[ac1294]

Thanks for the advice. It seems as our paths are very similar.

To be honest, my biggest interests are in statistics, programming, and finance (in that order). The most natural intersection seemed to be working at a proprietary trading firm. Unfortunately, I applied to over 25 prop shops with no success. I haven't heard of a single alumni from my school in trading; they typically only hire out of MIT, Harvard, Stanford, UPenn, etc.

After no luck with trading, I figured banking would be the next best option with numbers and finance.

Just out of curiosity, do you program in your free time? Do you think you'll eventually make the transition from banking to software development?

[viking1]

The easiest way to get a prop trading job is by starting out as a programmer. Most trading systems are built in c++ (Java prob number 2 in popularity), so you'd need to master that. Once you're employed at a firm like that it is very doable to transition to a hybrid programmer/quant role. There are vey few non-programming quant roles left on Wall Street and you chances of getting one without a ph.d. are slim.

[stephenbez]

ac1294: Could you put your email address or some way to contact you in your profile? I want to send you a message.

[ac1294]

Done