- Joined
- 8/18/14
- Messages
- 37
- Points
- 18
Hi,
I have a career path question, and I must confess I don't know much about this area, and all my knowledge is hearsay-based.
I am trying to choose what career path to go for, being a classical derivatives pricing quant in an IB
or going for algo trading in hedge funds.
My impression is:
Algo trader:
It's not as complicated mathematically, but might involve more coding and statistics.
It can pay a lot more.
The atmosphere in hedge funds is more relaxed.
Not able to move to derivatives pricing afterwards, or go back to academia.
Much more of a flat hierarchy, less career progression
Quant:
More academic, possibility of eventually returning to academia.
It's possible to become an Algo trader afterwards.
IB positions = longer hours or at least more stressful
The good times are over -> pay is unlikely to be stellar
Like I said, this is what I gathered from forums and friends, but I would appreciate as much input about the comparison as possible. Thanks!
I have a career path question, and I must confess I don't know much about this area, and all my knowledge is hearsay-based.
I am trying to choose what career path to go for, being a classical derivatives pricing quant in an IB
or going for algo trading in hedge funds.
My impression is:
Algo trader:
It's not as complicated mathematically, but might involve more coding and statistics.
It can pay a lot more.
The atmosphere in hedge funds is more relaxed.
Not able to move to derivatives pricing afterwards, or go back to academia.
Much more of a flat hierarchy, less career progression
Quant:
More academic, possibility of eventually returning to academia.
It's possible to become an Algo trader afterwards.
IB positions = longer hours or at least more stressful
The good times are over -> pay is unlikely to be stellar
Like I said, this is what I gathered from forums and friends, but I would appreciate as much input about the comparison as possible. Thanks!