Wishing to work on research projects

[mkgandhi]

Hi all,

I am currently working in a tech role in an IB in NY and want to work on research. I was thinking if a good way to start would be to email professors in NYU and Columbia and offer to assist them in their research. Is there some precedent for this?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

That's a very good way to get in the door. It has been done before.
They will welcome someone with technical background to help them to test thesis or publish papers.
You will learn more about finance and have some relevant contribution you can talk about during interviews. You may even get credits for publication.
Back when I was still in school, I got contacted by some startup hedge fund manager to write some code for them. Nothing fancy (VBA/Excel) but it led to more networking opportunity and my first job on a trading desk before I even graduated.