Finishing Undergrad & Unsure where to go

[ajguerrero]

I am graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a BS in Physics & Minor in Statistics this June. I didn't do my grad school applications this past year because I was unsure of what I wanted to do exactly. During my last year I became interested in going into Quant. Finance and then learned graduate school (either MS or PhD) is the way to go. I've taken some stochastic calculus, and am currently in a Math Finance class which is basically just Black-Scholes. I am looking to get whatever jobs are available to an undergrad with my qualifications in the field of finance before applying to graduate school this coming fall, and starting grad school in the fall of 09.
I'm not at all sure what my options are for finding a job, and what I should be expecting in the job market. I guess I'm just looking for some direction on where to look, and if anyone could share some similar experiences. Any help is appreciated. Cheers

[quantiativefinancemasters]

Originally Posted by ajguerrero

I am graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a BS in Physics & Minor in Statistics this June. I didn't do my grad school applications this past year because I was unsure of what I wanted to do exactly. During my last year I became interested in going into Quant. Finance and then learned graduate school (either MS or PhD) is the way to go. I've taken some stochastic calculus, and am currently in a Math Finance class which is basically just Black-Scholes. I am looking to get whatever jobs are available to an undergrad with my qualifications in the field of finance before applying to graduate school this coming fall, and starting grad school in the fall of 09.
I'm not at all sure what my options are for finding a job, and what I should be expecting in the job market. I guess I'm just looking for some direction on where to look, and if anyone could share some similar experiences. Any help is appreciated. Cheers

Thinking about graduate school as early as possible is definately a key to your success in the future. You have the perfect undergraduate degree combination to get into quantiatative finance, so right now you should focus on securing an internship (paid/unpaid) at a major investment bank, hedge fund, or broker. The problem is that most of the training programs recruit early, so now as you plan to start looking for opportunities, many intern/trainee programs may have already been filled. On the other hand you could find a good recruiter who will make the right introductions. You may wish to actually relocate to New York City, Chicago, or Boston for a semester or a summer (e.g. whatever time your college will permit for a indepth internship.) Besides obtaining your first job in finance, I suggest you plan to take the GRE as well as the GRE-Mathematics Subject Test. Feel free to PM me or review my website which has tons of resources for applicants to Graduate Study Programs in QF.