I'm a buy side Quant Researcher at a top hedge fund (Jane Street/Two Sigma/AQR/etc). AMA

jacobspina · 5/6/25

qn_username said:
Hi all,

In the spirit of sharing and helping prospective students (I'm a senior buy side quant researcher. AMA), it's my honor to use this platform to interact with students who might be interested in this career path.

Who Am I: I'm a quantitative researcher working in systematic trading. I develop alpha signals to forecast the future prices of various financial instruments. I first learned C++ nearly 20 years ago, so I used QuantNet to refresh my knowledge on recent language features. I do not hold an MFE degree, but I have a master's degree in statistics and a PhD in artificial intelligence. I have 5~10 years of work experience.

About My Company: a tier-1 hedge fund (like DE Shaw, HRT, Jane Street, Millennium, Tower, etc.)

Why Am I doing this: Andy initially reached out, and I thought this might be beneficial to students or anyone interested in quant trading.

Ground rule: Feel free to ask me anything related to my professional experience or the quant finance industry in general. However, due to privacy and anonymity concerns, I won't be able to answer personal or overly specific identifying questions. All views expressed here are my own and do not represent those of my employer or others in similar roles.

View attachment 56565

Hi, thank you for taking the time to do this.

I have two related questions from a pre-MFE perspective.

I’m currently an undergraduate student who recently switched majors from finance to mathematics. While my programming background is average, I’m working to improve it. I attend a reputable in-state university, though it's not a target school, which has made it difficult to secure quant-related internships or roles aligned with my goal of becoming a quant trader on the buy side (which i know is already highly competitive and one of the most sought after roles). I'm set to graduate in Winter 2026, giving me potentially one more summer or winter break to land relevant experience.

Given that, my two-part question is:

What types of job experiences or personal projects would be most beneficial and realistic for someone in my position to strengthen my resume?

Should I apply to MFE programs for Fall 2027 immediately after graduation, or would it be more strategic to wait a year (Fall 2028) to try and gain experience, build my profile, and prepare for the GRE?

qn_username · 5/6/25

jacobspina said:
Hi, thank you for taking the time to do this.

I have two related questions from a pre-MFE perspective.

I’m currently an undergraduate student who recently switched majors from finance to mathematics. While my programming background is average, I’m working to improve it. I attend a reputable in-state university, though it's not a target school, which has made it difficult to secure quant-related internships or roles aligned with my goal of becoming a quant trader on the buy side (which i know is already highly competitive and one of the most sought after roles). I'm set to graduate in Winter 2026, giving me potentially one more summer or winter break to land relevant experience.

Given that, my two-part question is:

What types of job experiences or personal projects would be most beneficial and realistic for someone in my position to strengthen my resume?

Should I apply to MFE programs for Fall 2027 immediately after graduation, or would it be more strategic to wait a year (Fall 2028) to try and gain experience, build my profile, and prepare for the GRE?

Hi jacobspina, I wish I could help with your questions, but I am not an expert on graduate admissions strategy. Perhaps @Andy Nguyen can give you better answer given he's seen large number of profiles.

QuantCoach · 5/6/25

Tigga said:
Thanks for the response. I allured to the sentiment of many new comers believe sell-side is the be all, end all goal. This is a new phenomenon just in the last few years I see here and online. If you look back on QuantNet only 10 years ago, most people would be happy to be a quant in the big banks. Now, as the young kids would say "if you don't make it as a buy-side QT/QR at CitSec/JS, it's a bust". I think social media distorted their reality and they are too naive to realize.
I, as many experienced members on QuantNet, have worked on Wall Street long enough to know a career only good if you enjoy what you do everyday. The moment you hate going to work, no amount of money or prestige will ever make up for it.

I know many members here have a great career on the sell-side and enjoy their work. I think the trick is to find what you are really good at. There are very smart people and plenty of interesting projects on both sell-side and buy-side roles.
A lot of people don't realize how cutthroat the environment on the buy-side is. You already answered in length how to break in but the work starts when you are in. There is a long learning curve to catch up on the buy-side, more than sell-side I would say. The race for research alpha is intense, knowing decay is real. You can prototype and test your models all you want but you only know if it's profitable when it goes live. Then back to drawing board.

I did some internships on the sellside but now work full time on the buy side so I have some perspective on this as well. The reason with this Cit Sec/JS phenomenon is simply because they were generally not as well known 10 years ago. New grads put these roles on a pedestal as over the past few years, internship pay has increased to 60k+ (over 10 weeks) and new grad packages can be 575k+; everyone has a price even if they’re not the most interested in the work and this could be life changing money for someone in their early 20s coming fresh out of school.

The biggest differences in sellside and buy side is concentration in talent, the culture about winning, the speed at which you’re given responsibility, how fast things move (not bureaucratic like banks), the pay etc. everyone at my firm is incredibly driven and pick things up very fast (and those who aren’t are typically fired very early on) while there are numerous people in banks where i thought wtf are they even doing all day. I also hated how bureaucratic and slow things moved at a bank; at my current firm we can push out changes to prod on the spot without needing to go through all the hoops and managerial approval. Also, at banks most people in their first or second year don’t have much responsibility but on the buy side, you’re given as much responsibility as u can handle if not a bit more to challenge yourself. The pay is also night and day, the average 3YOE QR at a tier 1 shop is making what an average 10YOE quant at a bank is. Work is also more interesting in buy side, there is more appetite to try new things and iterate fast than in banks typically.

The cons of buy side is it’s quite demanding; having a culture of high performance and the winning mentality mandates the grind as you have constant pressure to perform. If you don’t meet the standard, you’re also cut very quickly which allows these firms to remain lean; there is no such thing as coasting like in tech or banks. It’s also decently competitive to land these roles; when I was a student I thought straight As in a demanding program meant something but now as someone that helps with the recruiting side, I realized perfect GPA HYPSM math/cs students are a dime a dozen. In my opinion, if you’re ambitious and care more about being the best than wlb, then buy side is a significantly better choice given both options.

jacobspina · 5/7/25

qn_username said:
Hi jacobspina, I wish I could help with your questions, but I am not an expert on graduate admissions strategy. Perhaps @Andy Nguyen can give you better answer given he's seen large number of profiles.

No worries! That's understandable. I suppose I should've mentioned for application in the Industry as opposed to MFE. I'll wait and hope for @Andy Nguyen 's comment, thank you.

Andy Nguyen · 5/7/25

jacobspina said:
No worries! That's understandable. I suppose I should've mentioned for application in the Industry as opposed to MFE. I'll wait and hope for @Andy Nguyen 's comment, thank you.

You have plenty of time to improve you profile. If when the time comes and you have a choice between going to grad school or taking a relevant job, always take the job. You can always go back to graduate school with a stronger position and clearer purpose.
For concrete courses to take, maybe take a page from @grxthy plan or seeing what @MikeLawrence has been doing in his last 2 years since discovering QuantNet.

Baruch MFE Thread 'Feedback on plan for building profile for Baruch MFE Fall 2026?'

9/2/24

Hi everyone,

I posted here around a month ago, and have since put together a plan for the next year in order to bolster my application, as well as fill most of the quantitative holes from my undergrad degree. Any feedback/suggestions would be much appreciated!

A little background:
I graduated in 2021 with a BBA in Economics/Finance from Baruch College. My GPA was not good (~3.00), but I’ve since gained 3.5 years of experience in industry. My career so far has been in data engineering, software project management, and data science. I consider myself very proficient in Python, SQL...

Andy Nguyen · 5/7/25

In the interest of our members with an MFE degree who will need H1B visa sponsor, can either @qn_username or @QuantCoach comment on how common buy-side vs sell-side employers are to sponsor visa?
I heard from so many members that they join a big bank out of grad school because they are more likely to sponsor H1B visa and then GC.
Only then, they would consider moving to buy-side.
The online H1B visa tracker seems to indicate that big banks sponsor the most visa among finance industry. Below is for 2025.

Finance And Insurance: 2025 H-1B Visa Report by NAICS Industry | MyVisaJobs

Discover the latest H-1B Visa trends for Finance And Insurance in 2025. Explore salary data, top employers, job trends, and tips for securing H-1B sponsorship. Stay informed with MyVisaJobs' comprehensive Finance And Insurance H-1B Visa report.

www.myvisajobs.com

qn_username · 5/7/25

Andy Nguyen said:
In the interest of our members with an MFE degree who will need H1B visa sponsor, can either @qn_username or @QuantCoach comment on how common buy-side vs sell-side employers are to sponsor visa?
I heard from so many members that they join a big bank out of grad school because they are more likely to sponsor H1B visa and then GC.
Only then, they would consider moving to buy-side.
The online H1B visa tracker seems to indicate that big banks sponsor the most visa among finance industry. Below is for 2025.

Finance And Insurance: 2025 H-1B Visa Report by NAICS Industry | MyVisaJobs

Discover the latest H-1B Visa trends for Finance And Insurance in 2025. Explore salary data, top employers, job trends, and tips for securing H-1B sponsorship. Stay informed with MyVisaJobs' comprehensive Finance And Insurance H-1B Visa report.

www.myvisajobs.com

From the link, I agree that big banks sponsor the most work visas. Meanwhile perhaps also try normalizing this data by hiring volumes. Some buy-side firms may hire fewer people, and the ratio of getting sponsorship is probably on-par.

For a candidate, the process is usually like this: recruiters will ask (in phone screening) whether candidates require sponsorship. If a company doesn’t sponsor, the process typically ends there. But if they do, and if the interviews go well and candidate gets an offer, then feel free to ask about their H1B or green card sponsorship policies. That's when the candidate needs to consider this factor in the decision process. If a candidate tries to narrow down the search, target larger firms with sponsorship histories.

Also note that policies change over time. I've heard even some big tech firms may have suspended or delayed their green card sponsorship. So to get the most up-to-date policy, the candidate can ask for the firm's current policy after getting the offer.

jacobspina · 5/7/25

Andy Nguyen said:
You have plenty of time to improve you profile. If when the time comes and you have a choice between going to grad school or taking a relevant job, always take the job. You can always go back to graduate school with a stronger position and clearer purpose.
For concrete courses to take, maybe take a page from @grxthy plan or seeing what @MikeLawrence has been doing in his last 2 years since discovering QuantNet.

Baruch MFE Thread 'Feedback on plan for building profile for Baruch MFE Fall 2026?'

9/2/24

Hi everyone,

I posted here around a month ago, and have since put together a plan for the next year in order to bolster my application, as well as fill most of the quantitative holes from my undergrad degree. Any feedback/suggestions would be much appreciated!

A little background:
I graduated in 2021 with a BBA in Economics/Finance from Baruch College. My GPA was not good (~3.00), but I’ve since gained 3.5 years of experience in industry. My career so far has been in data engineering, software project management, and data science. I consider myself very proficient in Python, SQL...

grxthy

Replies: 27

Forum: United States

Thanks Andy for the suggestion and advice! Will do!

Pampersandu · 5/8/25

Hi @qn_username first of all thank you for doing the AMA, I really appreciate it.

I hope that my question represents those of us with a traditional finance/less quant-y background who are keen to transition to roles with some/a lot of degree of quantitative jobdescs.

Background

BA Accounting
MSc Finance (not quant finance/MFE)
Starting PhD in Economics this fall, but I have the option to walk away with an MSc after 2 yrs
I plan to take CFA level 2 in 2026, level 3 in 2027
~3 yrs of workex, started in sell-side equity research and then moved to portfolio management - so virtually all of my workex is in discretionary
Experience w/ programming, working with big data sets and building statistical models

Given my background, I think the most suitable role for me would be something like quantamental/multistrat. Can you shed some light on this career path? I never really talked to people in this industry.

I am essentially looking for a route where I can utilize my finance, accounting and economics knowledge, and its completely fine if the role leans toward the quant space. Would love to find roles where having best of both worlds (fundamental and quant) can be a massive advantage for me.

Thanks again in advance

qn_username · 5/8/25

Pampersandu said:
Hi @qn_username first of all thank you for doing the AMA, I really appreciate it.

I hope that my question represents those of us with a traditional finance/less quant-y background who are keen to transition to roles with some/a lot of degree of quantitative jobdescs.

Background

BA Accounting

MSc Finance (not quant finance/MFE)

Starting PhD in Economics this fall, but I have the option to walk away with an MSc after 2 yrs

I plan to take CFA level 2 in 2026, level 3 in 2027

~3 yrs of workex, started in sell-side equity research and then moved to portfolio management - so virtually all of my workex is in discretionary

Experience w/ programming, working with big data sets and building statistical models

Given my background, I think the most suitable role for me would be something like quantamental/multistrat. Can you shed some light on this career path? I never really talked to people in this industry.

I am essentially looking for a route where I can utilize my finance, accounting and economics knowledge, and its completely fine if the role leans toward the quant space. Would love to find roles where having best of both worlds (fundamental and quant) can be a massive advantage for me.

Thanks again in advance

Congrats on starting your PhD journey. It's smart to think ahead at this stage. Based on your background, I agree that roles in quantamental/multistrat teams would be a stronger fit. Your discretionary experience at work will definitely help you a lot.

The choice of your PhD thesis topic will have a huge influence on your eventual career path, no matter academia or industry. If you are looking for an industry job, places that target longer-period forecast and relatively larger AUM (or even asset manager firms), as well as firms that regularly have visiting professors from econ & finance, should be more suitable.

Pampersandu · 5/8/25

qn_username said:
Congrats on starting your PhD journey. It's smart to think ahead at this stage. Based on your background, I agree that roles in quantamental/multistrat teams would be a stronger fit. Your discretionary experience at work will definitely help you a lot.

The choice of your PhD thesis topic will have a huge influence on your eventual career path, no matter academia or industry. If you are looking for an industry job, places that target longer-period forecast and relatively larger AUM (or even asset manager firms), as well as firms that regularly have visiting professors from econ & finance, should be more suitable.

Hey @qn_username thanks again for the answers. I have a couple of final, follow-up questions on my end:

1) You wrote that the topic of dissertation is very important in the long-run. Can you elaborate why is this the case? (I'm not really asking for dissertation topic ideas like trade theory, macro/micro etc) my question is more to recruiting/fit problem; what would make these firms (AMs, multistrat shops, etc) look at me and say "Okay this guy might have something for us". I am never going to academia so I am aiming for industry 100%

2) Can you explain to me what life in a multistrat shop might look like? Of course I'm generalizing, but I am curious of what plays a typical multistrat shop might go for? For example, is it possible that I am involved in a macro play this month and next month I'm doing something like systematic and then they throw me into the fundamental team, etc. I mean if it is the case, I think I might be able to really leverage both fundamental and quant knowledge. But please correct me if Im wrong.

3) Considering that I am aiming for multistrat, how deep do I need to dive into the maths/programming stuff? If it could turn out to be an advantage that I know R/C++, machine learning, advanced calc/PDE, I am perfectly fine. As you said, I'd like to plan ahead at this stage.

I am aware that you are a quant researcher and this topic might not exactly be your forte, but I so very appreciate any inputs/leads you have.

qn_username · 5/9/25

Pampersandu said:
Hey @qn_username thanks again for the answers. I have a couple of final, follow-up questions on my end:

1) You wrote that the topic of dissertation is very important in the long-run. Can you elaborate why is this the case? (I'm not really asking for dissertation topic ideas like trade theory, macro/micro etc) my question is more to recruiting/fit problem; what would make these firms (AMs, multistrat shops, etc) look at me and say "Okay this guy might have something for us". I am never going to academia so I am aiming for industry 100%

2) Can you explain to me what life in a multistrat shop might look like? Of course I'm generalizing, but I am curious of what plays a typical multistrat shop might go for? For example, is it possible that I am involved in a macro play this month and next month I'm doing something like systematic and then they throw me into the fundamental team, etc. I mean if it is the case, I think I might be able to really leverage both fundamental and quant knowledge. But please correct me if Im wrong.

3) Considering that I am aiming for multistrat, how deep do I need to dive into the maths/programming stuff? If it could turn out to be an advantage that I know R/C++, machine learning, advanced calc/PDE, I am perfectly fine. As you said, I'd like to plan ahead at this stage.

I am aware that you are a quant researcher and this topic might not exactly be your forte, but I so very appreciate any inputs/leads you have.

Dicussion around your dissertation will very likely show up in interviews if interviewers are interested in your study. There are different extents to which your dissertation may help you. If you make a name for yourself, e.g. your outstanding research can be readily applied to trading and can make significant profit, which is rare, then firms will reach out to you before you apply to them. Other than that, if your problem / data / technique is relevant, people are also interested to learn.

I don't think you will change your mandate that often, but it may depend on the team's setup. Some smaller teams may allow you to shift your focus more.

halwa · 5/9/25

Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA — it’s incredibly valuable for students and professionals alike.

As someone deeply interested in how artificial intelligence (AI) intersects with quantitative finance, I’d love to know your take on how machine learning models (e.g., neural networks, transformers) are being adapted in alpha signal generation or portfolio optimization at your level.

Also, given your PhD in AI, do you see reinforcement learning or generative models having practical applications in production trading environments anytime soon?

For anyone curious about how AI is revolutionizing industries beyond finance, including insights on edge computing, computer vision, and AI integration strategies, feel free to check out:

Amrtech Insights

TheMathGuy · 5/13/25

Is having a Masters in Financial Engineering/Math Finance degree (especially from a Ivy League) useless while applying for quant roles?

Andy Nguyen · 5/14/25

@qn_username
What are your favorite books? What important books or reading materials that shaped your understanding of the industry?

qn_username · 5/15/25

Andy Nguyen said:
@qn_username
What are your favorite books? What important books or reading materials that shaped your understanding of the industry?

Hi Andy,

My favorite books are the ones that make me interested to learn new topics outside my knowledge base. I don't have a lot of time for reading, but I try to explore both technical and non-technical books.

Thanks for sharing the reading list. I think it's a great collection.

From your list, Max Dama's Guide to Automated Trading is probably my favorite - given how well he's been doing now. Another important one for me was Prof. Robert Shiller's Financial Markets. It was my intro course to the industry.

little_radish · 5/15/25

Hi qn_username, thank you so much for doing this.

I wonder if you could say good luck to me in pursuing a career in Quant Finance. Thank you in advance!

lndmnn · 5/17/25

do you think having a 2 year experience as a trader in a big european bank branch in a emea market would stand out as a candidate (per se I get a MFE on top of those 2 years experience) or wont make much difference, I have huge exposure on old school trading, client facing, market making in financial insturments and managed a desk but more technical areas are lacking and want to cover up with MFE degree

I consider getting a MFE from uk/us but I afraid wont make out in the job market due to via spon.

qn_username · 5/18/25

lndmnn said:
do you think having a 2 year experience as a trader in a big european bank branch in a emea market would stand out as a candidate (per se I get a MFE on top of those 2 years experience) or wont make much difference, I have huge exposure on old school trading, client facing, market making in financial insturments and managed a desk but more technical areas are lacking and want to cover up with MFE degree

I consider getting a MFE from uk/us but I afraid wont make out in the job market due to via spon.

I think your experience can still be valuable, depending on the specific skills you gained as a trader. The MFE should fill some of the technical gaps. As for the visa, I agree it could be more challenging given the current administration's policies.

quantacula · 5/19/25

Hi, and thank you for doing this AMA.

I was accepted to a Financial Mathematics Masters program but am interested in pursuing a PhD in Statistics without a Math/Stats undergrad degree (I studied engineering).

Is a PhD in Stats more respected in the industry than a MFM?

From a salary perspective, do PhD quants earn more than those with MFE or MFM?

I'm a buy side Quant Researcher at a top hedge fund (Jane Street/Two Sigma/AQR/etc). AMA

Baruch MFE Thread 'Feedback on plan for building profile for Baruch MFE Fall 2026?'

Baruch MFE Thread 'Feedback on plan for building profile for Baruch MFE Fall 2026?'

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