Tips on action plan to land a quant job in EU/UK from MFE

hoeneim · 5/10/23

Hello guys,

I need some advise regarding my plan to land a quant job, feel free to destroy it.

I will start my MFE in september(Imperial RMFE), and I would like to be optimize my chances to land a job or internship in quant finance(preferably quant research in the trading space). As a EU citizen I don't think i stand a chance in getting a position in the US, but I'll get a 2 years work visa from my master in UK so I don't think it will be an issue.

Background: Bachelor in Data Science, and a couple of internships in Data Science in a Big4 and in a startup.

So my action plan is:

Now-Sep2023(MFE start)

- Review math and stats undergrad topics, and study some master topics in advance to focus more on thesis and job search.

- Integrate theoretical DeepL, ML, as I have mainly applied knowledge of more complex models.

- Prepare a couple of projects for cv (any project suggestion is welcomed).

- Prepare for interviews.

Sep2023-Onwards

- Apply for quant jobs as soon as I start my master(any suggestion on the timeline is welcome as well).

- Participate in the Imperial Student Investment Fund (do you think it's worth it?).

- Write a research thesis, preferably involving ML (any tips on which criteria to use to choose a supervisor or which topic to choose?).

Misc Questions:

- Which electives do you think are most important for quant research? Do you think that the onsite trip for Quant Investing is useful or it's better to take a more rigorous course?(I can take max 3 electives)

- Imperial MathFin is the target quant program for Imperial (but I didn't meet the undergrad requirement), do you think it can be a smart idea to connect with its faculty and class nonetheless?

- Can a research thesis give me a bigger competitive advantage than an applied project?

- I guess getting work visa in the US is pretty much impossible as a grad, but what about singapore and hong kong?

- In case I don't manage to find a quant job how likely ot is that I can land a tech job?

Thanks in advance!

ParticlePhynance · 6/3/23

What kind of quant job would you like, buy-side vs sell-side (and in sell-side: algo-trading vs pricing/strat)? Prep will vary accordingly.
As for the questions:

Electives: depend on the type of quant you want to be
Don't see much point tbh, even in math finance, everyone just applied online. There are a bunch of internships where they get invited for interviews (DB, CS) but making friends with them won't make them invite you.
Not really
Don't know
Pretty good chances of landing a data science/consulting role. But if you prep well, you can get quant too (or S&T, which is probably better than most quant roles)

hoeneim · 6/4/23

ParticlePhynance said:
What kind of quant job would you like, buy-side vs sell-side (and in sell-side: algo-trading vs pricing/strat)? Prep will vary accordingly.
As for the questions:

Electives: depend on the type of quant you want to be

Don't see much point tbh, even in math finance, everyone just applied online. There are a bunch of internships where they get invited for interviews (DB, CS) but making friends with them won't make them invite you.

Not really

Don't know

Pretty good chances of landing a data science/consulting role. But if you prep well, you can get quant too (or S&T, which is probably better than most quant roles)

Hello,
Thanks for your reply!

Ideally I'd like to work as a Quant Strat or Reseacher in a hedge fund, preferrably on the algo-trading side.
I know that is not easy to land such roles, so i'm also considering the sell-side or tech in the worst case scenario.

I thought that thesis and project could help me boost my profile, because I have never worked as a quant.

ParticlePhynance · 6/7/23

Thesis is a good thing, but aim to get a quant summer internship, ideally in algo trading in a bank or directly for a HF.

What you can do now is prep very well for interviews (meaning leetcode, stats, brainteasers), do relevant projects to put in your cv (look on quantstart for algo trading projects), and apply to internships as soon as they open.

hoeneim · 6/9/23

Yeah, a summer internship or a graduate position are definetly my priority, that's why i'm trying to prepare this summer.

From what I've seen there are a lot of resources on brainteasers and probability, but what other math topics should I focus primarly? Also what is more important between brainteasers/puzzles/quick math and stats/calculus/linear algebra?
I checked quantstrats but are there other free resources?

MikeLawrence · 6/9/23

Check out Dr. Stefanica's books at Financial engineering press, they come recommended. Also, whatever the 'red' and 'green' books are. I'm not honestly sure which is which since I haven't bought them. You can figure that out.

pepequantmaster · 1/5/24

Did you manage to land a quant internship?
Hows the experience so far for you? @hoeneim

hoeneim · 1/5/24

pepequantmaster said:
Did you manage to land a quant internship?
Hows the experience so far for you? @hoeneim

So far no, but I am still waiting for an answer from a semi-top quant hedge fund for which I did a last round.

What do you want to know more precisely about my experience?

pepequantmaster · 1/5/24

Hey @hoeneim, wish you all the best for your internship!

1. how’s the electives like? Eg. market microstructure, advanced option theory, c++ etc is there more information on these module contents as there wasn’t in the handbook

2. how’s the career services like for quant / trading roles in school, and applied projects (do most intern?)? do most grads land in trading?

3. How’s the class and modules from your experience? Was it sufficient to prepare for the interviews?

thank you!

hoeneim · 1/10/24

pepequantmaster said:
Hey @hoeneim, wish you all the best for your internship!

1. how’s the electives like? Eg. market microstructure, advanced option theory, c++ etc is there more information on these module contents as there wasn’t in the handbook

2. how’s the career services like for quant / trading roles in school, and applied projects (do most intern?)? do most grads land in trading?

3. How’s the class and modules from your experience? Was it sufficient to prepare for the interviews?

thank you!

1. It seems that some of the electives are quite good, like 5/6 of them. Market microstructure seems to be more focused on regulamentation so I did not take that. in C++ you do a wide variety of project in c++ like portfolio optimization, asset pricing, hft so it's pretty good. Advanced option theory is quite good as well, it covers numerical methods, exotic options, american options, jump processes ecc...

2. No, only a part of the class actually gets in quant roles, but tbf not many are interested in that. I would say between 20%-25% of the class actually wants to land a quant role. As for internship I would say that not many people put effort in the job search, and a significant portion of the class does not have a clear vision of their career path. There are although people who have landed such roles both now and in the past.

3. Yes, modules are more than sufficient for job interviews for what concerns the theory, but you need to go through leetcode, prep book ecc nonetheless.

I think it's a good master but give the priority to msc math and finance if you can.