What is the idea career path for a quant?

[Four]

I was told that after graduating with a master's or PhD in computer science you should work at a top technology company for a few years then apply for a quant role. Is this a good idea or does it make more sense to go for junior quant position immediately out of grad school?

 

[Keith Tan]

Didn't you answer your own question in https://www.quantnet.com/threads/wh...-for-tech-or-other-places.20516/#post-153310?

There are many types of quant roles. With a PhD in computer science you are likely to end up a quant developer. You cannot come in at 11am, no free food no free drinks.

Worst still, the magic intuition that you thought lets you make money in the markets..... is just a dream. You will find yourself, along with the army of PhD computer science-ers who have the same magic intuition, gaming the market. How is that possible? Who's going to lose in the markets then?

But you still can be richer than anyone in tech, say if you have a search engine better than Google or a social network idea much better than just a face and a book.