just for informative purpose (for me and for wannabes) about our daily life at work (a kind of survey about working hours in different firms/countries) Firm: top European Comercial BankPlace: Continental EuropePosition: FO QuantWorkingHours: 8:00 to 7:30-8:00 (if everything is ok) : 1h 15 min usually to have lunch in one of the restaurants close to the buildingNormal Day: 65 % coding (products and bug solving), 5% arguing with traders who try to balme the quant for their own incopetence, 30 % "doing maths"Sa***: deleted to avoid peoples make fun ;-Pis your normal life better of worse?? (on average)

so, you work for some top European Commercial Bank, in some not further specified country in "continental Europe" and your salary is above the average wage of this not known country, which might be pretty normal as someobody working a) in the financial industry and b) working 11 hours a day normally can be expected to earn more than the national average. pretty interesting ... no offense inteded

the "salary" point was the less relevant one and wasr there only for fun...what i would like tknow how is it working in different firms( commercial Banks, IB, HF)... and places(in continetal Europe, UK, US, Asia... )and % of day spent coding..."working 11 hours a day ..." thanks for remembering me tha my life sucks (notto talk about the 65% coding)

With those hours and 1.25 hrs of lunch and that too at a nearby restaurant, quants on Wall St. would envy you.

30% of modelling for a FO quant sounds not too bad. I have seen much worse.Your working hours are sort of long (start early, finish late).But 1h30 lunch is a luxury.On and on, seems like you have good deal.

As a recent theoretical physics PhD graduate looking for a career change and wannabe quant, I'd definitely be interested in a survey of this kind... It would certainly be useful to know what I'm getting into! And possibly abandon this path while I'm still on time...(I'm leaving academia not because I don't like the subject, but rather because I don't like the daily life at work... too dull and too many socially crippled people... Now what's the point of studying quant finance books and aim for a new career in this direction if daily life as a quant is also crap?!)

QuoteOriginally posted by: Tschortscho(I'm leaving academia not because I don't like the subject, but rather because I don't like the daily life at work... too dull and too many socially crippled people... Now what's the point of studying quant finance books and aim for a new career in this direction if daily life as a quant is also crap?!)So you want to be a quant. You nuts or something? You will be spending 12 hours a day with a bunch of uber-nerds. Just make sure that you have located all the strip clubs in your area.

QuoteOriginally posted by: TschortschoAs a recent theoretical physics PhD graduate looking for a career change and wannabe quant, I'd definitely be interested in a survey of this kind... It would certainly be useful to know what I'm getting into! And possibly abandon this path while I'm still on time...(I'm leaving academia not because I don't like the subject, but rather because I don't like the daily life at work... too dull and too many socially crippled people... Now what's the point of studying quant finance books and aim for a new career in this direction if daily life as a quant is also crap?!)Man, I wonder if you have to eat?For an average person like me, I do not even see a choice.Are there that many positions that are not "dull"?

QuoteOriginally posted by: traderjoe1976You will be spending 12 hours a day with a bunch of uber-nerds. Just make sure that you have located all the strip clubs in your area. A quant is basically a nerd who likes to sit in a cubicle farm deep inside a bank and program accounting software stuff all day in C++ and plot the results in colorful Excel charts for the pitchbook. Oh yeah, since most quants are at the low end of the org chart, he has to enjoy having guys who make more than he does cuss at him whenever they feel like it because they can.

Working Hours: 9:00 - 7:30 (most people clear out by seven but I usuallly stay longer to make up for the time I spend posting on Wilmott). Lunch is shortNormal Day: 40% coding some long term project - 40% fixing some "OMG, it broke and we need you to fix it right now" issue. 20% administrivia, documentation, meetingsPlace: somewhere around NYC

QuoteOriginally posted by: Tschortscho(I'm leaving academia not because I don't like the subject, but rather because I don't like the daily life at work... too dull and too many socially crippled people... Now what's the point of studying quant finance books and aim for a new career in this direction if daily life as a quant is also crap?!)The work I do isn't dull. The problem is that sometimes it getting *too exciting* (the OMG, it's broke and we need to fix it now part). Also people tend not to be socially crippled. Basically your bonus at the end of the year depends a great deal about getting people to say nice things about you, so there are rather huge incentives to be socially skilled.

QuoteOriginally posted by: twofishQuoteOriginally posted by: Tschortscho(I'm leaving academia not because I don't like the subject, but rather because I don't like the daily life at work... too dull and too many socially crippled people... Now what's the point of studying quant finance books and aim for a new career in this direction if daily life as a quant is also crap?!)The work I do isn't dull. The problem is that sometimes it getting *too exciting* (the OMG, it's broke and we need to fix it now part). Also people tend not to be socially crippled. Basically your bonus at the end of the year depends a great deal about getting people to say nice things about you, so there are rather huge incentives to be socially skilled.I second the social skills point. IBs in my opinion seem one of the most polite places to work (when talking to other people who work outside the industry) if and only if people don't know you. As soon as they know you then it can go either way. However for social skill would also read people can be very manipulative too.

My apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread by posting my comment... I should have known better. If there's any moderator around willing to split this thread into two, that would be more than appreciated.Having said that,QuoteOriginally posted by: traderjoe1976QuoteOriginally posted by: Tschortscho(I'm leaving academia not because I don't like the subject, but rather because I don't like the daily life at work... too dull and too many socially crippled people... Now what's the point of studying quant finance books and aim for a new career in this direction if daily life as a quant is also crap?!)So you want to be a quant. You nuts or something? You will be spending 12 hours a day with a bunch of uber-nerds. Just make sure that you have located all the strip clubs in your area.Define "nerd". Have you ever seen the US sitcom "The Big Bang Theory"? For the past four years I've had to hang around with people like Sheldon... well, I don't think that I'd be able to do that for my whole life. Regular geeks along the lines of the other three characters are (usually) fine with me. In any case, I'm looking for a higher-energy workplace where I could have some "normal" (possibly smart) colleagues too (compared to which, I would most certainly count as a nerd); I'm hoping that IB could be the place (thanks twofish and rmax for your comments -- they're much more encouraging!). Hopefully I'll soon get an internship to verify the situation.As for the 12 hours workday, I'm hoping that things on the continent are a bit more relaxed (this is where a statistic like the one the OP started would turn out useful for a wannabe like me). In his guide, Mark Joshi talks about a 0830-1800 work day, and something along those lines would be fine. Otherwise, I'd have to be paid *really* well, and I'd be looking to move away as soon as possible. And that's not really the point.

QuoteOriginally posted by: TschortschoMy apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread.it doesn't matter regarding the schedule: 8:30 to 18:00 seems to be quite optimistic...regarding the type of job..well..I have to recognize that I do not love coding, but being in the trading floor and feeling the sensation of people needing you to solve problems in a short and limited time is exciting...as they say in the NBA: I love this game And regarding the "nerds".. that's all an urban legend...my colleagues are "normal" guys with no lack of social skills... you can go for a beer with them and have fun during and after work..to summarize: I wouldn't change what I do, and I consider thi jobm to be one of the most rewarding (in all senses) anyone with an interest in physics/mathematics/engineering could choose

QuoteOriginally posted by: Arlequant people needing you to solve problems in a short and limited time is exciting...as they say in the NBA: I love this game as they say in the nba, the minute you lose a step, the new top draft pick takes your job. the average career is only 2-3 years. good luck to you.