What should I do freshman year

jetpotion · 1/6/15

What are extracurricular activities should I do to build my resume and experience? What are things I can do to impress employers and recruiters? I am freshman
cant do anything extravagant... BESIDES NETWORKING. I am in columbia

Kann · 1/6/15

You should network.
Network > everything else.

bigbadwolf · 1/6/15

Kann said:
You should network.
Network > everything else.

But what does it mean to "network?" Suck up to people and hope to ingratiate oneself with them? Grin manically when one has nothing to say? I've always found the American use of this word -- as a verb and in a social context -- as problematic and mystifying. When you have a genuine circle of friends and acquaintances with shared interests, you're not "networking" with them. "Networking" seems to imply ulterior motive and a forced conviviality with people one has little in common, with with the aim of getting something out of them. The baneful influence of Dale Carnegie continues unabated over the decades....

Kann · 1/6/15

Networking seems for many as an useless thing, but the important thing is not, that you may not have much in common with them, but that might know someone who can get you access to important persons. It can be very exhausting to network, but it's important as a newbie at the job market.
Imagine if there is 500 persons who search the same job, maybe 100 people have the same qualifications as you. - 100 maybe have better qualifications than you. It's unlikely you will get the interview, or at least the chances are small.

It's more likely to get a job or interview if you can get a private contact to some important persons in the industry. This is were network count.
Yes you will most likely be forced to laugh at some bad jokes and contact people you might not like, but if those people have access to the industry, it means that you have access to the industry - at least if you take advantage of now knowing these people.

How to network is individual. Some writes to a lot of people, asking them good questions. Some will go to a lot of evens and interact with professionals. Some know someone from college who work in the industry etc.

I would say, that if you mix some of those and get to know a lot of persons in the industry, you have good chances to land an interview.
- You can do this full time, or you can also try to get some better qualifications and do it part time.

Here is a article about it, which is think is great:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/07/28/how-to-network-the-right-way-eight-tips/

jetpotion · 1/6/15

Kann said:
Networking seems for many as an useless thing, but the important thing is not, that you may not have much in common with them, but that might know someone who can get you access to important persons. It can be very exhausting to network, but it's important as a newbie at the job market.
Imagine if there is 500 persons who search the same job, maybe 100 people have the same qualifications as you. - 100 maybe have better qualifications than you. It's unlikely you will get the interview, or at least the chances are small.

It's more likely to get a job or interview if you can get a private contact to some important persons in the industry. This is were network count.
Yes you will most likely be forced to laugh at some bad jokes and contact people you might not like, but if those people have access to the industry, it means that you have access to the industry - at least if you take advantage of now knowing these people.

How to network is individual. Some writes to a lot of people, asking them good questions. Some will go to a lot of evens and interact with professionals. Some know someone from college who work in the industry etc.

I would say, that if you mix some of those and get to know a lot of persons in the industry, you have good chances to land an interview.
- You can do this full time, or you can also try to get some better qualifications and do it part time.

Here is a article about it, which is think is great:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/07/28/how-to-network-the-right-way-eight-tips/

You see even if you do network you still have to be competent to be hired. You still have to beat the interview.... With networking your only seperating the competition from the mainstream but you still gotta impress them enough to get a interview.

Kann · 1/6/15

@jetpotion
Ofcause you do. The hardest part is to get the interview.

This is a hard industry. You can't just sit in your chair home hoping, that you will land a job based on your degree. - Probably you won't.
You need to be aggressive.

jetpotion · 1/6/15

Kann said:
@jetpotion
Ofcause you do. The hardest part is to get the interview.

This is a hard industry. You can't just sit in your chair home hoping, that you will land a job based on your degree. - Probably you won't.
You need to be aggressive.

That why I am asking OTHER THAN NETWORKING......What can you do? Dont expect with just networking you can secure anything you want.

jetpotion · 1/6/15

Kann said:
@jetpotion
Ofcause you do. The hardest part is to get the interview.

This is a hard industry. You can't just sit in your chair home hoping, that you will land a job based on your degree. - Probably you won't.
You need to be aggressive.

Networking is not a problem at columbia because it in manhattan and has a powerful alumni group in wall street. Problem is that other kids are network as well. I am asking how to defeat the competition and how to build my resume

Kann · 1/6/15

Don't underestimate networking. - There is a reason it's the same groups from the same universities who are on wall street.

- It has nothing with the degrees to do.

If you don't wanna network you can try to some of the things the job position asks for you.
For example if you want to be an analyst, you can try to analyze the firm. If you want to be a trader, you can try to make a trading portfolio.
You need to demonstrate the skills, that the job requires.

Ian Kaplan · 1/6/15

jetpotion said:
What are extracurricular activities should I do to build my resume and experience? What are things I can do to impress employers and recruiters? I am freshman
cant do anything extravagant... BESIDES NETWORKING. I am in columbia

Well, it may not be a resume credit, but I'd say "develop relationships with members of the preferred gender" and wait until you get into upper division classes to do other stuff.

You could also join the local stock trading club/team. But at this point you probably don't know R and statistics, which limits your scope, at least when it comes to quantitative portfolio construction. So I'd concentrate on the suggestions from the above paragraph. With luck, life is long and there are many paths.

jetpotion · 1/6/15

Ian Kaplan said:
Well, it may not be a resume credit, but I'd say "develop relationships with members of the preferred gender" and wait until you get into upper division classes to do other stuff.

You could also join the local stock trading club/team. But at this point you probably don't know R and statistics, which limits your scope, at least when it comes to quantitative portfolio construction. So I'd concentrate on the suggestions from the above paragraph. With luck, life is long and there are many paths.

Dont know R and statistics? MY MAJOR is statistics. What about creating your own algo trading program? Would that help

Kann · 1/6/15

That would not be a bad idea.
Atleast if you wanna work with algo trading or HFT.

jetpotion · 1/6/15

Kann said:
Don't underestimate networking. - There is a reason it's the same groups from the same universities who are on wall street. - It has nothing with the degrees to do.

If you don't wanna network you can try to some of the things the job position asks for you.
For example if you want to be an analyst, you can try to analyze the firm. If you want to be a trader, you can try to make a trading portfolio.
You need to demonstrate the skills, that the job requires.

Kann said:
That would not be a bad idea.
Atleast if you wanna work with algo trading or HFT.

YEAH now you are getting me. I want to be in the front lines of algo trading. How about internships about it? Is it just pure networking but I am pretty sure it a combination of skills learned,accomplishments, and networking right? Does this website have the top employer for algo traders and quant? Or get some work experience in the sales and trades?

jetpotion · 1/6/15

jetpotion said:
YEAH now you are getting me. I want to be in the front lines of algo trading. How about internships about it? Is it just pure networking but I am pretty sure it a combination of skills learned,accomplishments, and networking right? Does this website have the top employer for algo traders and quant? Or get some work experience in the sales and trades?

Kann · 1/6/15

I'm not sure. But you can for sure find some on linkedin. I don't know what the top firms are in algo trading right now. But if try to find them and then contact them, they will for sure provide you with some information about employers who can answer some of your questions.
I've done that some times. Big firms are almost always willing to help.

But if you want to do algo trading, i think it's a fantastic idea to make your own algorithms and trade with them. Can be real/fake money, doesn't matter, it just need to be real time. If you can show some progress over a longer period, this is a very good indicator, that you could be a good candidate to an algo trading job.

jetpotion · 1/6/15

Kann said:
I'm not sure. But you can for sure find some on linkedin. I don't know what the top firms are in algo trading right now. But if try to find them and then contact them, they will for sure provide you with some information about employers who can answer some of your questions.
I've done that some times. Big firms are almost always willing to help.

But if you want to do algo trading, i think it's a fantastic idea to make your own algorithms and trade with them. Can be real/fake money, doesn't matter, it just need to be real time. If you can show some progress over a longer period, this is a very good indicator, that you could be a good candidate to an algo trading job.

What is the most lucrative career in quantitative finance? What are exit opportunities like for a quant?

jetpotion · 1/6/15

Kann said:
I'm not sure. But you can for sure find some on linkedin. I don't know what the top firms are in algo trading right now. But if try to find them and then contact them, they will for sure provide you with some information about employers who can answer some of your questions.
I've done that some times. Big firms are almost always willing to help.

But if you want to do algo trading, i think it's a fantastic idea to make your own algorithms and trade with them. Can be real/fake money, doesn't matter, it just need to be real time. If you can show some progress over a longer period, this is a very good indicator, that you could be a good candidate to an algo trading job.

wouldnt the biggest employers in algo trading are hedge funds?

Kann · 1/6/15

jetpotion said:
What is the most lucrative career in quantitative finance? What are exit opportunities like for a quant?

Lucrative in what meaning? It should be individual what is lucrative and what is not lucrative. For me personally a Quant research career is lucrative, for some it isn't.

If you mean in salary i cannot answer it. Most of the start salaries are quite the same, i think it is yourself who set the limits of evolving your career.

jetpotion said:
wouldnt the biggest employers in algo trading are hedge funds?

Most likely.

Ian Kaplan · 1/6/15

jetpotion said:
Dont know R and statistics? MY MAJOR is statistics. What about creating your own algo trading program? Would that help

That's great that you've got R and statistics. I also recommend learning Knitr if you have not already. When you're working on large R code, making them into a Knitr document that explains what you're doing is very useful.

Beyond R, I would minor in computer science. Learn Java (if you don't know it already) and C++. Also, learn SQL or at least Hibernate (I've recently developed a surprising respect for Hibernate).

With this down you'll be ready to do your own trading system. If you can, work your way up to trading real money, even if its only a few thousand dollars. There is no substitute for trading real money (something that academics don't know or have forgotten).

Oh, and that part about developing relationships with people of the appropriate gender. Do that too. You're young, take advantage of it.

jetpotion · 1/7/15

Ian Kaplan said:
That's great that you've got R and statistics. I also recommend learning Knitr if you have not already. When you're working on large R code, making them into a Knitr document that explains what you're doing is very useful.

Beyond R, I would minor in computer science. Learn Java (if you don't know it already) and C++. Also, learn SQL or at least Hibernate (I've recently developed a surprising respect for Hibernate).

With this down you'll be ready to do your own trading system. If you can, work your way up to trading real money, even if its only a few thousand dollars. There is no substitute for trading real money (something that academics don't know or have forgotten).

Oh, and that part about developing relationships with people of the appropriate gender. Do that too. You're young, take advantage of it.

your in luck concentrations wise(No minors in columbia so concentrations are on par with majors). Statistical science with a concentration in computer science. Wait what do you mean by developing relationship with the preferred gender? As in dating and sex?