Quantitative analysis without graduate degree?
Ok, in spite of the stereotype I have run into Quants without Masters or Doctorates on trading desks. I teach part time in the Quantitative Finance program at a University here in London, so I’d start by putting the same question to you as I do students I work with – “What’s your market?” It doesn’t matter if you track US cash Equities, Soft Commodities, Interest rates, Currencies, houses, bubble gum cards, whatever; if you want to first enter and ultimately succeed in this business, you have to know a market. When you interview at a bank for a job (more about that later), the person evaluating you may not know that market, however will be looking to you to explain how it works, what the drivers of valuation are, where that market is now, where it’s been where you believe its going to and why. Finally – and although obvious it’s amazing how many folks we’d interview for a job on the desk would miss this – how can we make money in this market? You answer that question correctly, offer u
