How to Become a Quant Developer Trader or Researcher

[@Xun_Liu_International]

KZbin has recommended several excellent videos. I particularly enjoyed this one. As an international student, I commenced my financial journey last August, focusing on derivatives. While I performed well, my studies were limited to a small college, which lacked comprehensive quantitative finance education. This left me curious about the subject matter. I realized that quantitative finance may involves strategic thinking, coding, and utilizing advanced technology to analyze xxx. However, I faced a decision regarding whether to pursue a finance major. Ultimately, I decided to switch to artificial intelligence and computer science, as I sought a field with a more uncertain future. Despite my lack of knowledge about the field, I appreciate your honest advice.

[@Duke-j4x]

I think my comment got deleted so I am posting again on a different account. Sorry if this is a duplicate. I am currently in my sophomore year of a 5 year BS-MS degree in Data Science. I am very comfortable with coding including Python, C, R etc. I am at the top of my class with a 9.67/10 GPA and perfect grades in Math in a top college in my country. I also have done several solo projects and am currently doing my second project as part of my internship. This current project will be sent for publication where I would be a co-author. Potential issue is, all these projects have been exclusively in AI/ML. Mostly computer vision with a bit of time-series analysis. My degree also isn't fully focused on maths but I do have all the basic maths courses required for Quant. My question is, can I pivot to Quant if I start now? If I go and get an internship under a professor who has years of experience in Quant Fin, can I be confident in getting an MS or PhD from a top university? I am asking this because I don't know if my experience in ML would transfer over into Quant. Thank you for the video btw. I appreciate it very much.

[@Three.Six.Nine.]

For Researchers what math knowledge do they look for? Do they look for a deep understanding in Probability/Statisics, linear algebra and courses like that, or do they look for more abstract, less relevant courses like Complex Analysis, Topology etc.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

I'm going to make a video about this probably within the next week or so, but pretty much all of the above will be good to know. If you want to be doing actual model development, maybe contour integrals or topological spaces won't particularly relevant, but if you struggle with those things at the level of complexity it will be a huge problem. There's definitely something to be said for the concept of 'mathematical maturity'. The more math you know, and really know how to apply to new situations, the better off you'll be. The keys will be your calc, DE/PDEs, stochastic calc, probability and statistics, linear algebra, etc. but look at add more if you can.

[@電腦騙徒剋星]

algebraic topology is a totally different game. all the quant maths you mentioned are applied level and no where close to abstract / pure maths. it is like claiming you dk functional analysis you would have big problem to get into quant. 99% quant out there struggle over a 1900 rated number theory problem in cf

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Nobody said if you don't know functional analysis you can't be a quant or anything even remotely close to that. These are all standard courses any undergrad can take if they desire and have the prereqs. Topology and algebraic topology are two entirely different things, one is basic and can be taken as an undergrad, the other is not basic.

[@dsllvv]

Your content is really unique. Thank you so much!

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@guascher0075]

your content is gold!! greetings from spain.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@fluuvys7418]

I have a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Should I pursue a master’s or even a PhD if I want to break into quant, specifically in quant research? Also, what field should the master’s be in-computational finance, statistics, or machine learning?

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

I would never do a PhD just to break into quant, that will be a long and potentially miserable 5-7 years if you don't enjoy research. If you really want to get into research though, that or an MS will be your best bets, I'd think. Weigh the pros and cons of the large cost of an MS against the massive financial opportunity cost of a PhD.

[@desisicario260]

Today's video is something i need the most this year thanks once again.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Glad it could help!

[@m4yflyjr855]

Advice on what i should do if i want to be a quant dev eith good grades but no c++ or python knowledge. in europe. On an internship for 8 months now doing c# and .net core etc so its not really related. Would a masters be necisary in my case?

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Grades won't be that important imo, you just need to learn C++ very well and some Python won't hurt. I wouldn't do a Masters, I don't see it being that beneficial unless you're just using it as time to develop skills further.

[@m4yflyjr855]

That's very fair, appreciate the help!@@AlgebraicContinuation

[@alisher.m]

Hello, thank you for your video, will masters in machine learning cut it for researcher role?

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

To be honest with you, I don't know. If it's a top school, possibly, if not you should try to have a very strong rest of your resume.

[@gldn_drgn]

Hello,and thank you for the video(it's great)! I have a question: I'm studying at Software Engineering program,but aiming to take a masters degree and a PhD in ML.(Not because I want to become a quant, I just enjoy ML and DL) Is there a possibility for me to break into quant research?(After improving my math skills of course, and I'm pretty sure that I still have to do it anyway,because math is important for DL) I mean, that my PhD would be not math-related,can it be an obstacle for getting a QR position?

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Thanks, I'm glad the video was helpful. This is really the right approach, do the PhD because it interests you. An ML PhD is an excellent one for transferring into many industries. Of course you will need to maybe work on some projects or something to demonstrate you understand the space, but I'd say ML/Stats are one of the top degrees for breaking into quant research. 90% of the math in quant research is really not that complicated anyway. Feel free to drop me a DM in the discord if you want discord.gg/RAX97Feb if needed.

[@facundocordoba670]

What do you think about a phd in statistical physics, as a physics phd you know that is very different the stats of this phd and the stats of a pure stats phd..

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

In terms of stats vs statistical physics vs physics they would be ordered Statistics > Statistical Physics > Other Physics

[@ezclap0379]

Do you think the role of machine learning will improve much more in quantitative finance? Some RL based methods look promising

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

It's a good question, I think it will be important but never for something as simple as, let's say, price/return prediction. I think it will only be useful in contexts where there is already a very solid quantitative foundation to the problem.

[@ezclap0379]

@@AlgebraicContinuation Thank you so much for your reply! I have been grinding your videos and I found them extremely useful so please never stop making them. Also looking at all your past live streams, hope to catch you live once!

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Thanks (: and I appreciate you dropping in the live today

[@Jason-qn8gu]

Informative video, thanks. i’m in my final year for my “data science in quant finance” masters program after my actuarial bachelors. my thesis would be on “neural stochastic differential equations and their applications to option pricing”. i have around 5 years experience working full time as a data scientist and currently working as a research engineer for a university (mostly dealing with probabilistic machine learning methods). i’m torn between applying for internships or continuing to work full time. I’d be most interested in the researcher role but would be down for trading as well. Any thoughts or advice? i live Australia so options are relatively limited here, but would be keen to move to NY or london or a bigger financial hub.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Hmm I think one of the tougher things might be getting into firms that have visa support, so more of a logistical issue than a credential issue. Having a masters in data science which is so relevant will definitely be a big plus. I think your best bet would be to get a feel for how the application process goes, doesn't hurt to spend some time applying. If it seems feasible to get a position you'd like, then you could more seriously weigh the pros/cons.

[@1ondonfog]

Hi, It is alot more challenging to land a quant researcher role if you didn't attend target school? I am looking to apply to statistics masters but I am not sure if I am competitive enough to get into to reach schools.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Yes it is, speaking from experience.

[@NadidLinchestein]

Make a video on resume - what things impress the recruiters and how to get shortlisted.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Good idea, I'll have to reach out to some people to get some additional insight on this topic but I'll definitely make a video on that.

[@lux2828]

So if I just really personally enjoy doing math, learning math, etc. and want to pursue a PhD for the reason that I want to LEARN math, but also am considering trying to go down the quant route, should I still pursue a PhD? It’s not necessarily that I’m considering a PhD just to break into quant, but more so seeing quant as an added benefit from getting a PhD. Is this the wrong way to think about it? For more context, I’m mostly interested in the researcher route, and I am overall very passionate about math. On top of that I’m an undergrad double majoring at my university in finance and mathematics. My university is nothing special but it is top 50.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Do a PhD if you want, definitely. It will never be like 'oh you did a PhD, here's a free quant job' especially by the time you graduate though.

[@pillusingh2724]

Hey, Are u quant dev/trader/researchers urself at any hft firm ?

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Nope I'm not

[@raunakmaheshwari3886]

Looked up computational finance research papers with HFC and found a lot based on ML, specifically LLMs. Is it fine to implement these or something else?

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

For what kind of role? Research or dev?

[@raunakmaheshwari3886]

@@AlgebraicContinuation Dev role

[@lscerv]

Hey, so I’m a freshmen in undergrad and my school isn’t much less than ideal for quant trading. Would you recommend grinding out research (as well as obviously shooting for internships whenever possible) and networking during my years here , and then aiming for a top-tier masters in the quantitative finance space given my situation.

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Yup exactly, you'll have a crazy good head start if you're beginning this early. Try to reach out to Math/CS/Science departments and see if any will let you get involved in undergrad research. Keep an eye out for other things like competitions (university, Kaggle, etc.) also, as they can help your chances with the internships.

[@julesbourlot5684]

Would you recommend econ as a major to break into quant?

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

I think you'd be much better off with a more technical degree like math, stats, or computer science.

[@DankMurphy]

Just do anything in STEM

[@whygeo]

Can I get a job in quant dev coming out of high school? (as someone with with lots of projects, with paid compsci internships in high school)

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

Maybe as a trader/dev, but it'd be incredibly tough, you're much better off going to a community college for two years and transitioning to the best school you can to at least get a Bachelor's. The only way I see it working for a trader is if you had some very impressive PnL to show. As a dev, your projects would have to be outstanding.

[@AindriuMacGiollaEoin]

C++ great speed edge

[@AlgebraicContinuation]

C++ 🐐