Entry-Level Positions For Aspiring Quantitative Strategists
Entry-level positions in quantitative finance and AI for undergraduates include "quant machine learning researcher" roles prioritizing technical skills over specific degree type, and AI/ML-focused positions such as machine learning engineer or data scientist; however, the latter title's scope varies widely, so careful consideration of specific job descriptions is crucial, as Trevor's experience starting as a data scientist shows.
Machine Learning, Quantitative Finance, Data Science, AI Technology, Entry-Level Positions
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
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Traits
Trevor Richardson
Managing Director, Quantitative Strategies
O Asset Management
Arizona State University
M.S. Computer Science at Arizona State University
Engineering - Industrial
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing), Technology
Data and Analytics
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Entry-level positions in quant finance are available for those with strong technical skills in areas like physics or STEM, regardless of degree level. The roles often involve quant machine learning or research.
2. AI/ML-focused roles such as machine learning engineer, data scientist, and machine learning research engineer are common entry points. These roles vary in technical depth; data scientist can be a very generalist role, while AI scientist typically requires a PhD.
3. Consider the specific job description carefully when applying for entry-level positions, as titles can be broad and the responsibilities can vary widely. For example, not all data science roles involve deep learning technologies.
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
I didn't start out wanting to be in finance; the finance bug bit me later. I'll separate this into two bins: one purely on the AI tech side, and the other on the finance side.
In finance, the really entry-level positions are called quant machine learning or quant machine learning researcher. Usually, they're looking for very smart, capable people. Honestly, this is a great thing about finance: they don't care as much about your degree level as they do about your technical skills. I found that to be true.
Those positions are looking for highly skilled technical people. You could be in physics or any STEM field, but if you show those capabilities in ML and a passion for quant finance, those entry-level positions are for you.
On the pure AI ML side, you'll find roles like machine learning engineer, data scientist, machine learning research engineer, AI scientist, ML scientist, and DL scientist. That last one, with just "scientist" in the title, most often requires a PhD.
The ML engineer is looking for someone who really understands AI technology but is also more of an applied person. I would have most classically fit into that camp when I was looking for jobs after my master's.
Data scientists can cover a whole realm of things. It can be anything as sophisticated as AI science, and I've met data scientists with very sophisticated jobs. It can also be someone who's not very technical at all, making it a more generalist title. You can find data science jobs all over the place.
That was my first job title, and it was a fabulous job that I loved. However, it encompasses a wide range of meanings. So, you have to be careful and look at the specifics. I really wanted to work in deep learning technology, and not every data science job does that.
Then there's the machine learning research engineer. That's someone who has probably published a little more, not quite at the PhD level, but is really going to be building the research prototype systems for a group of scientists. I saw some cool jobs at IBM with that title when I was coming out of my master's and applying to them. It really looked like the role I would have played was the glue between many of their more theoretical scientists, making those ideas come to life. That looked like a really cool gig.
I would say those are the job titles for entry-level positions.