Applied to 415 Quant Jobs, Learn From My Mistakes

Good job on the video! I am coming from construction industry myself and i was working really hard to get a job as a pricing actuary in the insurance now. I can totally agree, applying to similar positions which would give your opportunity to get another set of skills is necessary. Unfortunately i learned this all to late my self. And about the "better degree"... Sure it helps to have relevant degree, however i did civil engineering and then every and sustainability. London is a place where you can become anything at long as your have the right mindset! I would get up at 5am myself and study statistics, programming, machine learning and do applications in the evening. Hire cv consultants (people who actually sit with your and consult, not just get back with a final result), they are really worth it.

Damn, what can i expect as pretty average future pharmacy graduate in Europe?

You are super smart guy and properly switched on, except for one thing, you chose a wrong strategy.
With immense knowledge of math and x4 months of time investment you should had got yourself some data and then focu those x4 months to find a working strategy. If you walked into that quant firm with a working cash machine they'll put you straight into the seat, you won't even see HR manager.

Great video! I know you did not touch on degrees in the video, but as someone who has a BS in Comp Sci and has worked in IT Consulting for 2 years, what would you say is the best way to pivot into this? MFE or some other financial masters? Do you know if that would keep my options open for more traditional fundamental analyst roles or is it best to narrow into quant programs? My BS is non target, but maybe good enough to get into a target masters program.

400 is pretty standard. Its not that excessive

Just found your channel! Keep posting, love it

Thank you for this content !

I am a decent SWE and I am a junior right now. I am going to be interning at TIktok next summer. I only know DSA and some stats and did python plotting in linear algebra. Can I land a full time quant role by 2025 August?

I'm not even looking for quant jobs but i still stayed back and watched your entire video cus it was so well structured and definitely helpful.

Just to boost the algorithm, thank you for this video! May I ask what you did in highschool/ what you were interested in back then?

I need some guidance...
1. I'm currently pursuing a Business degree, although I was a STEM student in high school. Even now, my minor is in computer science, and many of my other subjects are statistics-based.
2. I am not enrolled in some top tier college or university.

3. I aspire to be a Quant. Even though, I recently learned about this field, I've always been fascinated by numbers. Mathematics, to me, is a language in itself, and I want to be one of those who translate the stories that numbers tell to people who don't quite understand them. So, When people asked me what I wanted to do, I told them about the role of a quant, and now I simply say, "I want to be a Quant."

I know that passion and interest are important, but I need something concrete. I need to develop my mathematical and programming skills, as well as my financial knowledge. So, I need some help.

Could you tell me what I can work on to increase my chances? And, more importantly, is it even possible for a non-STEM student like me?

Good content - i would also add markets, particurly for the buy side. Im a quant researcher in a team that trades equities so I had questions on equity valuation, investment ideas, stock pitch, macro environment etc. For high-frequency teams u might get microstructure questions too, like limit order book structure, bid-ask dynamics etc.

Were you asked interview questions on Options Pricing Theory?

very helpful！

Do you think Masters in financial engineering would help me prepare for an entry level quant role?

If someone wants to apply as a software dev in quant firms what topics should he expect in the interviews

hey dude, i hear a lot of people without finance/trading background going into quant. what i'm confused about is, how do they land the job without the finance/trading background if the interview process involves finance/trading type assessments? Like Options Pricing theory & backtesting questions etc.

Thanks a lot for your very detailed presentation, full of good hints. But I (and maybe others) miss one important point: after such a long and tiring process did you got an interesting position ?

going through the same process, really got discouraged by non-response, it's like my existence is meaningless in this world.

IMO it's easier to make your own profitable trading rather than get through these interviews

Hello, I am starting my research into applying for a Quant Analyst job in USA. I am completing my MSc in FInancial Engineering from WorldQuant University. Do you think online masters has any chance of landing a job?

absolutely brutal application process. 7 days for one firm should be illegal. but i guess thats what happens when you want one of the most lucrative and coveted jobs itw.

If you have been rejected over 400 times maybe you should consider different path of your career? McDonalds perhaps? I don't want to sound mean but every potential employee when see you videos on YT... what they gonna think about you. It's weird to brag about losing 400 times in the row. Imagine playing CS:GO and dying over 400 times without single kill. Every sane person would say 'it's not for me, I am out'.

how to have degree in multiple engg domains at the same time? please guide me I have interest in multiple engg domains and I want to have knowledge and skillset to become an entrepreneur

hey so I am going to umd for cs and I plan to do their machine learning specialization. After wards I want to explore masters programs and then do quant stock trading. the only thing is I have heard that to do quant you need to be from a prestigious background. Umd is already top 20 for cs but Im thinking I need to do cargneie melon level of schools so do you have any info on this and tips for getting into masters. About to be a freshman in a month what can I do to get there?

im cooked

Hey man,

I absolutely loved the level of detail you went into with this. I'm quite a neurotic person as well so this appeals to me and I've found that so far I've been playing it shy (Not self-learning, not having a plan, just applying) and this video really motivated me to take it more seriously and plan better. Btw, how do you track the number of applications you applied to?

Thank you so much.

❤❤. thank you genuinely for the video. please make more with statistics!

Thanks for putting this up it helped me out

Very informative video. Thank you. I have a question. I am a final year Computer Science & Engineering undergraduate. What path would you recommend me that would allow me to get into the quant industry?

3 rounds is already demented nonsense. A phone call and an in office interview are and should be more than enough. And these "take home assignments" are just free work, disgusting and pathetic, that's why there's always supposed to be a trial period where you work for them for a month and get paid less just to make sure you're worth it.

But the reason why it's not a simple and effective process is because HR needs to look busy and make it overcomplicated because "the longer the process the better" when it's quite the opposite because you have to be kinda crazy to stay till the end of the process.

I can assure you that reading a CV and asking questions to the candidate for 40 minutes is more than enough to know whether they deserve the chance. If so, offer them a 1 month contract with average market pay, which is still terrible pay, and, if they show they're good, now you offer them the proper contract. It's not hard, they just love to make you think it is.

If you operate a relatively small company, my best advise is literally to fire everyone in HR (they're just resource consuming leeches) and do the hiring yourself. Much better results since then. 10 minutes to properly read every CV received (stop using these useless CV scanning programs, most can't even properly read CVs), phone call if adequate to resolve questions in regard to the CV and availability and a 40-45 minute interview to simply gauge interest and capabilities. Go straight to the point and don't waste your or their time.

Brutal and demoralizing, I hope that you made it nonetheless.

10/10 insightful, relevant and real. My top takeaways:
* Apply to adjacent roles to improve interview preparedness and also because skills are highly transferable, why not.
* Evaluate how much time to spend on take home assignments and ask more questions to rule out a waste of time and resources
* Connect and explore relevant people in the firm on LinkedIn, build a profile and prepare early
* Apply, Apply, Apply it’s a numbers game
* Journal what went right, what went wrong, top interview questions to prepare better next time!
Hope this helps. Thanks for the awesome content and best wishes.

Are you singaporean? You sound a lot like if a Singaporean had a european-ish influence

This guy who did an undergrad research on Machine learning in Finance did 300+ apps and only got 1 offer? Damn we’re cooked.

Thank you so much for this video. I found your words on backup plan insightful. Given that I want to find some position in EU I should also prepare myself for a second career path maybe....

bro do you go imperial? i think i recognise you 😆

What is the best coding language to learn if i want to pursue quant analyst /trader?

Hey man i love ur dedication.
can u help me to figure out something
iam persuing btech CSE (specialized in Data science) 2nd year, i want to get into quant, how can i get into?
what degree should i persue for PG ?
what kind of project are they looking for ?
what roles can i apply and what skillset are they looking for a specific roles?
and give me the most realisitc approach

it would be nice if u can give a insight on it

Thank you for putting this video together! Sorry you had to go through so much time interviewing. You are dedicated and your experience is valuable to others! Are you able to share any details about the take home assessments you worked on, or do they make you sign NDAs while interviewing?

Hello, i’m starting BSc mathematics at the University of Nottingham next week and have interest in becoming a quant. If i finish my course and then go onto a masters at oxbridge lse or warwick do you think i have a chance?

Do u do codeforces? If so whats ur rating

I am losing hope

skill issue

i can hear in his voice he's good at maths . what else do they need?

Me watching this while being a Quant Finance Reaearcher and eating popcorn 😂

Damn this guys has to interview terribly.

sounds incredibly boring and monotonous.