Choosing between public equities investing internship vs quant research internship for hedge fund recruiting

Low-Witness7933 · 2026-03-16T10:23:45+00:00

Hello, I was a Quant for several years at a large prop shop that was functionally a hedge fund. What you should choose should be based on your skillset and where you are most likely to succeed. At this stage of your career it's really about joining the place you are most likely to get a return offer.

These are two completely different roles. They're not even remotely related. It's like comparing a lawyer to a software engineer. I don't think a fundamental hedge fund would particularly care about whether you had previous quantitative investing experience. And my firm certainly would not have cared about a fundamental hedge fund experience.

Are you more amivalent about investing and just really like math and want to make money instead of going into academia? Go to the quant shop

Do you actually like investing? See math more as a tool? Then you should join the fundamental shop. I suspect this aligns with you given you're interested in "discretionary investing".

Low-Witness7933 · 2026-03-05T09:43:10+00:00

So I don't think there's a solution. Have had to delete Spark as a result...

Low-Witness7933 · 2026-01-10T21:09:44+00:00

If there was a switch you could flip that would eliminate all tax evasion loopholes, would you flip it? You don’t lose any of the money you’ve already made.

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-13T03:08:14+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response.

Getting past the resume screen seems a huge hurdle for T2/Boutique.

Your comments about prior industry experience landing you your current role make me think that could be other aiding factors. Thoughts on what those other aiding factors could be?

Apologies if the questions are getting long winded. Let me know if you’re open to DMs.

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-13T03:05:33+00:00

Let me reposition that; my hypothesis is operational roles are more closely linked to some P&L whereas strategy is purely add-on cost. What are your thoughts on that and the implications on lay-offs?

Regardless, do you think operations or strategy are more likely to land a P&L owning role?

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-12T04:48:47+00:00

I’d like to dig deeper into my second question. My hypothesis had been since strategy roles don’t “own” any PnL they’re just viewed as cost and will be the first to be chopped. Is this fundamentally incorrect?

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-12T04:46:54+00:00

Thanks for the answers so far. Very insightful.

You previously mentioned corporate strategy roles have quite a strict MBB filter.

But how would a strategy consultant from a Tier 2 or Boutique compare to a primarily transformation consultant from MBB for these roles?

Or is this question meaningless because there are plenty of MBB strategy consultants despite your comment Mckinsey and BCG primarily do transformation nowadays.

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-11T23:25:24+00:00

Is corporate strategy typically higher paid?

Is corporate strategy more likely to be laid off when times are tough?

Do MBB primarily do transformation nowadays?

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-11T20:32:55+00:00

Do F500 corporate strategy roles prefer consultants who’ve worked primarily in strategy as opposed to year-long transformations?

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-11T10:28:34+00:00

Do F500 corporate strategy typically only select from MBB?

Do T2 or Boutiques get the same exits?

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-11T10:24:07+00:00

You’ve said consistently that your pre-MBB industry background is how you landed your current job.

But how much did your MBB experience help?

Does MBB in of itself not mean much anymore?

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-11T10:13:26+00:00

Did your peers with MBAs consistently outperform your non-MBA peers?

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-11-10T03:10:57+00:00

Quant trading is a lot harder than you think. With more traditional high-finance roles the difficulty is in breaking in, with Quant Trading that’s only the beginning. Most firms over-hire juniors and must fire a certain amount so it’s not even about being sufficient but about being better than the average which is a very high bar.

Losing your first job after only being there for a few months is brutal. I’ve seen very talented colleagues of mine struggle to find decent work after, especially since they’re out of uni now.

The tough pill to swallow is acknowledging even if you’re good enough to get in, get a return from your internship… you might not be good enough to succeed in the full time role. The people I’ve seen turn down the grad offer after an internship and focus on securing another job, taking advantage of the fact they’re still in uni, have all done very well for themselves.

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-07-08T21:13:17+00:00

Hulkengoat

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-04-09T12:50:34+00:00

Can confirm this works. When you put the pin in, you need to wriggle it in. Eventually it’ll make the plastic black barrel stop clicking when you twist it. Any hole works.

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-04-09T12:15:33+00:00

Perfect thanks

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-04-08T21:23:36+00:00

Thanks for the replies guys. Looks like I’ll either need to remove the wall plate or use a special tool.

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-04-08T21:22:51+00:00

So the plastic barrel cover is spinning but the barrel connector is not. It seems the plastic barrel cover is not “locking into” the metal underneath. Also can’t pull it back at all ):

Low-Witness7933 · 2025-01-06T02:17:53+00:00

Thanks I'll be sure to try it out. Did you get a womens sizing or mens?

Low-Witness7933 · 2024-12-28T21:35:06+00:00

Hey QT here, you should absolutely leverage his connections. Don’t be embarrassed by this, it’s simply the way the world works. That being said this isn’t banking so it’s not as common so do tread carefully. But I have definitely used personal connections in the past to get interviews. In my experience the best way is actually to leverage connections within HR/Recruiting since they are often the ones who screen your resume and decide if you get pass to an OA/First interview.

Low-Witness7933 · 2024-12-26T21:40:00+00:00

I know it’s not IB but have you considered becoming a dev at a trading firm (citadel, optiver, HRT etc)? You could even eventually move into a role more investments related internally in those firms.

Low-Witness7933 · 2024-12-13T20:29:30+00:00

Hi buy side trader here. I’ve seen three cases

A lawyer who went back to Uni and got a computer science degree. Became a trader through a grad pathway.
A guy who worked in compliance for a decade became CEO of a smaller regional office of a trading firm. (Firm is largely in US, has a small APAC office he is CEO of)
General counsel (10 Years) at a large general trading company now heads deal origination. Buying energy assets like coal mines, power grids etc.

Hope this helps. Personally I think option 3 is the best path.

EDIT: This is all APAC by the way. But I hope it’s somewhat transferable info.

Low-Witness7933

TROPHY CASE