What college majors are best for trading (and are favored by trading firms)?

Play lots of video games, and put it on your resume. Seriously. Our office hired a professional Quake player who traveled around winning tournaments, and he turned out to be one of the better traders.

Being able to efficiently digest real time data, crunch your risk/reward, and slam down size with instinct and conviction has alot to do with gaming.

I've also know a guy who came on from professional poker playing.

As for me, I have an EE bachelors, and its been nothing but helpful in structuring my trades in terms of probabilities.
 
My recommendation would be math + comp sci. If that is a bit "to" quantitative i would say economics heavy on stats and game theory.

I think the advice about studying finance and psychology misses the mark. While many trading firms absolutely try to model behavior the mathematical basis for most of their thinking comes from game theory not pop. psychology.

Look at open HF and prop. trading positions on recruiting websites. Most require some degree of programming ability.
 
Quote from theDudeAbides:

Call alumni that have the jobs you want and figure it out. If you don't have any contacts, make cold calls. I've done it before and found that many will find a few minutes to tell you about themselves. There's no secret formula here. I would think finance plus a demonstrated proficiency in math and/or computer sciences would work nicely...but, go with what worked for those in prior years and what interests you.
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don't you worry that cold-calling could annoy people and hurt your chances? annoy someone enough and you could even end up informally blacklisted
 
Quote from DataCruncher:

don't you worry that cold-calling could annoy people and hurt your chances? annoy someone enough and you could even end up informally blacklisted
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One or two calls is it. If you don't connect, you run the risk of being annoying. Have something to say, show confidence and be interesting - if you went to the same school, you will find at least a few people that will spend a few minutes with you and give you some helpful guidance.
 
Quote from DataCruncher:

don't you worry that cold-calling could annoy people and hurt your chances? annoy someone enough and you could even end up informally blacklisted
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Nobody ever said you had to use your real name or even phone. Keep a spare email address.

Information is valuable, get it. If you are annoying by asking an innocent question:

1. screw them
2. be polite anyway
3. have respect, don't do it again - there are usually plenty of people/businesses that are happy to give you information if you are interested in them as an investor/employer/supplier/provider/whatever
 
I called a few prop firms Friday and today and I would like to share the results with everyone who is interested.

I ended up calling 15 firms or so while speaking with maybe 5-7 of them.

The first three or four firms I talked to said they are looking for the "right person," "right mind," or someone who is "talented." They said that most majors are acceptable; one of their CEO's was a Russian Studies major.

After asking the firms above which of the majors would be the most attractive, they all replied with finance, economics, engineering (interestingly, they ALL said engineering major was a good candidate for trading), and computer science.

The second-to-last said Finance, and only finance.

The last firm was the most interesting. The man took a good bit of time to speak with me. Immediately, he said a technical background was preferred, but they also look into Finance and Econ majors.

Then, I asked him if he had two equal candidates with one in Finance and one in Comp sci, who would he choose. He said the comp sci easily and added, "you can teach a computer science guy finance, but you can't necessarily teach a finance guy computer science."

I thought I had my answer, but I called back. The receptionist b****ed me out for a minute for just calling to ask questions (only one not happy to help), but when I explained my remaining question she eventually put me on.

I asked, "If I were a finance major, would a self-taught background of java or C++ be acceptable for the technical aspect?"

He replied, 'In an interview, I can't assess your technical or programming background, and if you actually are knowledgeable in the languages. I suppose if you had a particular time or project you could prove you had the skills, but the only real way to know is with the college courses.'

He added that most of the larger firms are looking for computer science, and that a finance major with computer science minor would certainly be very attractive.

Thanks for the help all :)
 
lol you mean all the quants who are hiring lawyers becuase they are afraid of being sued for selling stuff that they didnt quite understand. I would say rather then having a good degree, have a good shoulder on your head, and use common sense, and dont be too greedy.


Quote from gdtrader:

Computer science
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I can't believe that no one has said physics yet.
Physics is the best subject if you want to learn how to think analytically, especially considering how abstract pure maths is becoming. Most financial models are indeed derived from physics, same with most trading systems, although this is often times not entirely apparent.

From an observational standpoint, who has been hired and where?

prop @ BB: math/econ, econ, econ/finance

Quant hedge funds (DE Shaw, Citadel, Bridgewater, etc): CSEE, Math, Physics, occasionally Econ

Prop Shops: Math, Econ, CSEE, Physics, occasionally Engineers

I will also note that:
The prop shop observation is mainly based upon Jane Street, DRW, SIG, and Optiver, all who provide liquidity before taking directional trades.

Finance majors are far more highly desired at your standard prop firm, where more directional trades are being placed and less quantitative ability is needed.

I don't understand psychology as a major. It's a completely worthless degree. You can't learn trading discipline/psych by memorizing a book.
 
At a traditional fund: econ, statistics, comp sci, or applied math. Preferably with a masters.

What they SHOULD be looking for is someone with an Economics major with a Computer Science and Psychology minor/double major.

The Psychology minor is incredibly beneficial, but only when it's paired with a quantitative major.
 
-play poker
-college wrestling (know how it feels it be on your back and get back up after getting slammed, mentally prepares you for anything)
-psych classes
-programming classes C++
-basic business/econ/finance classes. helps understand general finance knowledge.
-network, its not what you know, it is who you know
-bang some hot girls and party your ass off as well, you dont want to look back at college and realized you missed the boat on the main purpose of college. it is like missing a big trade :)
 
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