Hi, I worked in both roles. I did an undergrad in theoretical Math and MFE. Its particularly easy to get a risk management job. My first job was for 100k + bonus out of school for BNPP. It is a highly quantitative risk department and was one of the best (if not THE best) institutional risk management gigs on the street. I did not know this at them time but I started in 2007 and after 2008-2009 I came to this conclusion.
Anyway back to main subject. Risk jobs are easy to land and you can learn TONS or nothing interesting. Every shop has Risk integrated at different levels. Some shops its a backoffice type job where the risk guys are in the back seat (and this is the dominant case actually 8/10 I'd say). And rarely in places like BNP will you sit on the trading floor and have more power than traders. Yes traders will actually fear you... Rather than vice versa where Traders that are making money are big swinging dicks doing whatever they want (this is still the case at most shops).
I started quant trading by chance when some guys running an arb blackbox were started constantly loosing money and were working late hours. I gave them a hand fixed a few bugs and word quickly spread. Next opening they offered me a position and I did an internal transfer...
After I went to managing a portfolio (2 years after). And successfully did that for 4 more years.
The summary is this. Quant Trading roles actually come in tones of flavors.
Banks have option desks and in the recruiters will call these "quant trading roles". Hell, for all they know there is complex math involved and 'quant' sounds sophisticated. Truth is all option traders are proficient and calculus and derivatives to the point good traders are able to calculate pretty accurate 2nd orders in their head. And the tools available are also vast.
But this is not a 'quant trading role'.
A true 'quant' role is what some institutions have in house 'quant' teams that manage all the pricing models and libs.
A 'true' quant trading role is stat-arb or some other arb strategy desk or similar type of strategy. Most banks do not have them anymore so its hedgefunds only. But even these vary vastly in quality. I know desks that would make 2-3 million a day net with very shitty hardware and patchwork system with lowlevel to mediocore guys working on it. And brilliant guys whom struggled (talking tier 1 guys, PHd MIT, princeton).
So its a strange game and I would recommend going into a trading role into a medium level shop. Whats important is a good team and having a good vibe with the people you will work with.
Trading is high stress and high emotion business so for your sanity in the long term its more important to work with good people rather than a top tier shop in the beginning.
Tech types are getting a little arrogant, out of touch, self-absorbed and judgmental these days too. Getting people to click on ads or privatizing all their personal info in an insecure social network ain't God's work any more than taking companies public, developing the infrastructure for pension funds etc. to invest. And if you'd rather subvert the Constitution than say, help people allocate their savings, or reform the financial system, then your priorities need re-examining.
If working in porn and for the NSA are in the same category of morality for you, you've got problems. Same if you think destroying consitutional/human rights is preferable to making money in a questionable way.
Anyway back to main subject. Risk jobs are easy to land and you can learn TONS or nothing interesting. Every shop has Risk integrated at different levels. Some shops its a backoffice type job where the risk guys are in the back seat (and this is the dominant case actually 8/10 I'd say). And rarely in places like BNP will you sit on the trading floor and have more power than traders. Yes traders will actually fear you... Rather than vice versa where Traders that are making money are big swinging dicks doing whatever they want (this is still the case at most shops).
I started quant trading by chance when some guys running an arb blackbox were started constantly loosing money and were working late hours. I gave them a hand fixed a few bugs and word quickly spread. Next opening they offered me a position and I did an internal transfer...
After I went to managing a portfolio (2 years after). And successfully did that for 4 more years.
The summary is this. Quant Trading roles actually come in tones of flavors.
Banks have option desks and in the recruiters will call these "quant trading roles". Hell, for all they know there is complex math involved and 'quant' sounds sophisticated. Truth is all option traders are proficient and calculus and derivatives to the point good traders are able to calculate pretty accurate 2nd orders in their head. And the tools available are also vast.
But this is not a 'quant trading role'.
A true 'quant' role is what some institutions have in house 'quant' teams that manage all the pricing models and libs.
A 'true' quant trading role is stat-arb or some other arb strategy desk or similar type of strategy. Most banks do not have them anymore so its hedgefunds only. But even these vary vastly in quality. I know desks that would make 2-3 million a day net with very shitty hardware and patchwork system with lowlevel to mediocore guys working on it. And brilliant guys whom struggled (talking tier 1 guys, PHd MIT, princeton).
So its a strange game and I would recommend going into a trading role into a medium level shop. Whats important is a good team and having a good vibe with the people you will work with.
Trading is high stress and high emotion business so for your sanity in the long term its more important to work with good people rather than a top tier shop in the beginning.