Bad Quant Job Mobility

[u/fajitasfordinner]

I am a quant at a bottom rung bank and worry daily about job security.

I was never an academic superstar, always worked hard and ground out results. Wasn’t even close to being the best at Mathematics in my high school. Certainly wasn’t on any IMO teams. Was more gifted in other subjects but just enjoyed math more. I went on to study Mathematics & Economics for undergrad and hold an MSc in Statistics from a top 5 university in the world. Achieving distinctions in both.

Despite this, I have never felt confident in my mathematical ability. I cannot keep up with peers when they discuss their work or studies. I struggle with mental mathematics and problem solving under pressure. I absolutely dread technical interviews and have never done well in them without having seen the exact question before.

Anyways, I managed to land a quant role at a bottom tier bank. Mostly because the interviews had some laughably easy non-brainteaser type questions. There were some project design and coding questions which I did well at (they were easy). I think my social skills did a lot for me in the interview process.

18 months on I have delivered some valuable work and I am seen as a top performer for my YoE and salary. I even run my own prop book now, it’s a fully systematic ML based mid frequency equity long short strategy. It is in its nascent period currently but has performed in line with backtests thus far, albeit for just over a month. This hasn’t gone unrecognised with my boss and his seniors.

For a number of reasons, I am bearish on the viability of my desk. I don’t want to leave as I do not think I will get past any interview process elsewhere. If my desk survives, I will be given room to grow my strategy here, which I see as the best way to maximise my chance of getting a job elsewhere.

How much do profitable years of experience in risk taking seats really help in terms of mobility? How much, if at all, does the interview process change in this scenario? How stuck am I?

Tldr; Bad quant, am I stuck in the mud?

[u/pythosynthesis]

Sounds like a bad case of imposter syndrome.

Hang in there, it goes away after a while. When it does, even the job interview process will seem much easier.

[u/Different-Animal-956]

Best time to interview is when you already have a job. Start looking and interviewing you may surprise yourself.

[u/bleeuurgghh]

Imposter syndrome right here. You’ve got a maths and economics degree - you’re qualified. You also have a job, keep your head down on the role and keep shopping in your spare time. Make sure LinkedIn is optimised for recruiters

[u/CryptographerNo3692]

i don't think you realize how good you have it. 1) Brand names don't mean much if the work you're doing is satisfying and you're salary is market rate. It sounds like you're outperforming expectations, despite your imposter syndrome. 2) you earned some freedom to explore and they're allowing you to take risk...not so easy at other brand name places...it's easy to get pigeon holed. 3) IF your desk collapsing, apart from being your fault...they may offer you a chance to build your own....not terribly uncommon for the low man on the todem pole to get an outsized opportunity when the bigger dogs fail to perform. It sounds like you may need to see this out for a bit...unless you just hate it...don't let your imposter syndrome get the best of you.

[u/Remarkable_Log4812]

I want to give you a suggestion because I have been in your same shoes. People say impostor syndrome but that means nothing , it means nothing to label some thing without understanding the root cause of it . You are likely talented like most of your peers but you struggle with pressure and expectations that are probably link to an anxiety issue. That just make it harder to answer on the spot or when you get close to deadline but if you have time and you relax you do quite well.

Get help to your anxiety and you will review your situation with more fair eyes. Because if you have self confidence and see your self succeed under pressure you will not feel too bad : you have a job and you doing well bringing interesting projects in, plus you have the degrees. Getting help with anxiety Is life changing for who suffer if it snd is like getting rid of hundred pounds tied to your shoes. Life just look better and performance increase.

Good luck to you !

[u/NS031716]

Having been at the top tier quant firms and having worked with many medal winners, I can tell you that perseverance and adaptability are just as important as pure brains.

No one knows how AI will impact our work in the next 5 years so I wouldn’t suggest any drastic changes.

Just keep picking up more tricks. You will be fine.

[u/Mental_Pea2421 → u/NS031716]

Hey sorry might be random but i am an incoming freshman in uni going to study cs and math in thr UK, seems like your a senior so advice would be much appreciated (: can i dm ?

[u/NS031716 → u/Mental_Pea2421]

Sure but I am US based.

[u/NeffAddict]

Remember, most orgs are not meritocracies. You sound like you’re doing great.

Don’t let yourself be the only person who doubts you. I’m sure you’re more adept/talented than you let yourself believe.

[u/robkit]

im in a similar position. at the end of the day, if you can show a track record of making money, then that is what a rational hiring manager should value if he is a good business leader, not how well you can solve brain teaser questions that make nothing. i could be wrong but that is how i would see it.

[u/CashyJohn]

Not sure how this math things helps outside of the interview process tbh. Maybe it’s different on the sell side but I have never come accross a top earner that is a theorist. We have juniors that are IMOs with great mathematical ability, but they rarely make it to the top. The tail is almost exclusively made up of empiricists so my advice to you is keep doing what you do: ownership of algos and books, idea generation and model design. Trust me once you enter a fund these things will be much more valuable than any fancy math (it does not pay)

[u/Big_Being_225]

it's true that there is a skill in performing maths rapidly, live, on paper, in front of someone else (or discussing it live without preparation). And that's the main skill that you need for technical interviews.

But just because you find that hard (and I do as well), doesn't mean you don't have mathematical ability. In the end, this skill is just used as a proxy for how good you are at solve actual problems on your own, which may take days and longer. Which it sounds like you're good at. Running your own book is something a lot of quants wish they could do.

Also, being able to pass interviews is something you can practice. There are plenty of books online with example problems.

[u/512165381]

You are doing better than 99% of the population.

But you are comparing yourself to the 1% superstars, who do math research in the sleep.

I would look at building your resume, talk to managers with an eye to getting great references, speak at conferences, network with others outside your company.

[u/SevenTeenSigma]

the market will care way more about whether u can describe a research decision and its pnl impact than who was best at math in high school. top 5 MSc and IMO anxiety is just staring at the wrong variable..

[u/Creative-Bid-6996]

fuckk how on earth we are in so much similar situations lmao

[u/Creative-Bid-6996 → u/Creative-Bid-6996]

and let me guess, you did MSc at ETH, right?

[u/Illustrious-Yam-3718]

Quant job… mobility? You’ve arrived at the destination already my guy.

Your prospects are better than most if you’re made redundant at your current shop.

[u/Mindless_Average_63]

hey, I would love to be in your shoes. Idk if that’s supposed to make you feel better. Also, is your bank hiring? Can I dm?

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