Recently talked with an alum of my school who said "forget about quant positions unless you have a PhD" - how far is that true? I have 8 years of technology experience (started as a C++ programmer, ended as a technical architect), and am currently doing an MBA from a good school.Unfortunately, my summer position is not that quant heavy.What kinds of quant positions can I have a hope of getting into?Thanks for any help!

Currently, there are lots of guys (and girls) who got into programming during the dotcom bubble and many of those who began studying for related degrees at that time. So, this kind of skills is not something that helps differnciate yourself much. Here I refer to DCFC (althogh any inaccuracy should be left on my account). The person that hires for a quant job feels more comfortable if the applicant can program as this will keep a new employee useful in case she can't do other things. So, programming is an important prerequisite but not what quants get hired for. Many people may disagree but basic programming is a skill that is acquired quite quickly, while creating models is a differnt kind of talant. MsC in quantitative finace is becoming almost as common as MBA these days, so only PhD seems to make significant difference in the profile.