Honest Advice Please!

[ChadAndrews]

Hi,



I am writing to get some feedback as to how feasible it is for me to enter the world of quantitative finance, and how best to enter this area.



A little about myself:





*Work and live in Toronto

*Graduated from Electrical Engineering in 2004 from a top Canadian university.

*Obtained a Master of Applied Science from the same university in 2006 - thesis topic heavily employed applied mathematics.

*Worked in a technical capacity since 2006 developing novel signal processing algorithms and employing statical methods to characterize system performance.

*Authored/co-authored multiple conference papers

*Proficient in Matlab and competent in C,C++, as well as Objective-C.

*Patent author

*Technological hobbyist/entrepreneur.

*Supervised other engineers

*Commenced a PhD in Physics January 2013 part-time (estimated time to completion Dec. 2015). There is synergy between my focus at work and my thesis topic.

*Completed other endeavors demonstrating technical leadership.

*I'm in my early 30s



I am seriously considering taking a stab at quantitative finance. The reasons for this are:



*It seems I have hit the glass ceiling as an engineer who enjoys developing new signal processing methods and programming (although I haven't tried going for the Google/Facebook/Oil and gas jobs, which probably pay a little more)

*Although the supervisory option is open to me, I don't particularly enjoy it.

*I enjoy mathematics, coding statistical algorithms and providing expert advice.

* I am not interested in a job in academia, if/when I complete my PhD.





Now, I am looking for some hones advice as to:



1. What would be a good strategy for me to become gainfully employed in the world of quantitative finance?



2. Not unrelated to #1 above, which job, given my current experience should I target? Could I compete for a quant. job? Or would targeting a supporting role (e.g. back office) be a good stepping stone? How much could I reasonably expect to make in such a role?



3. What training would best complement my current level of expertise? Would completing my PhD make me more competitive, or would I be better served by completing come financial engineering training (e.g. CFQ)?



4. Would relocating help me to accelerate my career? Could I aim for a job in NYC, or one of the asian cities, for which I've heard it is easier to get a quant. job?



I know this is a lot, but I would appreciate any feedback.



Cheers,



Andrew

[alebron]

You should start by putting an email in your profile.

[ChadAndrews]

Leftic, are you suggesting my set of experiences would be useful to an employer offering a position in quantitative finance?

[alebron]

It's quite possible. For many positions, domain specific knowledge of the type you get from a cqf is actually pretty useless. And certainly rarely worth the money.



Relocation to NY Chicago London HK or Singapore is almost required, very hard to find good jobs elsewhere.

[pj]

Well, there are Numerix and Fincad offices in Canada. They may be interested.

[goldorak]

You do not program in Perl. How could you land a job in finance, seriously?

[pj]

> You do not program in Perl. How could you land a job in finance, seriously?



huh?

Disclaimer.

Perl is the best language evah!

[ChadAndrews]

I believe I could learn to program in Perl if I needed to. This isn't an intimidating barrier to entry. Most jobs I've come across however don't stress Perl as much as C++ or even Matlab, so this comment is a little surprising to me.

[tabris]

I think the barrier to entry that you should watch for in this case now would be a good/fun personality along with some sense of sarcasm detection...

[ChadAndrews]

You got me...