post by Uplearnisitworth

what grades did you get at GCSE,A level (and what subjects did you take), and how do you become a quant trader?

thanks

GCSE is very irrelevant once you've gone to uni but mostly A*s with a couple As,Bs sprinkled in. For a-levels I did Maths/FM/Phys and got A*A*A*. To become a quant trader you need a strong mathematical background and to be good at logic/probability puzzles and mental maths then just apply and pray really. If you have a question more specific about the application process I'll answer in more detail. (Also did STEP and some Maths competitions and did well and mentioned them during interviews which the interviewers seemed to like)

Reply 7

Original post by Forshooey

GCSE is very irrelevant once you've gone to uni but mostly A*s with a couple As,Bs sprinkled in. For a-levels I did Maths/FM/Phys and got A*A*A*. To become a quant trader you need a strong mathematical background and to be good at logic/probability puzzles and mental maths then just apply and pray really. If you have a question more specific about the application process I'll answer in more detail. (Also did STEP and some Maths competitions and did well and mentioned them during interviews which the interviewers seemed to like)

ok im studying maths bio and chemistry and sitting exams this summer i can achieve 3 A*

the salary is nuts for quant trading

Reply 8

OP

Original post by Uplearnisitworth

ok im studying maths bio and chemistry and sitting exams this summer i can achieve 3 A*

the salary is nuts for quant trading

Yeh the salary is crazy roughly 200k GBP total comp for the firm I have an offer for. If it's something you're interested in it might be slightly tough without FM because it helps to do a very quantitative degree but definitely still a possibility (especially if you get top grades and go to a top uni)

Reply 9

OP

Original post by mozarelladippers

Hey!
I hope to become a quant trader one day.
Q1: I hope to do maths and econ at uni, would you say a straight maths degree will be a better option?
Q2: Is it necessary to do a masters/Phd to become a quant trader?

Q1: Maths and Econ is definitely fine the most important thing is being able to get past the CV screen then it's up to you really. A maths degree will probably put you in a better position with regards to problem solving/logic puzzles to actually excel in interviews though.

Q2: It's very common but definitely not necessary. For reference I've done neither

Reply 10

Original post by Forshooey

Yeh the salary is crazy roughly 200k GBP total comp for the firm I have an offer for. If it's something you're interested in it might be slightly tough without FM because it helps to do a very quantitative degree but definitely still a possibility (especially if you get top grades and go to a top uni)

wow

what uni did you go to and what did you study

Reply 11

OP

Original post by Uplearnisitworth

wow

what uni did you go to and what did you study

Answered above but Maths at Cambridge. But a very quantitative degree at a top uni is the common background (also masters/PhDs very common)

Reply 12

machine805

4

I'll be honest, I have little to no idea of what Quants do but I always tell people that I'd like to be one. Could you give me a brief description of your work?

Reply 13

Original post by Forshooey

Answered above but Maths at Cambridge. But a very quantitative degree at a top uni is the common background (also masters/PhDs very common)

my bad didnt see that

can i just ask - you dont have to say tho but what race are you? and did you go to a private school?

thanks - it takes a lot of hard work and smarts

Reply 14

OP

Original post by machine805

I'll be honest, I have little to no idea of what Quants do but I always tell people that I'd like to be one. Could you give me a brief description of your work?

The specific role will vary quite a bit from firm to firm but on a high level Quant Traders use mathematical models to buy an sell different securities (eg equities or derivatives). What you trade and the specific role will depend on the firm because some Quant Traders will do more research and be closer in nature to Quant Researchers but some will heavily focus on executing trades and be closer in nature to Traders but the fundamental idea is just analysing the financial market using mathematical analysis to buy low sell high

Reply 15

OP

Original post by Uplearnisitworth

my bad didnt see that

can i just ask - you dont have to say tho but what race are you? and did you go to a private school?

thanks - it takes a lot of hard work and smarts

I won't answer either of them purely because it just gives more info to dox but neither of those matter in the slightest. Going to private school will probably help with your education to get you into a better uni but once you're at uni neither of those matter and prop trading firms are very meritocratic because traders are so close to the money that if they think you can make them money they will hire you regardless of your background and if they don't think you can make money they won't.

Reply 16

Original post by Forshooey

I won't answer either of them purely because it just gives more info to dox but neither of those matter in the slightest. Going to private school will probably help with your education to get you into a better uni but once you're at uni neither of those matter and prop trading firms are very meritocratic because traders are so close to the money that if they think you can make them money they will hire you regardless of your background and if they don't think you can make money they won't.

yeah ur right of course its just that i know a lot of intelligent people who can get grades like that but they are poor and their parents never went to school they dont even know what a quant trader is -

i just realised that was a dumb question since you already told us the school you went to

thanks - i dont want to become a quant trader im not that interested in further maths but its a fascinating job!

Reply 17

OP

Original post by Uplearnisitworth

yeah ur right of course its just that i know a lot of intelligent people who can get grades like that but they are poor and their parents never went to school they dont even know what a quant trader is -

i just realised that was a dumb question since you already told us the school you went to

thanks - i dont want to become a quant trader im not that interested in further maths but its a fascinating job!

Yeh a lot of people aren't aware of what Quants are but I think it's mainly because the firms are small in terms of number of employees and aren't very commonly in the news and also don't interact with the public directly. Being poor is obviously a disadvantage for basically everything in life but in terms of becoming a quant I think it's one of the places it matters less because you don't need to network or know people and very few peoples parents will be involved or know about quant trading.

Reply 18

Quadrinomial

19

What made you want to become a quant trader? Is it the money or other more important factors?

Reply 19

OP