I'm just curious... which age group does one typically find in a beginner quant? I'm asking because I'm about to finish off my undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, and I have *no* experience in finance-related work. I do have a minor in commerce degree, but that's about it. Would everyone say one usually gets a quant job (no matter what level)only after a number of years working as a junior analyst, just like anyone who has a bachelor in commerce or business, beyond getting a Master's degree in fin. math.?

Late 20s early 30s

Age at which your flame lights up Candle. B.T.W Are you the one with fragrance you will gain popularity quickly then.j.kAnyway,Age shouldn't matter if you know your subject and knowing depends on your understanding and grasping power.Depending on the role some desks prefer young semi quants while some would prefer heavy duty Phd quants.If I were you and have one more year left b4 finishing my undergrad I woul intern with a FE kind of group (try MM, IB, HF) do any clerical job while learning about skills required to be what you really want. If they like you then may hire you and do MS or Phd part time for few years. Go full time later to polish your academic math skills.This could be feasible in Chicago & NY. No idea about other places.This way you will know the subject without taking blind risk of going directly going into some FE program.Mostly coming from EE (assuming you have good coding skills) that's what you gonna do. If you don't like FE you can switch to something else after year or two within finance( trading, research ect.) or whatever you want. So are you the one with fragrance?

Fragrance? You'll have to light me up to find out I'm not too familiar with those FE groups you mentioned: MM, IB, HF. IB = investment banks?HF = Hedge Funds?MM = ?

MM = market makers ....???

It's so dark that you will need to light up yourself so you can be located

Late 20s early 30s___________________umm.. so if a quant starts her career at 30 and gets burnt out by 35-40, is 5-10 years all that a quant career lasts ?

Quoteburnt out In only 5-10 years....pessimistic?