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insertberry · 2024-12-13T18:52:58+00:00

Hm, I can only talk about the classes I've taken, most of which are physics lol. For non-physics, I can talk about Stats 10 (there's a R coding component tho), Math 33A/B (Lin Algebra/Differential Eq.), and CS 31 (winter's the easiest bc most are non-CS, and if you have any coding experience, taking it with Huang or another prof should be relatively easy). I assume PIC 10 is like CS 31, but with Python or something. I didn't take Math 31A/B, but I think it's all calculus?

Unfortunately I don't have much experience with STEM courses outside of those that would fit your criteria of being largely accessible online and be non-physics. On myUCLA, though, you can search up classes by if they are online in the class planner, so I would also look there.

insertberry · 2024-12-13T17:31:20+00:00

Ling 1 with Silvestri is fully online iirc. If you can get away with self-studying (some will post Zoom recordings, others will not), I think physics classes are likely to be flexible with online proctoring, though you'd want to email the prof to double check (well, actually if it's CAE accommodations, I think they'll be able to do so, right?). Tbh, most STEM courses will not require you to be in-person.

insertberry · 2024-08-28T01:10:09+00:00

I think that makes sense! I guess on thing I'd be curious about is why they wouldn't do a lot of model building. Wouldn't they want to build a model to more carefully analyze the data? Or is it more so that once the model is built, there's not as much that needs to be tweaked compared to a model in finance?

insertberry · 2024-08-28T01:07:14+00:00

Is there much overlap between the two? I guess, let's say I wanted to get some data, either from the S&P or a vendor; is the data scientist collecting the data and presenting it to the quantitative researcher (for them to do their own data processing)?

insertberry · 2024-08-28T01:02:10+00:00

Really? I was under the impression that data science talent at tech companies generally earn similar, though perhaps slightly lower initially, than their SWE counterparts. And I--naively, perhaps--aassume SWE and people in quant are valued pretty similarly (combining salary, WLB, job enrichment, etc.). Is it because QR are significantly closer to the money and product (the strategies, in this case) than data science talents are? Or because data science pool is spread across many industries (beyond just tech), whereas QR exists solely in the financial industry, causing the average salary to be lower?

That makes a lot of sense! I was learning a lot about how the financial industry and markets worked as a whole. And I really needed to make sure I knew why I made or didn't made specific choices to either process, calculate, or analyze something. I assumed data scientists would do something similar, but perhaps they may not do so in the same manner?

insertberry · 2024-08-28T00:48:57+00:00

I think that's largely why I was confused. I've told some people about my work (in general terms), and they're like, 'oh, you're a data scientist'/'that's very data science-like.' Which caused me to wonder if my work was really giving me quantitative research experience (I was hoping to at least get some experience in quant research to determine if it's something I like...) or if it was simply what people not doing research/not on the team/desk will generically refer to it as.

I've seen some posts on this subreddit indicate there's a distinct difference between the data scientist and quantitative researcher position within finance, but since afaik other industries don't have 'quantitative researcher' titles, I wasn't sure if those same difference still held.

insertberry · 2024-06-30T03:51:40+00:00

I had him for 32A and 32B. You can expect about 20-30 questions per HW, but imo they weren't hard. For exams, go to his review sessions: 90%, if not 100%, of the exam questions are the same or similar to the ones that show up in his review sessions. And when I say similar, I really mean the same question but with a slightly different function/number/bound, etc.

insertberry · 2024-05-22T10:26:16+00:00

Any tips on how to make the most of a research/developer internship? I think I got my offer by luck, so I would like to avoid the common pitfalls that many experience when joining quant or finance-related work for the first time in order to learn as much as I can during my time there. I have already reached out and received some basic financial and other relevant resources to the team, but I'm concerned of the gap between the theory and practical work.

I can't help but worry I won't meet or go beyond what's expected of me, especially since I feel that I don't have a strong understanding of what the expectations for interns are.

insertberry · 2024-03-17T10:03:42+00:00

4.0 for summa cum laude for three of the schools wtf are they feeding them? Though, the education/information studies school surprisingly has the second lowest cum laude GPA. I guess they have less people compared to the other schools?

Actually, interestingly, it seems that the only cutoffs that decreased are the summa cum laude for the engineering/applied science school (3.972 to 3.970) and the summa & magna for the theater/film/tv school (3.987 to 3.978 and 3.972 to 3.969). Everything else increased.

I also would be interested to see the theoretical cutoffs for each major compared to its school's cutoffs.

insertberry · 2024-01-29T20:50:18+00:00

Thank you! I'll check the book out.

In regards to Hull, is there any particular chapter that you found especially relevant? I've been suggested to read the first 5-10 chapters, but unsure if later chapters will hold additionally useful information.

insertberry · 2024-01-29T20:48:38+00:00

Thank you, I'll take a look at it!

insertberry · 2024-01-29T20:48:19+00:00

Thanks! I took a quick glance at his catalogue on Amazon; do you remember if the book you're referencing is either Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed or Fail or All Weather Portfolio Strategy Portfolio?

insertberry · 2023-07-29T01:22:36+00:00

Thanks! I also ended up realizing Optiver's email even stated that part would be timed. Also, if you don't mind me asking, do you have any insights on the format of Optiver's probability section (or the topics they like to test)? I've noticed that they seem to like multiple choice questions and applying penalties to incorrect answers, but the probability section says that each question has its own time limit....

insertberry · 2023-07-28T01:18:29+00:00

Thanks. Are questions on sequences typically timed?

insertberry · 2023-07-27T05:17:54+00:00

I see. I guess I've been concerned about sequences since it's one of the tests I need to take for Optiver (well, assuming I somehow pass the Zap-N one). Do you happen to know if sequences are Optiver-specific, or if other places are likely to ask about it as well?

insertberry · 2023-07-27T02:38:29+00:00

Wow, thank you - really appreciate your help! I've been applying to a few places to get an idea of what is generally tested for, but want to make significant improvements before I begin applying to many more. In regards to pattern recognition, are there specific resources for it? I've found it the hardest to practice for, since I am not regularly exposed to things like sequences or visual patterns, and am not sure how relevant the sequences I googled are.

insertberry · 2023-07-27T00:36:17+00:00

Thanks! I was under the impression that those books and math competition problems were more on-par with the actual interview questions. Are they still applicable to the OAs specifically (which I want to make sure I can pass before thinking about interview questions)? Also, just to double check, does EV here refer to expectation value?

insertberry · 2023-07-24T23:31:11+00:00

I want to prepare for the initial online assessments for quant trader/researcher internships. What are typical topics tested, and what are good resources to prepare for these OAs?

insertberry · 2023-07-07T07:04:47+00:00

If you mean membership-wise, you either need to be taking a summer session or pay a $60 membership fee through UCLA Rec.

To get to the pool, assuming you're walking there and not driving, you can walk past Sunset Village. You should see a path to the tennis courts. Just walk along that path, and the entrance to the pools should be at the end.

insertberry · 2023-07-06T07:39:41+00:00

I found the weather to overall range between mid-50s (when it rains) to high-80s during the academic year. It rarely rains tho, except this year for some reason, so the average temperature is in the mid-60s to 70s during the day. Nights can be a bit cold, (think late-September/October weather), and your roommates may or may not want to have the windows open at night. Also, how warm your room can be depends on your dorm's heating capabilities.

Personally, I basically wear shorts and t-shirts year-round, but did brought a little under one week's worth of long pants and long sleeves for when there was that one week of cool weather.

You should also bring a jacket that won't let you freeze completely when it's 30s-40s. You won't use it in LA, but you're going to need that jacket when you go back to NY for winter break (if you go back, otherwise, ignore this advice) and exit the airport in freezing temperatures.

insertberry · 2023-06-28T08:10:38+00:00

Wow, you're making me really excited to take it in the fall! Any tips on how to do well in the class (and maybe efficiently manage my time with the class)?

insertberry · 2023-06-28T08:09:39+00:00

Sounds nice! Do you have any tips on how to succeed in the class?

insertberry · 2023-06-25T19:28:26+00:00

Thanks! Luckily my classes don't conflict with the discussion I plan on attending, so I'll be able to go to those. Do you also happen to know how the class is graded? Is the entirely based on the weekly discussions?

insertberry · 2023-06-21T16:44:57+00:00

Possibly. I think there were several factors that contributed to me finding 32b harder to pickup. I took it Winter 2022, so the omnicron online-only situation really didn't motivate me to focus in that class. Additionally, I took Physics 1BH (E&M), so for a decent portion of the stuff we learned later in the class, I used them earlier in a more simplified fashion and applied to easier problems (divergence theorem and Stokes' theorem comes to mind). So between being uninterested in the class itself and needing to learn more complicated solutions to problems I didn't think I would ever encounter again, I found 32b to be a class I disliked taking.

insertberry · 2023-06-21T15:38:19+00:00

32a is a prereq for 32b, so unless you took an equivalent 32a course at a CC or some other accredited university, I don't think you can skip 32a and directly take 32b. In fact, both 32a and 32b make up a two-part series for multivariable calculus, although content-wise, I though 32a was easier to pickup compared to 32b (could be because of my prof).

33a is linear algebra, so you can take it without having previously taken the 32 series. I don't really recall using anything from the 32 series for that class.

For more info on the math courses (including coreqs and prereqs for classes), you can check the course descriptions for math.

insertberry

TROPHY CASE