how to be a quant trader
How To Become A Quant Trader
As we have talked about numerous times, there is a shift in Wall Street from fundemental and technical analysis to black box and quantative tradeing. These traders called Quants have been in great demand and great quants can request over seven figures of salary plus bonuses. If you want know how to become a quant, that is someone who is research-based, builds models and works with a trading desk, and then you will need a PhD in a quantitive subject such as; physics, mathematics, computer science or finance. It is best though to be cautious when choosing your PhD of having the specific aim to be a quant. This is because a PhD is completed over three or four years and you will be researching a very specific area or subject that usually deals with one problem. You really have to want to do a PhD for the enjoyment not for a specific outcome. For example Financial Engineering is now offered by many colleges and can be a great start to becoming a quant as they will teach you about programming with a strong understanding of finance mixed in.
How To Become A Quant Trader: Education Required To Become A Quant
Although a PHD is recommended you can become a quant through other means as well. If you wish to be a trader, you will need to know numbers but you do not need such a deep understanding from your degree. If you are clever and pick up things quickly you should be able to teach yourself. Learning technical analysis is a great way to start you career as a quant due to the fact that technical analysis can break down in to certain mathmatical forms. The technical analysis we use on this site is heavy on mathmatical risk reward models that can be programmed into different trading programs. As you lengthen your time frames you also dont need as much complex math to make a system that will work.
It is preferable to have a more mathematical PhD as this will enable you to be able to teach economics and finance. It is also good for developing your programming ability (Python, C sharp, and C++ mostly). Programming skills are a necessity and you will need to be able to come with complex theories and program them into models into a computer. This can be extremely complex especially if you are dealing with complex derivatives at the same time..
How To Become A Quant Trader: Internships and Other Ways To Gain Experience.
Statistics is also a great major to study as risk reward ratios are heavily based on statistics and will help you find a quantitative trading job. It is assumed that you have a background in statistics and math but you do not have to have formal trading experience prior to looking for a quant job. It is usual for companies and financial institutions to give training to graduates and you would probably start as a trader assistant to begin with. If you really want to become a quant it is best to keep practicing your programming and keep on top of your understanding of math and statistics. Look for an internship while in school, as this will increase your chances of gaining experience and finding a quantitative trading job when you are graduating. By finding a trader assistant role it is definitely possible to move to quant once you are within a company. You should also build up a trading record and this will give you a portfolio to show to future employers.