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I'm a student (undergrad) doing a Bachelor of Mathematics with a major in Actuarial Science (UofWaterloo, Can). I'm interested in finance (well, mathematics and its applications), so going into the field of a "quant" would be a logical next step. Both of these topics arouse interest in me, but I lack the resources to the quantitative finance field to find any answers I seek.My question is: what is it like? I mean, what is the job like being a quant? Is it similar to what an actuary might do?Also, are courses in the business side (accounting, economics etc) because I could also work on a Business Administration minor. What do employers look for?Any opinions would be appreciated, as I am stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to a career-plan.

I don't have a lot of experience with what actuaries do day to day, though I think there's some discussion of it on the Careers forum if you search there.Quant work can involve lots of different things depending on what type of job you get. Look for posts on the Career forum by Aaron; he had a couple nice overviews of some of the different roles. But basically you're working on quantitative biz problems for a trading shop, which means lots of coding and often a fair bit of math.If you can find a course on derivative pricing, you might want to take that, but otherwise stear clear of the biz school courses. Just pick up an intro textbook on this stuff and learn it yourself. "Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives" by John Hull (a fellow Canadian, over at U of T) is the standard intro book for this stuff: it gives you a quick intro to the math, the types of problems we face, and the numerical techniques you'll come across.