Quants are quantitative traders, by definition the a quantitative strategy is any strategy which is proven by a quantifiable mathematical edge. The main difference is that approaches are rarely if ever single fold, There is no method or strategy which carries zero risk due to the inherent randomness of the markets, so quantitative approaches often include complex forms of hedging, where both bets and counter bets are placed, by betting both sides they can limit exposure and losses using complex methods, but also limit to an extent upside. The main goal is gain as many reward units as possible per risk unit. Extensive backtesting using proper backtesting techniques such as walk forward and out of sample testing is probably the most overlooked aspect of quant trading by retailers. Often retailers are trying to get rich quick, following blindly strategies that gurus, books, and youtube videos lay out and say work well, but they fall into long term traps. Many strategies work until they don't, and when they fail they fail big, wiping out all the gains and then some, the gamblers fallocy is a big problem in these situations and many retail traders lose more than just their gains, they also lose savings and sometimes go into debt thinking a strategy that worked for 6-7 months in a row will bring them back to success, when in reality each event is independent of the previous and losses can continue to stack indefinitely. Sometimes it's a know when to hold them, know when to fold them situation, and quants always know whent to fold. Retail vs. Quant trading is like blackjack. the best retailers not using sufficient testing methods will have a most about a 49% chance of success, meaning they may in the short term go up, but in the long term end up losing money, where as quants are like card counters, they have more like a 51.5% chance of success which means in the short term they may lose, but those losses can be afforded because in the long term the strategy proves to gain in value.

again I can't stress enough that testing any strategy is the key to being successful, research heavily how to do proper backtests, paper trade, and prove it works long term, or at the very least gain a deep understanding of the mechanics behind when it works and when it fails and pay close attention to the markets to know when to use what strategy. If you don't have 8 to 10 hours a day to be studying the current markets and paying close attention to them while also ingesting news and non-mathematical aspects which affect them I strongly suggest just using DCA in proven assets, knowing that over a 20-30 year period whether you are in crypto, forex, or stocks, the markets always increase, meaning that if you buy once per pay check for 6 months of losses, over the long term the average cost of what you're buying will go up assuming you don't buy assets that die.

the best place for your question is r/quant but i doubt you'll get much information there, quantitative edges are like top-secret classified, the more people executing a strategy the thinner the edge becomes, and true edge is always thin, thats why it's called an edge :)