I have to say that I have never worked for an investment bank, but all of this resembles basically every place where I worked, including what I heard of investment banks. So true fatrat, so true
I don't want any e-troubles with you rcanfiel, but your words sound more like that of a recruiter. The primary lure of every Wall St. recruiter is the prospect of making a lot of money and getting "close to the business". But I guarantee you if you come from the technical side, you top out without quantitative training (math). If you get the math, even then the culture is very restrictive. Some non-quantitative technical people go become analysts, but never develop quantitative strategies. Some figure out a few basic edges to make money. Very few seem to come into the industry from the inside and get enough training to implement their own strategies independently. You don't just "fight" for what you want, especially if what you want happens to be the bread and butter of the core business. Edge dilution is a concern to anyone who employs a software developer, but it's also a nuisance for anyone who's trying to get a footing in the industry, even if on a cursory/introductory level.
One other thing I'd like to point out is that they're only hiring by the boatload because there's a lot of turnover in your typical Wall St. electronic trading outfit. What do you think there is to implement outside of the quantitative side of finance that hasn't already been implemented a thousand times over on Wall St.? There are only so many times someone can write an ITCH feed or an ARCA/TotalView interface, or an order router. If the traders have a new model and want a custom front end to render their market data, you're looking at mindless front-end work. The issue at hand is knowing how to avoid getting locked into the hum-drum of reimplementation within a framework of excessive bureaucracy. I should rephrase my original claim about all of this being a "waste of time", and perhaps ask if anyone out there has specifically gone from the technical side into the trading strategy implementation side with their degrees.
Honestly I think you should just become a trader if you want to learn to develop automated strategies. I can think of many, many different ideas for trading systems to the point where I believe I can pull a profitable idea out of my ass because of all the experience I have watching stocks move and scalping for 5-50 cent profits. If you know how to make money in the market, the only thing that can get in your way of making a living is poor money management and poor management of one's emotions... but with a good computer system, all you have to know is that your idea actually works. If you watch how market works it's pretty obvious what patterns are worth using. For years you could have looked for size stepping down on the offer and then hit the bid using a bullet. Don't try to make markets, try to take liquidity in situations where there will be srong demand for it. Get your degree to get your degree, but don't get it thinking it will make you better at developing quantitative trading systems because it won't. I believe simpler is better when it comes to developing automated trading systems, and having knowledge of why markets move is more important than having knowledge of advanced abstract math. To answer the thread title, becoming a quant is a waste of time - becoming an independent trader who uses automated technology to automate entries and exits, however, is a great way to spend your time if you have the heart, brains, and balls.
Dear Fatrat, Having read your posts and others. I agree with all of you and do accept the difficulties of being a handicapped person. But, would like to remind you gently that "Everyone is handicapped in one way or the other". Do not be surprised, many normal people are not bright or fast or able to support themselves - this is also a handicap. Let us look around, even the great people have been criticized and are not left in peace even after their death, so what about us? So cheer up. Anyway, regarding your Ivy Leaque certificate, please see below: - What Does an Ivy League Degree Get You? - From Ivy League to dead-end job - Ivy League and Minimum Wage Since, you seem to have good computer knowledge in hardware, software and the system level too. You should seriously think of exploiting these talents. "knowledge is never wasted". Moreover, there are so many freelancing sites out there and you can surely benefit from them, please see below: - Stock Trading Portfolio Manager Software at Trading Software Guide -Stock Trading Systems (Miscellaneous) - Risk and Stock Trading Fees: The Two Barriers To Overcome If You ... - internet stock trading companies Moreover, do explore your computer skills in the freelancing sites, where you shall earn money and satisfaction: http://www.getacoder.com http://www.rentacoder.com http://www.getafreelancer.com http://www.php-freelancers.com http://www.elance.com http://www.scriptlance.com http://www.freelancefree.com/ http://www.freelance.com/ http://www.freelanceuk.com/ http://www.freelancers.net/ There are many more, try googling with words "freelance OR freelancing" "Never Give Up" "Do not let others words or actions discourage you" "No one kicks a dead dog" Do keep us posted of your progress? Three Cheers!
Hello fatrat, several questions : 1) Are you trading ? If yes - for how many years ? 2) If answer to question 1) => "YES" =>Did you ever trade a 7-8 digit account ? 3) Did you ever take a loss of over 50 % as a trader ? 4) Do you remember taking the first HUGE loss on any given trade you made ? _____________________________________________ My argument : It´s not all about bringing the right technical / educational "prerequisites" with you - there is much more ! Trading is about forming one person´s character ! Consistentely - over years. I met 10 times brighter people then me in the industry and their problem was : ARROGANCE ! LTCM, AMARANTH, BEAR STEARNS HF´s, SOWOOD - they did not collaps because of lack of synopses !
^ The above poster is a bonafide IDIOTA You'll be doing yourself a big favor by placing him (her?) on ignore. Your skillset is beyond 99% of the average ET'ers. Like the poster rcanfile, most are teenage mutants who don't trade and it's a big pain to wade past their noise. Quantplus made a few suggestions that you should pay heed to. Have you thought about working with a few of the bonafide traders on ET? A few would be happy to part with their lesser strategies if you help them automate.
trading ability has little to do with being a quant, although some quants trade. may i recommend "my life as a quant" by Dr. emanuel derman as a must read for anyone going into this field. regards, surf http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Quant...1110208?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188169643&sr=8-1