Im a recent MSc in International Securities Investment & Banking over at ICMA Reading and I have a BSc in Maths at Uni of Birmingham. Marks are average, don't think im smart enough to do a phd and become a proper quant. I've interviewed at a couple of banks for middle office derivatives roles but no success. I was thinking of doing the CQF maybe Jan 2010? in the time being take any finance role to save up. Maybe throw in IMC or CFA1 to bolster my CV. I'm already learning basic C++ and VBA, while reading various quant texts when I have time. Hopefully want to land a quantitative role (not phd standard) in risk/startegy/trading in a few years. Sound feasible? What would you guys suggest?Thanks

can always start from trade support...u may need a degree from the top schools - even then it's not a guarantee in this climate...

QuoteOriginally posted by: RichardMantellA good graduate program at either a bank or a fund.I've tried, but in the current market it's just way to competitive...I really need to stand out a bit more I think.

Yeh don't worry too much about it. Try find a job remotely related to finance where you can do a bit of programming, read a few books, do a few self study projects and when the market turns try again.

QuoteOriginally posted by: RichardMantellHi Neil, by tried how many applications exactly have you made? I.e. have you just applied to DB, GS and BarCap or have you spent time looking at the Numora (before the Lehman move) Natixis or Commerzbank?Ive already interviewed at commerz, but it wasnt a grad role, was trade support, got to the final round but wasnt chosen. I've done GS, credit suisse, barcap and......i'll look into some smaller firms like you mentioned, but from what i hear they are even more competitive as they have less spaces.Thanks for the information Richard, much appreciated.

QuoteOriginally posted by: RVP1234Yeh don't worry too much about it. Try find a job remotely related to finance where you can do a bit of programming, read a few books, do a few self study projects and when the market turns try again.Yep this looks like my only option at the moment, as I said I really need to bolster my CV so when the time comes, I would be in a much better position.

Although it's not a frequently asked question, I'll share my frequent answer to this class of problem.You are learning C++ which is good but will not pay off quickly. Last week I recorded the last of the CQF C++ lectures, and there's well over 100 hours of me talking about C++, threading, debugging, pointers, UML, patterns, STL, Boost, more debugging, XLLs, DLLs, C++ internals, and loads more. One lecture has me wearing 4 different shirts, oh how we laughed.Add to your mix getting deep into Excel. As I say in the "When it hits the fan" attachment below, Excel is present at all levels of finance and if you explicitly say "I am very very good at Excel", you will get into a variety of business areas that a Reading MSc might seem never to offer. Once there it's up to you to elbow diagonally to where you'd like to be.That being said, many Excel jobs are worse than you can imagine, you're buying volatility here, which when your options our so far out of the money has serious value.You are reading as well which is good on two levels. It shows that you can work without someone holding your hand, and that you are determined to make a good try at this line of work. In another thread I describe a real PhD thus "A good, simple test of a PhD is that at some point you realise that you have no fucking idea what is going on, that you do not know who to ask for help and that you despair of this shit ever coming off."One reason employers like PhD is that they have been through this and thus are less likely to fall apart when it happens in real life. Also, you know you can bash your way through a wall of crap, by yourself.So although you're not doing a PhD, you are exhibiting characteristics that are real value.

Thanks Dominic, I will have a proper read of your Job hunting guide later tonight.I am trying my best to grasp basic C++ and VBA, the books I'm using are 'Schaums Outline of C++' by John Hubbard and 'VBA Excel 2007 for Dummies'. So I've pretty much started from zero. Even though I did take a c++ class during my maths degree, the lecturer was terrible and I hardly learnt a thing. Guess thats what happens when maths teachers teach computer programming. Dominic, all those topics you mentioned about C++, go straight over my head, just go's to show how much i need to learn.....In terms of Quant Finance books, just finishing off the more advanced chapters of Hull, and going through Wilmott's student intro to Financial Derivatives which is alright. I've read some of C.Alexanders Stuff and Neftci as I was taught by them during my MSc. Hopefully move onto more of Wilmott, Joshi stuff...(when i can afford it)So,1) Grasp basic C++2) Grasp basic VBA3) Advance on Excel Skills4) Read, read and read more relevant textswould IMC or CFA1 help? might open up more doors towards hedge funds/asset managers??oh and Dominic, is the CQF C++ course all done online? or are there actually workshops where students can get one on one help if required?Thanks people

A good exercise wd also be to implement your own FX option pricing engine in c++...start off with vanilla put/calls and move on to exotics ... quite exciting ...

QuoteOriginally posted by: pocari77A good exercise wd also be to implement your own FX option pricing engine in c++...start off with vanilla put/calls and move on to exotics ... quite exciting ...I have contemplated doing this, just to see where I go, and if I get stuck, just use google to get me through. What pricing method(s) would you suggest?

QuoteOriginally posted by: neilmathswould IMC or CFA1 help? might open up more doors towards hedge funds/asset managers??oh and Dominic, is the CQF C++ course all done online? or are there actually workshops where students can get one on one help if required?Thanks peopleany takers?cheers