Hi guys,I hope you can spare me some of your time to help me out with my problem.For the two year now I have been looking for my first break inC++ quantitative developer/analyst role in a bank, but I have foundit very difficult to get in (catch 22 problem), even with the followinguniversity of London degrees :MSc Information Technology, QMW, London (2000)MSc Statistics with Distinction,UCL, London (1999)BSc Mathematics and Statistics with First Class Honours, London (1998)I would appreciate your comments.And if you know of any others that may beable to help, maybe offer me some unpaid/paid commercial work experiencein C++, preferably within banking. Also, I was wondering if having a PhD infinancial maths would give me an advantage in this niche area of quantanalyst/programmer ? I would be close to 28/29 if I decide to get a PhD ( Iam 24 now) would this be a bit too late to break into this field ?I am currently working as a statistician in market research and would liketo break into a quant development role. I would appreciate your commentsvery much. My C++ knowledge is very strong as I have done a lot of programming in my spare time and my last degree covered a substantial amount of C++. But I still dont have the commercial experience to break in. I fear the longer I leave it the harder it will be to break into this field, as the competition is immense. I would have thought with my three degrees, having a PhD might not make much difference ( ? ) Regards,StatsGuy

StatsGuy I am sure other members of the forum can give more useful answers than me. I am replying to your post because I have received a private message from you and cannot reply unless you activate your Private Messaging!rgds,Dimitris

my advice would be to get a job as a C++ programmer anywhere first, and then banks will be more interested as they will seesolid C++ experience. MJ

I'd agree with MJ. Development team managers look for developers who are solid with the language / environment and are more willing to take experienced developers and expect them to pick up the math rather than take a well qualified mathematician who need to learn the programming. This I think is down to a belief that good programming and design is very much learnt by experience, while the mathematical side can in the most extreme cases be reduced "just program this formula dammit." Obviously, the team leader would prefer a developer with some mathematical insight, but it is far easier to make allowances for a lack of insight compared to a lack of programming skill. With a poor programmer, the lead developer ends up being better off just doing it herself as the code will probably be better written and more compliant with house styles etc. In this context, experience counts only if it is professional - employers aren't too interested in what you get up to in your spare time at home. I'm afraid there is a big difference between pricing an option on your home PC compared to writing the pricing module that is going to be used globally 24x7. Good luck anyway.