
Ask HN: What is the typical career path like at algorithmic trading firms? - gragas
I&#x27;m an undergrad with just over a year of school left. I have been fortunate enough to experience most of the different workplace paradigms (big company vs. small startup, low pop&#x2F;COL area vs high pop&#x2F;COL area) through internships. I think I have a good understanding of the different career paths I can take as an SWE and their associated compensations.<p>Many of my friends are joining quantitative&#x2F;algorithmic trading firms. The starting compensations are very enticing to me, and the work seems more than challenging. However,  there is almost no data on typical career paths for algorithmic traders or core engineers at these firms.<p>If I were to join a top trading firm, what would the career paths of least resistance look like? And what would compensation timelines look like?
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niels_olson
If you're getting out of school after undergrad, the variance in your career
trajectory 5 years after graduation is so large it is difficult to predict
which industry, if any, you'll be in. I'd give you a 90% chance you're in the
same country you are currently in, 30% chance you're in grad school, 30%
chance you're in the same industry, 30% chance you've switched industries, and
10% chance you're a stay-at-home parent.

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dagw
Yea. I got my degree in Financial Mathematics and now I work with urban
planning.

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bbcbasic
Try to find out about the different roles. Quants, traders, infrastructure,
back office and front office etc.

I think traders per se will be less common as automation takes over, and it's
a team effort keeping the machine purring.

And see what takes your fancy. You like low level c++ programming or
statistical models on excel? There is a place for both.

