Career Advice at University College of London, Mathematics Department.

UCL Mathematics, London, Jan 2014

•  B.Tech. Computer Science. IIT-‐Bombay.

•  Ph.D. Algorithmic Algebra. USC, Los Angeles.

•  VP. Quant Strategist. Goldman Sachs, NY.

• Managing Director. Morgan Stanley.

•  Founder. ZLemma.com (A Tech Startup)

•  Emphasis on “caliber” versus “skills”

•  Innovations require strong math foundations

•  Ability to abstract and generalize •  Versatility in hard skills is highly valued

•  Statistical Learning •  Stochastic Modeling

•  Numerical Optimization

•  Data Design and Algorithms

•  Functional Programming

• Derivatives Trader • Trading Desk Quant Strategist

• Derivatives Modeler, Statistical Modeler

• Algorithmic Trading Quant

• Analytics Developer

•  Regulations have reshaped the industry •  Compensation levels down but still high

•  Engineers are thriving in quant finance • Markets turning increasingly electronic

• More emphasis on vanilla trading businesses

•  Boom in Tech, particularly in Silicon Valley

•  Compensation levels are growing fast

•  Big Data is the new buzz

•  Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon

•  Are Tech jobs boring?

• Do you enjoy Continuous Math?

• Depth versus Breadth • Office environment and Colleagues

• Compensation

• Location

•  The Mathematician tag follows you J

•  Learning curve actually gets steeper •  Acquire versatility in skills and personality •  Associate with people different than you

•  You can figure it out objectively •  Don’t look at Compensation and Titles

•  Introspect on your Skills and your Interests •  Think Career, not Jobs

• Appetite for Volatility •  <Market, Product, Team>

•  Funding • Advisors •  Passion

• One-‐pager with precise education/work details

•  Links to LinkedIn, Stackexchange, Github …

•  Reflection of your communication skills/style

•  Less drama, more objectivity

•  State your international exposure, if any

•  Represent your abilities clearly and accurately •  Typically, a large and diverse set of interviewers

•  Flood of puzzles/programming/math problems

•  Tough Qs in your claimed areas of expertise

•  Evaluation of your communication and attitude

•  Zlemma.com evaluates your profile in great detail

•  Zlemma Quotient (ZQ) – your suitability for a job •  ZQ is a score out of 100 for a specific job

•  Apply for high-‐ZQ jobs of interest to you

•  Jobs ranging from Quant Finance to Big Data Tech

•  Tune in to: blog.zlemma.com

• Write to: [email protected] for advice

• Our app is your friend: zlemma.com

Career Advice at University College of London, Mathematics Department.

Career

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