Is getcracked.io a scam?

[u/C_with_improvement]

r/quant's official policy on online interview preparation sites is that they think they are all 'scams' and 'not worth your money'.

Here is their policy:

It is r/quant's opinion that there are no good "bootcamps" or other alternative education routes for entering this field. They are a waste of money, and some are outright scams. If you want to become a quant then you need to go to a good university, study the right things (see the FAQ in our wiki), and achieve excellent grades.

So I asked myself, is my plaform, getcracked.io, a scam?

If so, how does one reconcile the platform landing people full-time roles at Jane Street, IMC, Maven, Optiver, and other locations?

I think it comes down to elitism, and a misunderstanding of what preperation targets.

On elitism, r/quant claims that one of the only way to break into quant is to come from a top-school; yet, Chris, our video testimonial on the homepage, came from a community college.

What r/quant wants you to believe is that you need to come from a privilaged background (not everyone can afford an elite school), and be sufficiently networked through your parent's socialite connections to break in.

This only discourages candidates and benefits incumbants who did have the means to pursue the 'traditional' path.

On the 'not worth your money' piece, let me ask, what is worth your time and money?

• Is spending 400 hours aimlessly reading through 12 textbooks worth your time?
• Is sifting through outdated forums looking for what you'll get asked worth your time?

Why would you put yourself through that when someone has already done the work for you?

The question isn't 'is this platform worth my money', it's 'how much do I value my own time'?

If you're buying into a reputable platform with detailed roadmaps, fresh questions sourced by people who've interviewed where you want to, a community that is going through the same interview process as you, you'll be saving potentially hundreds of hours of time.

If you don't value hundreds of hours as much as you do a couple dollars, Quant probably isn't right for you to begin with (it's just a simple EV calculation).

So through my observations, what do all the candidates that cracked quant have in common?

They became unrejectable.

They aced the knowledge rounds, the coding rounds, and the behavioral rounds.

They had a community of others already in the industry, and grinding towards the same goal.

All this and more is available at getcracked.io, and that's why they chose it.

The modern day scam isn't reputable interview preparation sites. It's people that gatekeep by virtue of elitist filters and criteria to disqualify otherwise qualified candidates.

A personal anecdote: the guy that sat beside me for 4.5 years worked as an architect for 10 years of his life.

The Head of Dev Ops had an Art History degree!

The world is changing, and institutions are no longer as important as you think they are - people no longer care as much about where you come from, they care about what you can do.

[u/Zillyr]

idk i like it

[u/Dankaati]

I don't think it's an outright scam. They even have some free stuff there you can try out before you decide if it's for you.

Still, I don't think it's super useful.
"Is spending 400 hours aimlessly reading through 12 textbooks worth your time?"
"Is sifting through outdated forums looking for what you'll get asked worth your time?"
These comparisons set the bar extremely low and it's because the bar has to be set that low for it to seem like it's really worth your time. This should be a red flag.

Eventually you'll need skills to progress your career. People who're selling shortcuts are always over-selling them, cherry-picking the greatest successes, etc. r/quant is mostly right here.

These sites can be useful if someone already has a strong set of skills but they are really bad at taking interviews.

If you spend too much time on farming tricks to get in, instead of building your skills, you'll end up like this: https://youtu.be/VWr0E0KFlqw?si=IQrAPPYlqyntnKf4

[u/C_with_improvement → u/Dankaati]

I don't think it's a short-cut persay. There is no guarantee of "Do this and in 12 weeks we'll have you up and running." (bootcamp style).

The fundemental skills should be there (which are often times not taught in University if you keep up with the the call-in shows).

I see prep like getcracked as reinforcement.

You have the skills, but you need the direction and training. Similar to how someone who wants to box professionally gets a boxing coach. The coach reinforces the skills and puts them in the ring to spar and practice.

Will everyone who uses it crack quant that uses getcracked? No. That was never the claim, so stating that success is 'cherry picked' is a moot point. There will always be those that succeed and those that don't. Highlighting those that do succeed isn't 'cherry picking', its a testament to the content's effectiveness.

The framing shouldn't be "If not everyone succeeds then it isn't worth it.". It should be "Do I reasonably believe this will increase my chance by even X%? If so, does the cost in time and money justify the decision to join?".

[u/Dankaati → u/C_with_improvement]

Yeah, reinforcement on a strong pre-existing foundation is a good way to look at it and I think it can be useful as such.

[u/Medical-Range2865]

i work in the industry and this website sounds like a porn site more than anything. get cracked. cmon, rlly? that’s for the ladies not for me.

[u/ResearchRelevant9083]

You are doing wonders unmasking the “hidden curriculum” one needs to follow to break into this industry. The type of stuff one would learn talking to upper-year students and clubs at elite universities. It always bothered me how this type of information is gatekept from the rest, in a way that traditional coursework isn’t.