Careers in finance that do not require programming

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my_user_name

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Hi everyone,

I am new on Quantnet, so please pardon me if this question has been addressed before. I have searched but not found anything similar, hence am posting my query here.

I have a background in math & finance, but am not interested in programming. What kind of careers in finance can I target ?

Thanks.
 
Actuarial is one possible option.
I'm not aware of many options in quant finance that don't require some level of programming. You probably should look into where graduates of general Master of Finance type of degrees end up.
 
Hi Andy,

Thanks for your suggestion. I probably misphrased my question - I'm okay with *some* amount of programming, but not a lot. In fact, I've always wondered why a trader or a portfolio manager would need to be a good programmer; since a PM has to have good macroeconomic understanding (+ intuition) to decide what to buy / sell; and a trader has to understand market dynamics to execute the trades that the PM decides upon.

Probably my understanding of these 2 careers is mistaken. Could you correct me & mention any resources that can help me understand different career options within finance (and the skills they require) ? I am an undergraduate student with little prior work ex, so I'm not very clear on the options I have.

Thanks Andy (and anyone else who replies)
 
my_user_name said:
Hi Andy,

Thanks for your suggestion. I probably misphrased my question - I'm okay with *some* amount of programming, but not a lot. In fact, I've always wondered why a trader or a portfolio manager would need to be a good programmer; since a PM has to have good macroeconomic understanding (+ intuition) to decide what to buy / sell; and a trader has to understand market dynamics to execute the trades that the PM decides upon.

Probably my understanding of these 2 careers is mistaken. Could you correct me & mention any resources that can help me understand different career options within finance (and the skills they require) ? I am an undergraduate student with little prior work ex, so I'm not very clear on the options I have.

Thanks Andy (and anyone else who replies)
Click to expand...

Try these websites:

http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/

Many (most?) jobs in finance do not involve knowledge such as advanced math or programming, however you are on a website aimed at people who like advanced math and programming. There are jobs that involve having technical finance knowledge (which involves math to an extent), such as sales, trading, structuring, equity research, investment banking, operations, consulting (not exactly finance but financey).

As an undergrad, maybe decide a little what you want to do *when you grow up*. If the above the sorts of jobs appeal to you, programming is not a big thing but these jobs can be very competitive in other ways so you should do your homework. If what you really want to do is work in mathematics, then you should learn to love programming. In today's environment it would be hard to be competitive for the technical math roles if you're not a good programmer as well.
 
Hi Jose,

Thanks !

From reading on quantnet (and more so by talking to seniors), I am being told that trading does not require much (any?) programming, but the interviews for trader positions are *VERY* programming intensive. Would you agree with this ?

Also, are you aware of any resources that can help me understand different career options within finance (and the skills they require) ?

Thanks !
 

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