I'd appreciate some advice about how (and whether) I should seek a job in quantitative trading and/or quantitative research.My backround:Ph.D. in Physics from UCSB (I have a solid publication record, but I was primarily and experimentalist)MBA from Cornell5 Years of post MBA experience (so I'm in my late 30's) in valuations and private equityReasonable career progression (2 promotions in 5 years)I am not a professional programmer, but I can code. Most of my experience is in odd languages (like R, VBA, Igor and Labview). This has been a stumbling block for me with recruiters who really want to hear that I've written 100,000 lines of code in C++.I'm fascinated with the financial markets and I've spent a fair piece of my free time over the last few years running backtests, reading statistics texts and trading. I still have a ways to go before I'd call myself a pro, but I've learned quite a lot.I've traded my own account in equities and the forex spot market. Generally, I haven't made much money because I cannot work at it full time and, frankly, I'm still climbing the learning curve.I'm starting to think about a job change, and I'm tempted to look for a quant job. My resume isn't perfect due to my experimental background, programming skills, and age. I'd appreciate any advice that those in the know might have.What areas should I study?I've thought about brushing up my C and writing some trading API's.What areas of mathematics/econometrics should I make sure I understand?What direction should I take:What sort of employers would be interested in me? Would I be better off to continue developing trading strategies and then look for a financial sponsor to fund them (after demonstrating some live performance of course)?Sorry about the long post, any advice would be appreciated.

Have you tried applying for any quant jobs yet? What are you waiting for?

Fair point. I have talked to a few recruiters and the like. Most of the jobs I see posted ask for qualifications that I either don't have, or that I barely have. Perhaps I've been too conservative.Thanks for the feedback.

Hi, I can't help answer your questions, but i'm curious about your motivations. Is quant finance really so much more interesting than your current area of finance, that you're willing to give up a succesful career in your current area for an uncertain future in quant finance (considering current market conditions)? I assume you would be earning better money in your current area since you are already established and quant finance may take a long time to recover.Just curious about your motivations, not trying to be negative.

QuoteOriginally posted by: jaemsI have talked to a few recruiters and the like. Most of the jobs I see posted ask for qualifications that I either don't have....Which qualifications are being asked for? (You have a PhD in Physics, and an MBA ... from Cornell... ??)

albertmills,I think you've answered TraderJoe's question better than I did. I'm fascinated in this area, and I'd enjoy working in it, but the jobs I could get seem like a large step backward. Further, I'm quite nervous about taking a job that is primarily technical (meaning that they really just want someone who is a great coder) rather than strategic and creative (meaning they want someone who is going to look broadly at a problem and find ways to crack it).As for the current market conditions, I admit that it confuses me. It seems to me that the markets are more predictable right now than they have been in years. Many independent traders I've chatted with on other boards are having the time of their lives. Even so, there is a move toward abandoning quantitative trading. I guess that too many traders were running strategies that relied on a bull market and stable volatility (implying very short back-testing periods, or perhaps too many linear models in a nonlinear market?).The reason I'm interested in this space is that I have a burning desire to beat the public markets. This desire is not entirely motivated by money. It is simply a fascinating problem from an intellectual point of view. As fun as it is to play at this goal in my free time, I wish I could work on it all of the time, and that I had colleagues who felt the same. From my research days, I know that the odds of a single isolated person achieving anything significant on a difficult problem are quite small. Thanks for the response, it helped.

Quotejaems: Even so, there is a move toward abandoning quantitative tradingPardon me?

QuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeQuotejaems: Even so, there is a move toward abandoning quantitative tradingPardon me?What I mean to say is that people on this board are talking about a soft job market, and indicating that this is a bad time to enter the field, but that the opportunities for profitability are likely better now.

QuoteOriginally posted by: jaemsQuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeQuotejaems: Even so, there is a move toward abandoning quantitative tradingPardon me?What I mean to say is that people on this board are talking about a soft job market, and indicating that this is a bad time to enter the field, but that the opportunities for profitability are likely better now.but who talked about abandoning quant trading