I am by no means an expert, nor even very experienced, but I have worked at a few shops, and I know some people in the business of quant. finance and related fields. So I thought I would share some of my observations in the hope that they might help people who are dealing with the job search.Degrees: There are some places that put a huge premium on advanced degrees, to the extent that they will probably not even consider a person who hasn't completed a PhD in a quantitative field. However, I have found this to be the exception. Most people I know do not place a lot of value on the PhD for its own sake - it is more common that they think the knowledge gained in the program is too academic for "real world" applications. Instead, they value it as a signal that the person has the discipline and intellectual wherewithal to deal with a challenging environment, finish projects, etc. In my experience, the technical requirements for quant jobs are usually covered by the time someone has done a masters, or sometimes even undergrad.Schools: Going to a top school, or working with name brand faculty, definitely helps. In a perfect world this probably shouldn't matter, but the fact is that a number of firms confine their search to graduates of a small set of schools. This doesn't mean you should give up hope if you didn't go to one of those schools, but be prepared to work a lot harder just to get the first interview.Experience: This is probably the single biggest factor. It's the closest thing you can get to an assessment of whether someone can actually do the job. It's also a signalling device, much like the PhD, which communicates that you can deal with people, get work done in a timely manner, etc.These are the "hard" quantities in the sense that there are at least some metrics to objectively assess candidates on the basis of these characteristics. Less easy to quantify are intelligence, personality, enthusiasm, and fit.It's unlikely you can change your personality, and you can't do anything about fit with a particular group or firm - you either have it or you don't.some people like to ask technical or brain-teaser questions to assess intellignece, others to have a conversation. Try to use these opportunities to show that you understand the concepts and can think creatively. The standard line is that getting the right answer isn't as important as thought process. This is acutally true!Enthusiasm for the work will come through if you have it - try to do your research and find out about the firm or the group ahead of time. If you can talk with some degree of knowledge about what they do and why you want to do that, it helps communicate that you are serious about this job . Remember that while you maybe interviewing at a half-dozen places, the people who are hiring might be talking to multiple dozens of candidates (or at least looking at their resumes.)Good luck everyone, and don't despair.

Good information.MP

I am finding out the hard way that having a PhD in math/physics is no guarantee of finding a job in math finance. I heard rumors that in the past, physicists could walk into investment banks and get snatched up on the spot. Things have definitely changed. For any mathematicians or physicists wanting to jump into math finance, don't assume it will be easy. Get yourself up to date with what is going on in finance and maybe even try to get published in some finance journals. That is what I'm trying to do. I'll let you know how it pans out.It's rough. Make no mistake about it.As an aside: one day I was waiting for my wife to pick me up. I was standing on the side of the street. I hadn't slept in 40 hrs or so and looked like a total mess. Typical frantic grad student profile. A homeless person happened to walk up to me and he said, "Hang in there man." So that is my advice to anyone looking for a job. Hang in there man! EricPS: I wonder if the guy was an out of work quant?

Thank you guys, the info. is very helpful and are true words.I will take it seriously.Yes, don't feel despaired, the market will one day turn around andthe firms have to hire again like mad ....Jobseeker

Thank you for good information.Recently I've had an interview for an entry-level quant. position at the major fin. Software house.I've been told that they received 700 resumes for that position!!!Many of the candidates were overqualified (and I presume unemployed). What a sad statistic.On a bright side, one of my fellow graduates just received an offer from other software shop.A lot also depends on the correct formulation of the question on the part of the interviewer.All the best.Alec

i thought these figures might be of interest to give you an idea of the volume of competition...jp morgan get 15 000 - 20 000 applications for 300 graduate jobs.merrill lynch get around 3000 for 30 corporate finance graduate jobs alone.d.e. shaw get 250 applications for each position.

Jungle - those statistics show why looking at prior work, degree, and school is so useful as a filtering device.Eric - I think that there was a time where Physics PhD were the only people who knew how to solve PDEs, do complicated simulations or numerical methods, etc. That situation has changed to the point where pretty much any MBA from a decent finance school can solve a PDE with the help of some off the shelf software. (Maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but you know. . .)I have worked with guys who are theoretical physics and pure math PhD's from top schools (I am not, and yes, they are always male for some reason.) My experience has been that they do not adapt very well to the finance environment. I'm sure there are many who are great, but the sample I have seen biases me against people from this background.

JabairuStork,I agree with your most recent post, wherein, you commented on the lack of suitability of people with highly technical degrees from the top schools. I think the better the school, the smarter the person,the worse the interpersonal skills and more antisocial the individual. In my opinion, the people who pursue these degrees (PhD level), particularly at the top schools, are borderline disfunctional in many cases. I mean lets face it there is a certain type of personality that one needs to possess in order to pull off this kind of stuff and it is not necessarily consonant with how regular people function in the "real"world.cheers,adog