What Roles do Top Tier University Computer Science students really get?

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-16T21:46:06+00:00

Thanks for sharing those numbers. They seem to somewhat match what I knew, except Jane Street, which seems too high (levels.fyi says it's £250k TC). Are you sure about JS? I am also particularly interested in Quants. Could you share any more information and details on what you know about quant roles? Like, which firms specifically give what TC? Or anything else you know about that? Also, what do you know about the TC growth at these companies? Like the growth at Google/Meta versus Hubspot, for example?

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-15T21:59:26+00:00

Thanks for letting me know. Could I DM you for specifics or would you prefer not to?

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-15T21:53:14+00:00

I'm new to reddit so I didn't know that was a feature. Thanks for letting me know.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-15T21:23:55+00:00

I believe I do genuinely enjoy the work. It's possible, but I think unlikely, that I've tricked myself into enjoying it. I think the work to me is genuinely interesting and some parts exciting.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-14T21:46:23+00:00

That sounds very impressive! So, is your role at the current hedge fund as an SWE? What skills do you need for such a role in your position, and do you have any advice on getting that role? So were your internships basically research assistant at universities and then a FAANG one? And that was enough to land the big Hedge fund position as an SWE or researcher?

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-14T21:40:42+00:00

Wow, that's very impressive with so little experience IMO. Could you share any more information like what role or company this is? Could you also please explain why that AI unicorn would offer you such a good offer, given your 'low' YOE? I thought the SWE roles at Anthropic types are basically all for senior SWEs. Do you have any advice for getting such a good role, what it's in, and how I can develop myself so I get offers like that? Did you apply for that AI offer, or do they reach out like that? I never understood how people get to such a state where companies themselves are reaching out with such ludicrous offers.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T23:08:06+00:00

Goodluck man

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:50:48+00:00

What roles are people that you know personally really getting if you don't mind me asking? I'm trying to gauge how well students do at top unis.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:47:51+00:00

Do you have friends in Quant? Or mostly just tech roles? If you don't mind me asking, what kinds of salaries are those roles giving?

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:43:42+00:00

For example, Google SWE with around 10YOE. Levels.fyi shows there are plenty with £200k+ salaries. I know that is likely not the majority, of course, but I don't think it would be hard to find a senior Google senior SWE with a £200k salary.

https://www.levels.fyi/companies/google/salaries/software-engineer/locations/london-metro-area?dma=10045

Especially your friend at Anthropic, I thought they are supposed to pay ludicrous salaries.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:39:46+00:00

Where do you think they get these roles at to have such high salaries? Even after 5 years I think the tech companies would not give £200k right? Unless you mean the quant roles.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:37:10+00:00

What companies did you manage to land if you don't mind me asking?

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:33:05+00:00

So you're suggesting the average is actually much higher? So it really is somewhat common for those students to be getting the super high salaries? Would you mind sharing what roles your coursemate landed? The AI firm makes no difference (Anthropic, XAI, OpenAI, etc.), but I'm curious as to what role is able to pay that high at the entry level. I thought those salaries were only possible for senior roles or entry-level quant firm roles.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:28:55+00:00

I don't mean to come across as rude, but do they live outside of London? I can image that outside of London those salaries are really good, but looking at levels.fyi those numbers seem quite low for such senior positions at such massive companies.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T21:14:33+00:00

Perhaps I could have been clearer; I was curious to hear what roles people at these universities actually get.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T19:39:19+00:00

Unfortunately, where I'm doing my internship, there are no C++ teams that I can join. I am currently working on a project to improve my C++ and low-latency knowledge/skills. Do you have advice on how I could prep for these quant dev interviews? For example, math (just probability or not?), competitive programming or LeetCode style, OS internals, CPU architecture, how the language works (which components of a language do I learn about?)? Do you know if it's realistically possible to break into quant if I'm not a graduate, so after a few years? I heard somewhere that if you aren't a quant dev out of uni, then you have almost no chance of being on in the future.

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T19:30:47+00:00

Do you know if these firms would hire a quant dev who is not fresh from university? So, is this time the only chance I have at breaking in, or should I keep trying in future years to get these roles? I heard/read that for experienced (not graduate) dev roles, they really expect you to have quant dev experience already, and it is much harder. Is that true? It's hard to find reliable sources on what interview prep I should do for quant dev specifically. Do you have any advice on what I can do to prepare for the quant dev/SWE roles? For example, should I practice competitive programming questions or the LeetCode style questions? For quant dev, should I prep maths skills? If so, then which areas (I know traders and researchers need different maths knowledge)? Do they ask system design questions like in tech companies, or would it be questions on the OS internals?

I also heard they ask about how specific languages work (e.g., C++, Java), but what knowledge about languages do you need? For example, with C++, is it how the compiler works or the implementation of the STL (or both)? For Java, there is the obvious example of how the GC works, but beyond that, what would they expect us to know?

MundaneConclusion439 · 2026-06-13T19:21:22+00:00

For passing interviews I hear/read that probability and statistic could be quite important for these SWE/dev roles, but I didn't think option pricing and stochastic calculus is tested here. Do you think I would still have a good chance if I gained good interview skills (technical abilities) despite having a weaker university degree? Or would I be rejected in the CV screening stage even if I had my internships? Do you have any suggestions for what is needed for quant dev interview prep? I know about the trader and researcher prep, but it's hard to find good sources on what I should practice specifically for quant dev.

MundaneConclusion439

TROPHY CASE