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twofish
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

May 1st, 2009, 2:40 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: MikeJuniperhillAnyway, realistically I know there is a lot of jobs out there I will never get into, even if I wanted to. I will never get a chance to be a quantitative developer at some house like Goldman.Don't be so certain about that. Most of the big names really don't care about where and how you got your experience, as long as you are good. The White House and Buckingham Palace still need plumbers and gardeners, and big name firms have tons of VB and Excel spreadsheets to babysit. If by chance you end up being a plumber that doesn't stop you from working in the White House.Then again you have to think twice about taking a job from a big name firm even if you are offered one. There are a lot of crap jobs in big name places, and lots of good jobs in no-name places.
Last edited by twofish on April 30th, 2009, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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thexyz
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

May 1st, 2009, 3:33 pm

twofish, MikeJuniperhill,I've pmed you.
 
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deepvalue
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

May 2nd, 2009, 4:17 am

QuoteOriginally posted by: MikeJuniperhillI will never get a chance to be a quantitative developer at some house like Goldman. mike perhaps goldman is not the place you should be shooting for. the best jobs are in tiny, high-profit hedge funds. that is where you make the real killing. find a nice small family shop that will make you a partner for life.
 
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davidn
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

May 9th, 2009, 10:28 pm

thought of this thread when I heard silver and gold this afternoon.
 
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davidn
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 2:36 pm

davidn here, an "old" man (38) still trying to get that quant starting position to spend my next 40,000 professional hours plugging away at in earnest. (I figure with the CQF, light contract programming, and trading my own futures account since 2004; I'm at least 1500 hours toward Gladwell's "10,000". Which I'm a big beliver in BTW and will keep plugging away...but, still next to zero luck on the job front. I can't even get Dominic to return my messages (so much for preferential treatment)! I did receive my CQF results today and it is perhaps becoming apparent why. My 87% overall average puts me at a measly 77 out of 115 in the overall ranking. bummer. well, I worked hard, and did all of my own work. -though, I still think the courtesy of a response is merited...Anyway, I wanted to share this at this time because at this point I'm sure feeling the 'forgetaboutit' advice was right unless you're well connected or extraordinarily lucky with your timing, oh and Lance only got second in the tour this year. very exciting, though.I will say some of the CQF Alumni I've contacted have been super helpful and very encouraging to talk to. To these people, I'm incredibly greateful. Thank you.for now keeping at it with my own research and contract work. davidnCQF Summary:Module 1: 76% Module 2: 96%Module 3: 74%Module 4: 98%Module 5: 92%Module 6: 86% (final project)Pass/Distinction: PassOverall Average: 87%Class Ranking: 77 out of 115 delegates
 
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quantmeh
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 4:58 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: davidn oh and Lance only got second in the tour this year. only?!
 
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davidn
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 5:13 pm

sorry, Andy Schleck, I meant third.
 
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nosbor
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 5:19 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: jawabeanQuoteOriginally posted by: davidn oh and Lance only got second in the tour this year. only?!just out of interest davidn, how much c++ programming (years) have you got under your belt ?how would you class yourself programming wise (intermediate / expert / world class ) ?have you tried for quant developer roles, roles that are more biased towards programming / integration of quant models ?how many interviews have you had ?have you read and studied the likes of Mark joshi's / wilmott's books ?did you graduate from a so called ivy league uni (i guess this only matters "sometimes" for getting an interview) ?sorry for all these questions, but im sure a lot of us would like to know these sorts of things !
 
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davidn
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 6:48 pm

Q: just out of interest davidn, how much c++ programming (years) have you got under your belt ? A: <1Q: how would you class yourself programming wise (intermediate / expert / world class ) ?A: Intermediate with great potential. I've written CAD and CAE models for years and am world class in that realm.Q: have you tried for quant developer roles, roles that are more biased towards programming / integration of quant models ?A: yes.Q: how many interviews have you had ?A: zero.Q: have you read and studied the likes of Mark joshi's / wilmott's books ?A: avidly.Q: did you graduate from a so called ivy league uni (i guess this only matters "sometimes" for getting an interview) ?A: nope, graduated from the anti-physics school , i.e., school of cold fusion, University of Utah. BS in Mechanical Engineering.http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/heavy-wa ... d-fusion/I took the CQF out of a great interest and on my own dime. I'm not at all diappointed in the material or delivery. It was wonderful. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I knew it would be a long shot to actually get a job and obviously my timing could have been better. I hoped for at least a head nod, though. I haven't lost all hope, but reality is beginning to set in. I've started applying for the 120k+ USD/yr engineering positions I'm well qualified for in addition to the $70,000 positions in model development and trading support. I still hope I land a job in the industry as it'll be easier to log that first 10,000 hours with it as my day job, versus a hobby and outlet for risk taking.davidn
 
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quantmeh
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 6:53 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: davidnI've started applying for the 120k+ USD/yr engineering positions I'm well qualified for in addition to the $70,000 positions in model development and trading support. I still hope I land a job in the industry as it'll be easier to log that first 10,000 hours with it as my day job, versus a hobby and outlet for risk taking.the numbers dont make any sense
 
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davidn
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 7:13 pm

how so? point is, I'd take a position in the markets for less than half of what I made last year and I still can't get someone to take my resume serious. a "cqf" is simply not enough right now. this, I was told, before I signed up for the program by Alumni - but I didn't listen to them.
Last edited by davidn on September 13th, 2009, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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twofish
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 8:42 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: davidnI did receive my CQF results today and it is perhaps becoming apparent why. My 87% overall average puts me at a measly 77 out of 115 in the overall ranking. bummer. well, I worked hard, and did all of my own work. That's not the main reason you are finding it difficult to get a job. The main reason you are finding it difficult to find a quant job is that the job market stinks. It's not completely dead like it was a few months ago, but we are still in the middle of a recession, and we will only slowly get out. In some years, all you need is a pulse, and you'll get a job. In others, they'll turn down everyone.
 
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twofish
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 8:48 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: davidnhow so? point is, I'd take a position in the markets for less than half of what I made last yearMay I ask why? If you have to take a substantial pay cut to enter the market, that's the markets way of telling you not to enter the market.
 
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nosbor
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 8:57 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: davidnQ: just out of interest davidn, how much c++ programming (years) have you got under your belt ? A: <1Q: how would you class yourself programming wise (intermediate / expert / world class ) ?A: Intermediate with great potential. I've written CAD and CAE models for years and am world class in that realm.Q: have you tried for quant developer roles, roles that are more biased towards programming / integration of quant models ?A: yes.Q: how many interviews have you had ?A: zero.Q: have you read and studied the likes of Mark joshi's / wilmott's books ?A: avidly.Q: did you graduate from a so called ivy league uni (i guess this only matters "sometimes" for getting an interview) ?A: nope, graduated from the anti-physics school , i.e., school of cold fusion, University of Utah. BS in Mechanical Engineering.http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/heavy-wa ... d-fusion/I took the CQF out of a great interest and on my own dime. I'm not at all diappointed in the material or delivery. It was wonderful. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I knew it would be a long shot to actually get a job and obviously my timing could have been better. I hoped for at least a head nod, though. I haven't lost all hope, but reality is beginning to set in. I've started applying for the 120k+ USD/yr engineering positions I'm well qualified for in addition to the $70,000 positions in model development and trading support. I still hope I land a job in the industry as it'll be easier to log that first 10,000 hours with it as my day job, versus a hobby and outlet for risk taking.davidnthanks. from what i've seen the only doors that are open with someone with your background (good knowledge of quant fin) are those with good c++ skills. i've even seen jobs asking for no finance knowledge but good math and c++. i've never seen any jobs just wanting quant math for a long time. see alexsdad comment on the basics needed, c++ basicswould be good if you could back up your c++ with some implementations (some open source app or trading app using excel and yahoo.finance or those computer projects from joshi's book )also if you can make that sort of money doing mech eng, why bother with it, just do it as a hobby, see if you can beat the market armed with your CQF knowledge.
 
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quantmeh
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Advice to start as a quant in late 30s

September 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: davidn a "cqf" is simply not enough right now. after you spend $16k, your cant get 50% of what you were earning before - that doesn't make any sense to me. does CQF subtract value from you?