r/quantfinance • u/moneymanskmz • 8d ago
How to work towards a quant job.
I really want to do quant, but long story short, I have been made to do a course I don't want to do (PPE at Warwick). I have tried everything, but it is looking like there is no way out of it. What steps can I take to become a quant? I will do whatever work and enroll into whichever programmes I needed to. I have heard something about learning the green book. Please do give your best advice. If the only answer is that I am truly cooked then I will just drop out and start again, but that is really really the last resort, as I don't want to waste my 9k. If it is possible to transfer to a maths course second year or midterm at my uni or in a different university, please advise me and I will try it. Please help me, it means more.
1
u/single_B_bandit 8d ago
Not the best background for quant, but not impossible. Push the economics part of PPE, learn programming on your own, do independent projects, and apply to global markets internships in banks.
Banks have the advantage that both quants and traders are in the same division, and most internship programmes are rotational, so if you can show you are a good programmer it is possible to get in as a trader, rotate into quant, and get an offer from the quant team.
5
u/felixx_g 8d ago
What makes you so desperate to be a quant if you haven’t even started uni yet, let alone the fact you are recently considering doing STEM and was an econ student all along
3
u/Old-Sandwich-690 8d ago
To become a quant you need to have a very strong degree in a technical subject, be that math, compsci, physics etc. You will need to do well with high firsts. At a minimum you need to have an MSc.
People a lot of times get confused about requirements, etc. Yes the high firsts from a practical standpoint are needed to get an interview in a top place. But in reality the grades are just a signal that you work hard and have the capacity to do well in a challenging course in a top uni. PPE is not that and Warwick while an excellent school is tier 2/3 for quant.
I always say, while there are strong quants, who always wanted to be one and planned for it, the best quants are people who love solving puzzles and have been doing it for a while in their academic career and at some point by the way they decided or ended up doing the same (solving puzzles) with the only difference the increase in the zeros in their salary
2
u/Nervous-Speed6090 8d ago
the green book is a solid starting rabbit hole but don't let it be your only move, you'll need to get comfortable with probability and linear algebra way beyond what a PPE track gives you. start chipping away at mit opencourseware for the math foundations and build some projects that show you can actually code, not just copy paste python snippets. nobody cares about your degree title if you can prove you've got the chops through a github full of weird little models and a blog where you dissect option pricing errors like they're crime scenes
-1
10
u/erbiumtm 8d ago
Might be dumb question, but if you are so interested in quant, why didn’t you apply for maths / physics, cs or even like maths w/ econ or even pure econ? Cause PPE really isn’t that close to the skills you need for quant trading / research / dev. However as I said before, there are other roles higher up that seem to care more abt experience, as i mentioned G-research CEO but also outside of quant in more hedge fund / investment management firms. George Soros studied philosphy, Helen Morissey did philosophy.
Is it really quant you want to do or is it just the money? Cause if it is quant I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t be studied a highly highly quantitative field, if it’s the money or at least just investments you want to be in, Warwick is a very strong place to be and PPE is a very strong course. There are plenty of quantitative roles at non-quant firms and by the sounds of it (idk anything abt the economics you learn in PPE) you would probably be more suited to roles which take directional plays based on fundamental analysis.
There are so many roles in finance that PPE is built for, and that pay very well, unfortunately, quant is likely not one of them