I will be attending Oxford University (UK) during the 2003-2004 academic year studying toward the MsC in mathematics and the foundations of computer science (a pure mathematics track). I wanted to know whether such a degree will help me to get interviews for positions in trading. I have an undergraduate degree in mathematics and computer science from New York University. I decided to pursue the pure mathematics course of study entirely out of intellectual curiosity but am now concerned about whether I will be able to secure my dream job (securities trading, preferably with a hedge fund) upon graduation from Oxford. I worked with a large proprietary firm for about a year where I traded for about four months ending with negative balance (though I was told by my manager that I was the most talented trader he had ever hired....i also was not required to contribute any of my own capital....go figure). So I am sure that many of you traders out there hire junior traders regularly. Would a degree in pure mathematics from Oxford University help get me an interview for a position in your group? Please note that I know I can secure a position wtih a proprietary trading firm by putting up my own capital and sharing in the profits. However, I am not speaking of such jobs. I am only interested in jobs in securities trading which pay salaries. I am extremely interested in obtaining a position in securities trading and would like to know whether it is likely that I will obtain interviews for such positions upon graduation from Oxford University with a degree in mathematics and the foundations of comptuer science. I don't expect my degree to simply get me the job but rather am just hoping that I will be given the opportunity to make a good impression with an interview. What do you people think? Any insight into how I can make myself more marketable to proprietary trading groups (particularly those groups which pay their traders salaries) will be greatly appreciated. I know for a fact that I was meant to be a trader and am hoping that my application for employment will stand out even amongst the applicants who graduated from Harvard Business School. From what I have been told by friends and people on other forums, Oxford is comparable to Princeton, Harvard, and MIT. What do you guys think about that (agree, disagree, etc...)? Thanks
Yes, you can get a junior trader job if you know how to pay for Starbucks and fetch sandwiches from Panera.
Thanks for the reply. A lot of the people on here are assholes. Why does it piss people off so much that I posted my question to every forum on elitetrader.com? I thought that each forum was distinct since I am new on here. I don't like paying for starbucks or fetching sandwiches from Panera as an apprentice trader. I hope there are other options for me... I appreciate your response
Since you are new on here, the thing to do would've been to watch and read and see how things work for a while before posting. Posting to every forum, regardless of whether you are new or not, is obnoxious and constitutes you as a troll.
There is a fine line between seeking advice, and obnoxious bluster interspersed with straight cluelessness. I assume that this thread is a joke, in which case, kudos for giving a bunch of us a nice laugh. If not, my recommendation would be to lurk a little while longer before posting something this ridiculous. That said, I will say that I look forward to the responses that this absurdity generates.
just like your bottom quote says, be humble. Do not ever go into interviews (especially in this market) and say "I went to Oxford, I will now remove my shoes so you can kiss my foot". The owner of the hedge fund you get a job at may be a C+ student from CCNY, but guess what! this world operates on the golden rule--he who has the gold RULES!!! Do not be ashamed of where you went either, traveling overseas and schooling in another country was probably a great life experience and your interviewer will probably be very curious about that so don't hide the fact either, just remember you will be judged on many other things besides where you went to school.
You seem to not understand what I said: I THOUGHT EACH FORUM WAS DISTINCT. I joined elitetrader.com for the purpose of having my question answered as I did a search with google.com for "trading forum" and this site popped up. I am not interested in the content of the forum except as it pertains to my question (at least, my interest in this forum is so limited at this time.....in the future, when I do secure a job in trading, this site may be of greater overall interest to me). So maybe you understand now? Respectfully,