Hi All,
I'm looking to switch from academia (theoretical physics postdoc, PhD 2004) into the quant industry, in London. I've been reading lately all sorts of books and online fora, and have started to form a picture of what one really needs to get into and have a successful career as a quant. So please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems one needs:
1. A very good / outstanding first degree and PhD in physics / maths / CS.
2. Excellent programming skills, and especially in C++ or similar OOL.
3. Prepare very well for interviews (brush up various areas of math, learn about option pricing etc., and do many brainteasers) and then go for it!
My main question here is this: How much of a leeway is there in relation to these three points?
For instance, one may have a really good education, but not from a prestigious university; e.g., one may want to do postgraduate research in a particular field, which is not done in the large groups of well-funded universities (with correspondingly well-defined research programmes). Or, one may have used extensively a non-OOL for data handling, such as Matlab. Another example would be to have a solid education - although not exceptional - and then go on to do excellent research (excellent in the sense that it may have attracted prestigious awards or funding).
How much would a headhunter, or a bank's HR interview panel, be bothered by such variations on the main theme?
Many thanks - I hope I have conveyed the question as clearly as possible. I am basically looking to find out what I need to do, as I have a lot of experience in certain areas but very little in others!
I'm looking to switch from academia (theoretical physics postdoc, PhD 2004) into the quant industry, in London. I've been reading lately all sorts of books and online fora, and have started to form a picture of what one really needs to get into and have a successful career as a quant. So please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems one needs:
1. A very good / outstanding first degree and PhD in physics / maths / CS.
2. Excellent programming skills, and especially in C++ or similar OOL.
3. Prepare very well for interviews (brush up various areas of math, learn about option pricing etc., and do many brainteasers) and then go for it!
My main question here is this: How much of a leeway is there in relation to these three points?
For instance, one may have a really good education, but not from a prestigious university; e.g., one may want to do postgraduate research in a particular field, which is not done in the large groups of well-funded universities (with correspondingly well-defined research programmes). Or, one may have used extensively a non-OOL for data handling, such as Matlab. Another example would be to have a solid education - although not exceptional - and then go on to do excellent research (excellent in the sense that it may have attracted prestigious awards or funding).
How much would a headhunter, or a bank's HR interview panel, be bothered by such variations on the main theme?
Many thanks - I hope I have conveyed the question as clearly as possible. I am basically looking to find out what I need to do, as I have a lot of experience in certain areas but very little in others!
