r/quantindia

I wanted to get some insights from people who have participated in or are familiar with the recruitment process during the finals of IICPC CodeFest and QuantFest.

• How competitive is the selection during finals compared to regular campus placements?
• Do companies conduct interviews on the spot, or is it more like shortlisting + later rounds?
• Any idea about the typical packages offered?
• Also, how much does performance in the contest itself influence recruitment chances?

Would really appreciate any firsthand experiences or advice on how to prepare specifically for these events.

Thanks!

Hello everyone!!

I recently accepted an offer to join the first-ever undergraduate batch at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B) for their new BSc (Hons) in Data Science and Economics.

Just to let you know how competitive was to get accepted at IIM Bangalore. There were ~12000 candidates and only 80 people got accepted.

My absolute end goal is to break into Quant Trading / Research at top-tier prop shops or HFTs (Jane Street, Tower, Optiver, Graviton, etc.).

IIM Bangalore's prestige comes entirely from its MBA program, and it's a massive target school for high finance and MBB consulting in India. As an undergrad in a new program, I won't have senior classmates, defined placement stats, or guaranteed access to the target HFT firms. I recognize that I have to work extra hard to develop an off-campus placement profile that is competitive with the IIT Computer Science graduates.

I want to create a unique 4-year roadmap for my studies and gain as much insight possible from you. So, please let me know your honest opinions.

1. Coursework & Self-Study:

I see the syllabus focuses on Probability, Stochastic Processes, Game Theory, and Econometrics. What are the prerequisites that are usually overlooked to interview for Quant Researcher that I would need to self-study?

2. The Tech Stack (QR vs. QD):

I have most of my programming background in Python. Should I switch my focus to C++ and really dive into Operating Systems and low-latency architecture, or is having elite Python and Data Science enough to allow me to enter as a Researcher?

3. Getting Through the "IIT CS" Filter:

It is very common for HFTs in India to recruit from the top-tier IIT CS. Given this, how can I use the IIM Bangalore brand name to avoid the HR prohibitively low bar, and get off-campus interviews? Is cold-emailing really a viable option for undergraduates in this area?

4. Profile Building:

When it comes to trying to improve a resume for a freshman or sophomore, is there anything beyond just brushing up your skills on Leetcode in the Hard section and Brainteasers (the Green book, etc.) that focuses on the most important aspects? Should I prioritize participating in Kaggle competitions, Citadel Datathons, independently trying to create trading algorithms, or contributing to open-source projects that involve writing quant libraries?

5. Internships:

When it comes to planning my freshman and sophomore summer internships, what are the ideal options? What would you recommend for my first year to role me into year 3 the best? For example, is taking a quant role not directly offered more advantageous than accepting a SWE role at a tech company versus a Data Analyst position at a bank?

The road to get from a new degree to a prop shop is very steep from a non-traditional background so I would very much appreciate any resources, reality checks, or advice that you could give me.

Thank you.

Hi! I'm a student from India currently starting my Msc degree in mathematics from a 2nd gen IIT(either ropar or patna haven't selected preference yet)

I'm not *very* familiar with probability/stat (we had 2 papers in undergrad), I'm comfortable enough with python, I'm good with problem solving(I used to do math olympiads), I have a 5 month period before my classes start and wanted to make the most of it. I was recommended Introduction to statistical learning by a senior, but lookin online a lot of people have been recommending

Introduction to Probability by Blitzstein & Hwang and

Statistical Inference by Casella & Berger

What is a good point to start if I also wanna polish my python alongside this, I'm very new to quant but from what I've seen would want to be a quant researcher.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank you!

Whats the best bank to make a new account.

maximizing perks for IITian + quant salary etc