Advice for an undergrad student

[ConorM]

I am a rising junior majoring in Finance and Financial Mathematics with a minor in computer science, and have recently become quite interested in pursuing a career as a quant. As someone with little knowledge on the path to becoming a quant, I was just wondering which is more common or preferred:

- Getting an entry-level job on Wall Street right out of undergrad, working for a few years, and then returning for a Masters or PhD program before pursuing quant-related positions

OR

- Getting a Masters or PhD right after undergrad and then searching for quant-related positions

Does non-quant work experience on Wall Street provide a significant advantage when applying to Graduate programs or quant positions later? Essentially, what is the common path to becoming a quant after undergrad?

 

[Alexei]

or both options

 

[tylor]

the book from the master reading list 'how i became a quant' would probably help in this situation

 

[Connor]

I agree with mag regarding the book.

There is no one sure path to becoming a quant. Relevant work experience is going to help you more than hurt you, the question is whether you can get a job after undergrad.

Getting a PhD to become a quant is tricky because PhD programs assume they are preparing you for a university research job and after your PhD there is no guarantee of getting a quant job.

It is probably too late to get a summer internship right now. My advice to you is to decide whether you would rather go for a Masters or PhD and then prepare yourself for that by taking the required prereq courses, getting letters of recommendation, research experience, etc. Then in your senior year you can apply to a few grad programs you are interested in and apply for jobs so that you are covered either way.

Best path to becoming a quant -> Being smart and/or lucky