Need Advice For My Future Job In Quantitative Finance

[sigmagamma]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to have some guidance on where I should look for in the future to move on with my career.

I worked for 7 years in investment banking, in product control (basically risk reports production), ALM, C++ quantitative developer pricing derivatives and model validation, reviewing and reimplementing risk and pricing models.

I have two master degrees in risk management and asset management, and did not do a mathematics degree or engineering. However I always showed interest in programming and pricing derivatives, and studied a lot on my own to be able to work as a C++ quantitative developer and now reviewing models and reimplementing them.

Recently I see that there is less and less jobs in quantitative analysis / pricing derivatives, and the few remaining are very selective, requiring PhDs in Physics and mathematics, and even at model validation there is less and less models for pricing but more models for risk and regulatory projects. I also feel that even the remaining pricing models get very little attention from the bank as the trading portfolio is shrinking in size and moving away from complex derivatives.

Having said this, I feel that I arrived at the very wrong time to become a Quant or get into trading. I also realized that my compensation is even lower than many middle and back office roles, which honestly came as a surprise. I am making 55k euros living in Amsterdam.

Any thoughts? What should I be looking at if I want to have intellectually stimulating jobs in finance for the future and also, important, where the compensation will be relatively attractive? What skills should I be considering to acquire and what type of institutions to aim for?



Thank you in advance

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Is 55K brutto or netto salary? How does that work out _living_ in Amsterdam with all the high prices etc.? I don't live in Amsterdam anymore but rent/house prices have sky-rocketed.

Have you considered a career switch, i.e. do something completely different? e.g. Zorg, docent.

If you are good in C++ there might be opportunities, especially in high-tech Eindhoven region. But it is C++ for medical, semiconductors. Maybe 'detacheringsbureaus'.

In any case, do something.

 

[sigmagamma]

It's 55k a year brutto. Do you think it is too low for someone with seven years experience in investment banking in Amsterdam? What should I be targeting if it is on the low side? And indeed, the rent here is really expensive and find it difficult to explain. It got me thinking, if I work for an investment bank and I find it difficult, what about other jobs?

I considered switching career but I don't have enough visibility and also thought that leaving finance would be a waste as I did work a lot to learn what I can do today.

Thanks again

 

[CrossGamma]

Check the trading companies in Amsterdam. They sometimes hire risk managers or business managers and your profile might be a fit. Some have “trading data analyst” roles as well. Even their graduate starting salaries are significantly higher than 55 KEUR but its also quite competitive.