I've been interviewing technology interns at a finance company and every single one has said "I'm very quantitative and want to learn more about high frequency trading." I haven't been able to figure out what they mean by that. I think they just heard that's where the money is.
Seems to characterize that labour market. Lots of math, stats & CS people have heard that they can turn brains into $ through the magical zero-sum game of the markets. Thank ederman.
Then again, how do most people choose their careers.
- I like video games, so I'll be a programmer.
- I want to be a ballerina / baseball player / rock star / etc.
- Read a sci fi book and now want to do genetic engineering.
- Read My Life As A Quant and want to be a quant.
A friend of mine is a life sciences lawyer at a firm that bills upwards of $800/hr ... his reason for choosing that path was watching the movie Gattaca. Not joking.