I am a civil engineering PhD (UK, not top universities), now in my 2nd year. I am recently considering moving into I-Banks as a quant after graduation. My general situations:1, My PhD project is mainly about mathematical modeling, I use PDE and finite difference method in the models. 2, I use FORTRAN for my modeling. Started to learn C++ as required in quant jobs.3, I did my undergraduate in an engineering department, but not highly numerate one.4, I feel comfortable to deal with general statistical/probability problems.5, I am now reading some books, including John Hull's bible and Wilmott's one.I know it will be hard to become a quant. I see little people here are from civil engineering department. And I see all the job posts require a degree from highly numerate/mathematical subject; I don’t know the definition of "highly" here. Does that mean only mathematicians and theoretical physicists can do quant jobs?Could you please, to be honest, tell me if it's possible to get a quant job according to my background (so that I can decide if I should pay my time to pursue it)? And if possible, may I have some advice about how to improve to meet the requirements? Many thanks!BTW, will an internship be easier as a start? Do I need to have solid C++ and quantitative finance knowledge before applying for an internship?

you must transfer out of your civil engineer major into a more quant-relevant major, such as finance, if you seriously want to be a quant.

Thank you very much for the advice. Do you mean that I should do an MFE after PhD, and deposit enough maths and finance knowledge before getting into quant desk? Is that possible to get an intern chance during my current PhD program?

Which Uni ?I like the math/IT you're doing, what are your options in doing the rest of the work in C++ rather than Fortran ?You need to move beyond Hull (and what I assume) is Wilmott's grey book of banking. Given that you have years, look at doing Wilmott's big book of banking next.http://books.global-investor.com/books/ ... 1434aa876I think you're better off "adjusting" your PhD to be more useful as a quant.

Which Uni ?I like the math/IT you're doing, what are your options in doing the rest of the work in C++ rather than Fortran ?You need to move beyond Hull (and what I assume) is Wilmott's grey book of banking. Given that you have years, look at doing Wilmott's big book of banking next.http://books.global-investor.com/books/ ... 1434aa876I think you're better off "adjusting" your PhD to be more useful as a quant.

I am at the University of Manchester.C++ will be included in my research work very shortly in the future. As my ultimate aim is to develop a commercial predictive software, Fortran/C++ mixed programming must be used.I am studying the Wilmott's book "paul wilmott introduces quantitative finance", and will be studying the full version "paul wilmott on quantitative finance" afterwards. What things else may be helpful for me to get closer to quant?Thank you very much indeed!

I was once interviewed by an IB quant who was a civil engineer; and I still (only) use Matlab and Mathematica in my current quant job.Hopefully, this will encourage you. Good luck!

Many thanks Spice, you really encouraged me to move forward!

DCFC, may I ask? If you were here at my position, how would you "adjust" your PhD to be more useful as a quant?

Any Investment bank or Hedge fund in Manchester, UK?

pm'd you.There are a number of courses at Manchester that as a student you could probably sit in on .