Breaking into quant from a non-target background

Three roles, three doors

A long discussion set this out for a student from a less targeted course: research and trading roles look for top degree classes and strong grades from target universities, while development is judged on engineering. Stated grade cut-offs were quoted inconsistently and nobody had a current official figure.

What the screens test

Candidates described these first-round formats across firms: a timed coding test on a standard platform, usually three or four questions in about 70 minutes to two hours; a mental arithmetic test, in one case 80 questions in eight minutes; number-sequence and pattern tests; short probability and expected-value games; and at one firm an unsupervised three-hour task to build a small trading system from a specification.

Two things surprised people. Some firms rejected applicants before sending any test. And a passing score was not the end: one candidate cleared the reported threshold on a coding screen and was turned down at the resume review that followed.

How much maths do you need?

Less than the reputation suggests for getting through interviews, according to people who had done them: introductory linear algebra and school-level probability were described as enough once you are past the screen. Mentors listed probability, statistics and linear algebra as the core, with Python for data work and C++ for developer roles. Speed matters as much as knowledge, which is why timed mental-maths practice is worth the hours.

Stepping stones

• Bank equities technology. Named as a route into quant development, because front-office systems deal with execution and pricing.
• Winter programmes. Four to five week programmes at trading firms work as an extended interview.
• Insight and diversity programmes. Several firms run them for first and second-year students.
• Competitions. Trading challenges and hackathons run by firms were reported to fast-track entrants to interviews.
• Experience first. Engineers with a few years of systems work, especially in C++, asked about moving across later. It is a known path.

What helps a non-target resume

Because there is a resume review even after a good test score, the page has to give a reason to continue. Candidates and mentors pointed to competition results, strong grades in mathematics and systems modules, low-level or performance-focused projects, and prior internships anywhere near markets. One intern at a leading firm noted that many people in their intake had no previous internship, so a first-time applicant is not ruled out.

Check where the firm hires juniors

Location is a practical limit. At one point candidates noted that some of the best-known firms were not hiring juniors in Singapore at all, so the top graduate roles meant Hong Kong or the United States. That changes year to year. Check which office each role is for before investing in the process.

Expect silence

Nearly four in five questions about quant hiring in our data got no public answer. People move to private messages, and firms say little. Plan on preparing from formats, not from someone else's account of last week's interview. forge keeps step-by-step pages for several trading firms' Singapore processes.