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Capital/Risk Quant vs Desk Quant

kiwi

Joined
11/21/14
Messages
7
Points
11
I was offered two internships: one as a capital quant (monitoring risks, regulatory capital requirements, etc) and one as a desk quant (derivatives pricing), and I am having a hard time deciding between the two.

Can someone tell me the difference in pay/exit opps of the two? And how hard would it be to move from one to another? I know before desk quants were compensated higher and considered higher "prestige" but a lot changed since 2008. What are your opinions on these opportunities given that I like the firm more for the capital quant position?
 
Even if the risk quant offers's bank in top tier (think GS, MS, JPM) and the other one is a struggling bank (think UBS and the likes)
 
Risk is paid somewhat worse but it is also less stressful and the job is safer.

If I were you I would decide for the desk quant intership.
With a desk quant experience it will not be a problem to apply for positions in risk after you graduate. But it is very hard to get a position in front office if you have only back/midoffice internship.
 
I see, thanks for the advice. I was under the impression that for quants the front/mid office is more blurred than other areas as it is in the same division. Anyway, will go with the desk quant offer and ignore the prestige of working at a top tier bank :)
 
Depends on which banks you are talking about. For some, it's just important to get in the door and then internal mobility opportunities abound.
 
kiwi said:
Is GS well known for internal mobility?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say so. Goldman is a place that really prides itself on its unique culture and tries to cultivate said uniqueness. It really is true that the rest of Wall Street does take cues from Goldman and tries to emulate them in some ways. But I think that most banks are pretty happy to not be as cutthroat as Goldman. Re: internal mobility, I think a lot of people are flowing in and out of Goldman. That obscures any internal flow and at least, that's not what people tend to talk about when they talk about Goldman. But the reality might be quite different. I don't know. I've heard mixed stories.

If you want to know what it's like at different banks, Quora's not a bad place to try. There are quite a few Wall St veterans that answer questions there and you can check out their backgrounds. For example, one of the answers here strikes me as being in lines with what I've heard and experienced thus far (in my short Wall St career): http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-cultural-differences-at-Goldman-Sachs-and-JP-Morgan
 
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