QUANT???

[Rebelex]

I'm a junior college student, majoring in Mathematics with Finance concentration.
Recently, I've been figuring out what I'm gonna do after college since I only have one year left in college. I'm kind of lost right now.
Quant-to-be seems to be one of the options ( means I have to go for MFE program or something).
However, to be honest, I don't really know what Quant is. It seems like a new job name that just came out these years. It's not something like doctor or programmer etc; whoever wants to be a doctor has to do good in biology & chem; whoever wants to be a programmer must be good at computer science..... (or maybe You don't have to be really good at those areas but find yourself enjoying that)
I've taken a lot of maths and finance classes and did pretty good in those classes. I find myself really enjoying doing math and finance. I took one Java class last year and one C++ last semester. Although I got A in Java and B in C++, I didn't find myself having the same passion I have in maths and finance.
From what I read from this forum, people at least have to be good at maths and programming to get a job like Quant. So I assume I'm not a Quant material? Because I really don't like programming...
If so, what kind of career (or type of job) can I pursue for people like me who just love maths and finance?

 

[rabit]

Hi Rebelex,

Please have a look:
http://www.bionicturtle.com/career-guide/job-profile/financial-engineer-quantitative-analyst/

Hope this helps. Good luck

 

[daleholborow]

If you don't like programming, and you don't like data cleaning, and you don't like dealing with Excel, don't get into quant finance. It's that simple.

 

[Tsotne]

I'm a junior college student, majoring in Mathematics with Finance concentration.
Recently, I've been figuring out what I'm gonna do after college since I only have one year left in college. I'm kind of lost right now.
Quant-to-be seems to be one of the options ( means I have to go for MFE program or something).
However, to be honest, I don't really know what Quant is. It seems like a new job name that just came out these years. It's not something like doctor or programmer etc; whoever wants to be a doctor has to do good in biology & chem; whoever wants to be a programmer must be good at computer science..... (or maybe You don't have to be really good at those areas but find yourself enjoying that)
I've taken a lot of maths and finance classes and did pretty good in those classes. I find myself really enjoying doing math and finance. I took one Java class last year and one C++ last semester. Although I got A in Java and B in C++, I didn't find myself having the same passion I have in maths and finance.
From what I read from this forum, people at least have to be good at maths and programming to get a job like Quant. So I assume I'm not a Quant material? Because I really don't like programming...
If so, what kind of career (or type of job) can I pursue for people like me who just love maths and finance?

You love math and finance and dislike programming?! Actually if you observe the professors (I mean of older ages who are not keen on programming) are having enormous problems with implementing and struggle calculating theoretical problems. Almost all of them regret that they didn't keep up with technology. Don't repeat the same mistake if you find yourself in quantitative field. You, as a mathematician can define multiple dimensional integral but cannot calculate the value of that integral. So it comes out to be too raw in nature to have only mathematics at hand. It's like a gun without trigger. So, in my opinion if you want to be a quant, you must love programming (might sound too laud though). Here is the article you should find exhaustive for your last question.

If so, what kind of career (or type of job) can I pursue for people like me who just love maths and finance?

http://www.markjoshi.com/downloads/advice.pdf

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Please have a look:
http://www.bionicturtle.com/career-guide/job-profile/financial-engineer-quantitative-analyst/

I know the owner of that website (he is a member here) but that article is wrong in so many aspects. It reads like from someone who never worked as or near any financial engineer.

Compensation
I do not know how the author get $150K figure. It does not state if it's starting salary or average after x years.
Requirements
Strong proficiency in economics/financial statements?? What would a FE have to do with financial statements?
Education
There is no such thing as MBA in mathematical finance.
A lot of CS graduates end up as FE
Lifestyle expectation
I had a good laugh when reading "much time spent on theoretical study"

 

[Andy Nguyen]

From what I read from this forum, people at least have to be good at maths and programming to get a job like Quant. So I assume I'm not a Quant material? Because I really don't like programming...
If so, what kind of career (or type of job) can I pursue for people like me who just love maths and finance?

Don't limit yourself to one job type or industry. Not having an aptitude for programming will severely limit your options here, let's be clear about it. If you want to work in finance, you have to get some useful skills and programming is the most accessible.
People don't hire you to come up with the next mathematical breakthrough in finance. They hire you (out of college) to do things that contributes to bottom line. This usually means getting something to work, and tons of other mundane tasks. If you are not ok with that idea of having to spend hours daily to clean up data so that they can be more useful, then this line of work is not for you.

And lastly, first impression may not be the lasting one so read, read, read. Get some better idea on this line of work before you commit your future to it.
http://www.quantnet.com/master-reading-list-for-quants/

 

[Dcai]

I think you have a lot of options.
You can go straight into investment banking, sales & trading, or equity research.
Pretty much as long as you have good grades and is active at networking, you can get into a bank after undergraduate.

 

[Rebelex]

I think you have a lot of options.
You can go straight into investment banking, sales & trading, or equity research.
Pretty much as long as you have good grades and is active at networking, you can get into a bank after undergraduate.

Coming out from a not target school, it's quite harder for me going straight into IB after undergraduate (plus I'm an international student with F1 visa)
I'm thinking to get a Master of Finance or Master of Mathematical Finance in order to break into the industry...
Do y'all think that is useful for IB? I know IB requires MBA but I need some working experience first...
Is there any recommended website like the quantnet for Investment Bankers?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Is there any recommended website like the quantnet for Investment Bankers?

WSO <- more entertainment than education
M&I <- good reference site
I know the owners of both these sites

 

[bigbadwolf]

Although I got A in Java and B in C++, I didn't find myself having the same passion I have in maths and finance.
From what I read from this forum, people at least have to be good at maths and programming to get a job like Quant. So I assume I'm not a Quant material? Because I really don't like programming...

How do you know? A lot of people don't like mathematics because of the egregious way it's taught rather than any innate aversion (though being ignorant of the subject and of effective ways of teaching and learning it, they confuse the two). Likewise, courses on Java and C++ are likely to concentrate on teaching the syntax, with toy problems given out as assignments -- the flavor of real programming is not being conveyed. How do you know you don't like it if you've probably never been properly exposed to it in the first place?

 

[Tsotne]

Lot of options without programming?!...hmmm.. Andy is right when he says that lack of programming limits your options...Take a look at the job postings...Almost all of them require some programming skills. Actually it'll be better to search for quant research jobs, some of them require high academic degrees but not that much programming.

 

[Rebelex]

I'm wondering what kind of job can I apply if I only have a Math undergraduate degree.
Considering I'm an INTERNATIONAL student, zero internship, 3.65 GPA (with scholarships)from a non-target school in the South.
I think it would be better for me to get a few years of full time working experience before I even try to apply any master degree.

 

[Tsotne]

I'm wondering what kind of job can I apply if I only have a Math undergraduate degree.
Considering I'm an INTERNATIONAL student, zero internship, 3.65 GPA (with scholarships)from a non-target school in the South.
I think it would be better for me to get a few years of full time working experience before I even try to apply any master degree.

I also think so. It'd be better to get some working experience before applying for masters.