I agree. I think that number 2 will be the toughest for me to demonstrate, because as other people have said there's a lot of hungry people out there who have done more than me.
Number 1 too. Your academic credentials put you at a significant disadvantage. And this is for your resume so you get an interview. And then secondly for the interview itself.
Yeah, academics could be a problem. I think that I can demonstrate intelligence in the interviews by doing the brainteasers. They weed out a lot of people who are mediocre at math. It's simply my lack of credentials in general that are going to hurt me and possibly not even give me a chance at an interview.
You aren't really giving anyone a reason to bring you in. I get the sense you watched a tv show and decided this is what you want to do. You don't really know what is going on or what the industry is really about. You have to figure this out and then comeback with a real plan. Figure out how to give yourself an edge, that's what trading is all about and that's what everyone else is doing.
Thank you for that reference. I would be embarrassed to say that Toole is new to me, except that where I am from we would never have have considered any Loozianian literate. Miss'sippi was as low as we could allow.
The above post is right on the money. Brutal truths. I love it. My nickel to the thread: You bring nothing to the table. PDE class at UConn is not the same as the PDE class at an Ivy. At an Ivy, PDE is taught by some renowned mathematician who might be a Nobel laureate some day. Point is that it is a motherfucking hard class where your brain will fry and melt. It was fucking hilarious b/c some of the questions couldn't be solved. As long as I got the method right, I got full credit. Plus, you got ferocious competition from top students from the US AND the world. You might go against some Chinese dude with a 200 IQ or some Russian dude with a 200 IQ. These Asians study all day and grab most of the A's. During finals week, these Asians don't sleep. No joke. What's fucking scary is that I knew a few Asians who got straight A+'s in one semester taking honors courses. Honors courses at an Ivy. Fucking crazy. I once interviewed with a hedge fund and he added .5 to my GPA to calibrate it with other non-Ivy GPAs. I laughed. That interviewer knew his shit. Actually, I would add at least 1 point. 4.0 at a non-Ivy is like 5.0+ at an Ivy. There's other shit that outsiders don't know but I have no more time to explain. Ivy is not just a fucking piece of paper. Ivy = battle ready. UConn = basketball ready. That said, if you really want to be a trader, don't let anyone stop you. Go for it.