Apologies for the fun title...Ok, can somebody please explain to me the difference between the roles (with a quant analyst being the one who writes models to make P&L).Can people give examples of the type of work a quant dev does and how this is different from "front office IT"? Do the latter just design useful GUIs for traders or write their spreadsheets in VBA?What type of maths does a quant dev need?What type of financial knowledge would a quant dev have which a front office IT person wouldn't?

It's different between banks but a simple view (just a jab, they all do more stuff) of the way I've seen it in a few places over my limited exposure to the industry:Quant Analyst - Works with quick mockups of ideas and models intended to produce value.Quant Developer - "Productizes" the analysts work or original work done by themselves into reusable and robust code (if they are separated from IT)Front Office IT - Takes care of hardware, software installs, database maintenance, GUI coding, data cleansing, coding up if no quant devs etc.There is generally a lot of overlap between Quant devs and IT as to who does what, very often quant devs are hired under IT's payroll.QuoteOriginally posted by: JT77What type of maths does a quant dev need?What type of financial knowledge would a quant dev have which a front office IT person wouldn't?Depends on the role and the place. We have one with a MFE background, one with an actuarial background, one who used to be an doctor but found out he liked coding better etc.Most quant devs I know are devs first and quants second or not at all. Quant analysts know how to code anyway(well they should; I've interviewed a few who's analytical results I would never be able to trust).

QuoteOriginally posted by: HansiIt's different between banks but a simple view (just a jab, they all do more stuff) of the way I've seen it in a few places over my limited exposure to the industry:Quant Analyst - Works with quick mockups of ideas and models intended to produce value.Quant Developer - "Productizes" the analysts work or original work done by themselves into reusable and robust code (if they are separated from IT)Front Office IT - Takes care of hardware, software installs, database maintenance, GUI coding, data cleansing, coding up if no quant devs etc.There is generally a lot of overlap between Quant devs and IT as to who does what, very often quant devs are hired under IT's payroll.QuoteOriginally posted by: JT77What type of maths does a quant dev need?What type of financial knowledge would a quant dev have which a front office IT person wouldn't?Depends on the role and the place. We have one with a MFE background, one with an actuarial background, one who used to be an doctor but found out he liked coding better etc.Most quant devs I know are devs first and quants second or not at all. Quant analysts know how to code anyway(well they should; I've interviewed a few who's analytical results I would never be able to trust).Thanks for your reply- i'll explain the reason behind my Q:I want to eventually build up a career whereby I am not only valued by my coding ability, but also my financial product knowledge. In other words, I want to be as valuable as I can. I have the ability to become a quant analyst, but I do not wish to be a researcher and spend 90% of my time developing mathematical strategies. I like the idea of being a quant dev, but I am currently trying to research if this would differentiate me from your typical front office GUI/VBA developer.

FO IT is not worth it. You will do everything from report debugging, to web development to workflow scripting to get ensure that files which come in from FTP processes are loaded correctly. Others I don't know.

QuoteOriginally posted by: HansiIt's different between banks but a simple view (just a jab, they all do more stuff) of the way I've seen it in a few places over my limited exposure to the industry:Quant Analyst - Works with quick mockups of ideas and models intended to produce value.Quant Developer - "Productizes" the analysts work or original work done by themselves into reusable and robust code (if they are separated from IT)Front Office IT - Takes care of hardware, software installs, database maintenance, GUI coding, data cleansing, coding up if no quant devs etc.There is generally a lot of overlap between Quant devs and IT as to who does what, very often quant devs are hired under IT's payroll.QuoteOriginally posted by: JT77What type of maths does a quant dev need?What type of financial knowledge would a quant dev have which a front office IT person wouldn't?Depends on the role and the place. We have one with a MFE background, one with an actuarial background, one who used to be an doctor but found out he liked coding better etc.Most quant devs I know are devs first and quants second or not at all. Quant analysts know how to code anyway(well they should; I've interviewed a few who's analytical results I would never be able to trust).Wait - what? A Quant who used to be a doctor and prefers to code?I begin to question this "quant dev" role - it sounds like it's just a coder, not much of a quant........ and it gives me hope.

QuoteOriginally posted by: capafan2FO IT is not worth it. You will do everything from report debugging, to web development to workflow scripting to get ensure that files which come in from FTP processes are loaded correctly. Others I don't know.I completely agree! The problem is, in order to become a Quant Dev one needs to know what they actually do (so you dont get mugged off by a recruiter/employer)! haha

QuoteOriginally posted by: AnomanderisQuoteOriginally posted by: HansiIt's different between banks but a simple view (just a jab, they all do more stuff) of the way I've seen it in a few places over my limited exposure to the industry:Quant Analyst - Works with quick mockups of ideas and models intended to produce value.Quant Developer - "Productizes" the analysts work or original work done by themselves into reusable and robust code (if they are separated from IT)Front Office IT - Takes care of hardware, software installs, database maintenance, GUI coding, data cleansing, coding up if no quant devs etc.There is generally a lot of overlap between Quant devs and IT as to who does what, very often quant devs are hired under IT's payroll.QuoteOriginally posted by: JT77What type of maths does a quant dev need?What type of financial knowledge would a quant dev have which a front office IT person wouldn't?Depends on the role and the place. We have one with a MFE background, one with an actuarial background, one who used to be an doctor but found out he liked coding better etc.Most quant devs I know are devs first and quants second or not at all. Quant analysts know how to code anyway(well they should; I've interviewed a few who's analytical results I would never be able to trust).Wait - what? A Quant who used to be a doctor and prefers to code?I begin to question this "quant dev" role - it sounds like it's just a coder, not much of a quant........ and it gives me hope.As I mentioned above "Most quant devs I know are devs first and quants second or not at all"