What job to do before pursuing Quant career?

[chrome]

Hi,

I completed my studies (BSc and PhD) in Maths and Engineering and I was contemplating pursuing a career as a quant. I finished in December 2011 and I feel I have very little time to learn so much material to even hold a conversation in an interview (principles, models and programming concepts).

However I am incredibly short of money having just finished studying and I would like a job, that I could do for up to 1 year, where I can learn some of the skills that would be necessary for such a role and also gain some experience as i have ZERO years.

I wondered whether you could advise me of job titles/positions which would give me a taste of the financial arena? Predominantly to 'buy me some time' to really get to grips with the preparation material (which I may post up help for a little later).

Do any of these come close: Risk Analyst/Forecaster/Market Analyst (sorry if these sound vague)?

Thanks

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Titles may not correctly reflect what you will be doing. Try to filter the jobs listing by experience of 0-2 years and apply to those that most fit your qualification.

 

[chrome]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. The dilemma i'm in at the moment is that approach could easily lead me from dealing with R&D in radio frequency technology to government statistics etc....

I would like an initial role which at least bears some resemblance to the sort of stuff I could potentially expect as a quant or even just to get some basic hands on knowledge of manipulating/analysing industrial derivatives, options etc...

I know its a tough one but as with most things, time is of the essence.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

You didn't mention if you can program and how well. Being a good programmer opens a lot more doors for you. Even Excel/VBA is a good skill to have.
I can't really think of any jobs that do not require either some level of programming or basic finance. You can get some back office/mid office but it's much harder to later move on to front office.

Again, I have no idea what you can do skill wise besides that you got some degrees.

 

[chrome]

I believe the 'skill' you are referring to is how many programming languages I know and what fluency I hold right? Not a comprehensive definition of the word but from your context I can see how this is relevant. I also take it your forte is programming. Mine isn't but I know how to; C++ in particular (used pervasively through my project) and i'm learning VBA. Again I need to learn how to tailor this to financial applications. I'm 25 and I have a fair bit to learn before knocking on the door of the IB's and Fund managers, but I just want to ensure I make an educated guess about what steps will lead me to that door.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Have you seen this reading list and the free career/interivew pdf guides that tailor to quant type?
It gives you very good idea of what you should know when applying and interviewing for jobs in this area.

 

[chrome]

Cheers Andy, these resources are brilliant.