For an undergrad, what kind of internships or jobs would best prepare one to be a quant?

[Eric.Z]

For an undergrad, what kind of internships or jobs would best prepare one to be a quant?
Corporate Finance? IT? Asset Management? Actuary? PE?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

"Quant" is a catch-all phrase. There are plenty of things one will do depends on the product space they are in.
I can't really say how Corp finance, Actually, PE will prepare you for quantitative roles later.

 

[euroazn]

I think some sorts of actuarial roles may help prepare for quantitative roles later (particularly in risk management) but corp finance and PE have nothing to do with quant stuff. IT and asset management definitely are relevant.

That being said, any internship is good and demonstrates an actual interest in finance, which is good.

 

[Parth Thakkar]

Would an internal Finance internship for a Mortgage Firm be a good idea? What I would be doing if I accept the offer is simply updating their Excel models that go over the P&L of the firm... I'm not sure if I should spend my summer on this, or a research project on Options Pricing. Any advice would be great!

 

[teaparty]

I have passed several actuarial exams and got interns, but my experience tells me that it doesn't help me to get a job in the finance field. A friend, who has got a similar actuarial background, went to the info session of a quant program in a top investment banking and show her resume to the recruiter. The recruiter simply said we don't need an actuary and showed no interest in her any more.