ozonehole2k[at]yahoo.com (Ozone Hole near South Pole) wrote in message news:<cd22f127.0411110617.5b836dfd[at]posting.google.com> ...
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I have worked as a quant for several years and would not be described
as an outgoing person. I don't think sales ability is that important,
but you need to be able to able to explain quantitative ideas to
traders briefly (they have short attention spans), confidently and in
a language they can understand. You need to be able to work on
long-term projects while often being interrupted by short term
requests that need to fulfilled in a few hours or less.

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Few quants have taken any CFA exams when they apply for jobs. The CFA
exam requires detailed knowledge of corporate accounting, but most
quant jobs do not. Take the actuarial exam if you want to be an
actuary, obviously. I'd say prepare yourself through self-study and
give it a shot. That's what I did. If that does not work there are
M.S. programs in "financial engineering".

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I think in the U.S. beginning quants at good companies start at about
$100K or a bit more.

For more information I recommend the recent book and web site
http://www.ederman.com/new/index.html of Emanuel Derman, a successful
former Goldman Sachs quant, and http://www.wilmott.com , which has an
active forum.

Hi all,

I am considering a bit of career switch from academic research to
being a quant. I read some materials about the role of a quant, but I
am not sure if I fit well to the "soft criteria". Also, I am trying
to formulate the best path to get there if it is really what I decide
to do. I would really appreciate any feedback from this group.

I have just finished my PhD in engineering statistics and is a
reasonably good programmer. Currently, I am doing a postdoc in
transaction mechanism design for internet applications. While
research is still fun, I would enjoy something more
challenging. In recent years, I am intrigued by economics and
finance. I have read the job description for junior quant positions.
My skill set seems to match well to them. However, I am not that sure
if I fit well to the culture. I am quite sure I will adapt well to
the new environment given there is a transition time. Similarly to
most people with an academic background, I do not have a superb human
skill. But, I was fairly active in my postgrad year, ran various
societies/clubs and interacted well with others. Put that this way, I
will succeed in a typical software house working as an engineer, but I
probably will have a hard time if the job involves a major sales
responsibility. I would like to have some insiders' advice about how
the life of a quant looks like in the first few years. Can someone
point me to some online resources?

The second question is related to the best path of getting a quant
position. Someone has suggested to me that CFA Exam I is a must,
while some thinks the (life) actuarial exam will be more appropriate.
Some also suggest that I should just apply and see how it goes. Given
my background, which path is the best?

By the way, I am in England at this moment. Some posts on the web
provide a fairly negative outlook for the future of quant (mainly
due to the increase in supply from various financial engineering
master programs). Any market info is highly appreciated.

CK