

Ask HN: How do you fit a hacker in an investment bank - anonplease

I'm graduating CS and going to work at one of the big Investment Banks this summer (want to compare against startup culture).<p>I'm working in Technology and they've asked me if there is any specific 'asset class' I'd like to join, and to indicate my skills so that they can place me on a desk. At this point I think i'm more interested in Quant/mathematical work as opposed to typical Technology work, though as I have no experience I can't say for sure.<p>I'm a typical hacker (Python/Ruby/Haskell/Java).<p>Does anyone here have enough experience to recommend me a desk where I'd be close to the Quants/front-office and actually do some interesting work as opposed to maintaining some legacy Windows applications?
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PhillipT
Usually asset class would be the investment strategy area the bank follows and
would include stuff like equities, fixed income, convertible bonds,
alternative investment, commodities etc (depending on the bank they may have
more or different asset management classes). Most of these have dedicated
systems and tool sets (meaning you could end up maintaining windows apps or
having to learn Q or K languages - depending on bank and system you work on).
If you are leaning to quant/math then commodities is a good area which will
draw on quant/math background as opposed to back office which is more standard
IT. Hope this helps.

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anonplease
Thanks, that does help a lot.

Is it possible for me to guess what technologies are used in each asset class
before I join? For example, if I propose to join commodities as you recommend
it, is it typical for an investment bank to only use X, Y, Z technologies for
this asset class?

My fear is being stuck in back office "IT". However, without actual working
knowledge of an investment bank, I can't really say where is best to place me.
It may seem trivial to want to avoid C#/.net and the likes, however probably
as most hackers on here I'd prefer to work in a team that uses technologies
that I'm accustomed to.

Reading "On becoming a Quant" by Mark Joshi
(<http://www.markjoshi.com/downloads/advice.pdf>) has really helped. C++ seems
to be an absolutely necessary skill.

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PhillipT
Rather than guess - I'd recommend asking. Most places will be happy to explain
what languages/tech they use to an incoming employee and many will be happy
you asked. Ultimately they are recruiting you because of your skill profile
and trying to find the best place for you since in the long run it will
benefit them (and hopefully you). So ask your recruiting contact for more info
- and when you do so mention what you have found in your research and readings
- because it (a) shows your committed and (b) will help them quickly see what
are relevant possibilities.

The quants i know in finance have varied backgrounds but are predominantly
maths, comp.sci and physics backgrounds and all asked similar questions on
entry into their banks and financial institutions. As for languages they work
with a range of tools including Matlab ,Mathematica and K for those on
research side to C++, java, Python (wrapping C++ libraries), K /Q and R for
those on production and reporting side. (edit - there are some who also use
.net - but i forgot about them :-)) What tech is used will really depend on
the bank. As a quant your job will be to work out how to implement and
maintain algorithm, systems and tools around their tech environment - so it is
probably better to be open on the language side and look at it all as huge
good learning opportunity (which it is) and find a spot where the subject
matter is going to intrigue/interest you. Again hope this helps.

