I have a different perspective. If they hire me, and they put me in cleaning data, to me it is just "wax on, wax off", "take off your jacket, put on your jacket". Besides, data cleaning is probably the single most important part of quantitative trading. GIGO. There is a large body of mathematical theory on the right way to do it. Last time I checked, we aren't born knowing how to trade, or worse, trade quantitatively. "A good place to start is, at the beginning."
Yes, absolutely true. Data-cleaners are doing the Lord's work. My point is rather that there's a big difference between being the data-cleaner -- along with wearing many other hats -- at a startup, versus being the data-cleaner in a cubicle at a name-brand fund, with many layers of "management" between you and the charismatic CEO/founder of the fund (I've known PhDs who've never <i>spoken with</i> the founder, other than in formal settings such as meetings). Some people are tempermentally suited to one sort of setup, some to the other.
... that can be a distinct advantage But only in a general case, not in this one. Simons incidentally seems to be expanding his operations even further or possibly suffering from high personnel turnover rates (and I know exactly which is the more likely option). Attention all Quants! Your dream job is here (and it is yours, since I don't have what it takes - a tabula rasa in trading: "Research & Programming Opportunities We are looking for highly trained professionals who are interested in applying advanced methods to the modeling of global financial markets. You would be joining a group of roughly one hundred fifty people, half of whom have Ph.D.s in scientific disciplines. We have a spectrum of opportunities for individuals with the right scientific and computing skills. Experience in finance is not required. The ideal research candidate will have: * A Ph.D. in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, or a related discipline" [economics is not one of them] "* A demonstrated capacity to do first-class research * Computer programming skills * An intense interest in applying quantitative analysis to solve difficult problems The ideal programming candidate will have: * Strong analytical and programming skills * An In depth knowledge of software development in a C++ Unix environment" [ https://www.renfund.com/vm/research_programming.vm ]
That's not great pay...especially to have to live in LI! Heck, I make in that range and I just have a Bach EE. Maybe it goes up fast if you are good, but that did say total comp - bonus is included already. Kinda sucky.
Personally, I don't think the people @ RenTec have a clue...and that is an opinion based on contact and My research. It ALL sound's good on paper though!
ZeroSigma: Do you work or recruit for RenTec? Just wondering as they are one of the best Funds in the World and I believe that just the experience and knowledge from working with some of the most experienced and brilliant quants is quite a lucrative trade-off to the traditional technical and fundamental traders that you may encounter at a lot of funds. None the less wish I could embark on a Rentec venture one day!