Hey, let us do something useful in careers forum. Although I got math PhD from top school (the level of MIT) and finance MBA from top school (the level of U. Chicago) also, I found that it was not easy to knock the door open for prop trading positions at top tier IBs. How you lucky folks in these desks got in at the first place? Thanks.

What happened? Nobody has any ideas or advices? I am just wondering what is the "natural" way to find a quant job. Thanks in advance for your help.

You can try: http://www.efinancialcareers.comAlso, I'd be interested to hear how you think a PhD in a tech field can start in trading (derivatives, in particular).

ebenezer,What is your goal. It is not clear from your post. Are you looking for a prop trading job? If so, you're barking up the wrong tree. You need to begin somewhere. Why would someone hire you as a prop trader if you don't know anything about the business? Usually, these positions are reserved for people who can consistently make money in the markets. Sounds to me like you need experience. Looking for a quant job? If so, you should try the Dom's guide and use the search feature on these forums.I don't care where you got your MBA and PhD from, your competition for either of the above jobs will be fierce. Schooling is irrelevant after about 1-2 years in the industry save networking purposes. Your pristine degrees are not a ticket into the job field, rather a selling point on your resume. Hey, how about you do something useful and do some research.

If you attended your "top-level" schools in the recent past, then a number of prop trading groups will be knocking at your school's door for PhDs---that was definitely the case at my math school. I received many useful e-mails about firms coming to school via my dept's e-mail list. Also look into your schools' career services.Although that is one good way, your best bet would be personal contacts---isn't that the whole point of doing an MBA, especially at a top school? Perhaps your classmates don't work in such groups, but maybe some of them work in banks and know people who do.Also, I wouldn't be as pessimistic as jd1123 about opportunities in prop trading for novices---some very successful groups I know of almost exclusively hire people without industry experience (although on the flip side, these jobs are still quite hard to get). While in one sense it would be less costly to hire people with experience, in another sense some problems arise: (1) why would someone who's actually successful in prop trading at one firm leave for another? (2) at the top groups, even if an experienced interviewer is a successful prop trader, it's not necessarily the case that such a person can bring new ideas that the group hasn't already thought about and / or tried---even when you account for the fact that strategies can't be discussed in detail during interviews.

Hey guys,not saying he can't get a job on a prop desk, but I am saying that he won't be able to get a job on a prop desk with trading authority, his own book and some var to play with right off the bat. Correct me if I'm wrong though. Also, I was trying to get at, rather sarcastically, that good schooling does not equal a job on a prop desk. These jobs are competitive regardless of you education.What gentinex said is correct. These are good avenues to pursue. My point was that he should aim for a job that will teach him the business. Usually these come in the form of analyst or associate jobs usually doing some grunt work or analysis on the desk. If you're good, they may give you some var to play with. The very best way to look for such a job is through networking with your school's alum who should be, by the sound of it, entrenched all over the street. People leave their prop trading jobs for various reasons: politics, geography, culture and probably foremost, money.

Thanks, Gentinex and Tiberius. I just tried to get a way to open the door for prop trading. Even not a lot of recruiters have access to these positions. Do you know which recruiters focus on these area? I will start from my alumni at this moment.

Thanks, Gentinex and Tiberius. I just tried to get a way to open the door for prop trading. Even not a lot of recruiters have access to these positions. Do you know which recruiters focus on these area? I will start from my alumni at this moment.

Thanks, Gentinex and Tiberius. I just tried to get a way to open the door for prop trading. Even not a lot of recruiters have access to these positions. Do you know which recruiters focus on these area? I will start from my alumni at this moment.

Thanks, Gentinex and Tiberius. I just tried to get a way to open the door for prop trading. Even not a lot of recruiters have access to these positions. Do you know which recruiters focus on these area? I will start from my alumni at this moment.