What Programming Language For Trading Jobs ?
- Thread starter Fundlord
- Start date
For the people suggesting assembly for speed....do you actually know of anyone still writing assembly? C/C++ compilers are pretty damn good these days....if you really need speed, you probably need an FPGA....so learn VHDL
Is VHDL the predominant language for FPGA use in finance or is Verilog also used (I've never used Verilog).
I actually know C, C++ (too many people list C/C++ as though they're the same -- they are not and I know the differences as I learned C years before C++), assembly, and VHDL and am actively trying to find a job with a HFT firm (or possibly a MM). Even at age 33 with years of experience (taught myself C and assembly while in HS to join some software cracking groups), and happen to know someone rather well who worked in HFT, I think I'm going to have a difficult time. How a student without any experience with these sorts of things can get such a job is a mystery to me unless it's just writing software to run reports, compliance, or testing strategies offline rather than production use.
Could not agree more. Almost feels like as if web browsing and facebooking is nowadays seen by youngsters as a special skill.
The issue I see with someone who actually has the technical abilities to handle the job is that with the flood of applications these companies get, how does one even get noticed? I mean I have the advantage of being long time friends with someone who is relatively well known in the industry and I know someone who is friends with a recruiter at a HFT firm, but even with this, I think it's going to be a challenge. This is an incredibly competitive industry and I think even many people on this forum don't realize how competitive it is (at least in HFT world). I have a pretty good idea, but even I may be surprised if I ever get in to it.
As for the OP, not already knowing a programming language is setting him back from other students applying for internships. Learn sooner rather than later as each year that goes by is a year you're going to be at a disadvantage.
I interviewed with a couple of these firms, trying to do the same thing (I'm a senior software engineer in a different industry). And I really got the impression they'd rather hire young, cheap, and impressionable than experienced with a price premium. Also seems like all there developers do is data feed handling anyway..... At the end of the day, If you're a profecient software guy... I think you're better off in a different industry or doing it on your own.
That was all along my point but I apparently said it in a too rude way to be acceptable way for some of the more sensitive members. Boy when I started out as associate in exotic rates derivs I was yelled at and literally had to fetch sandwiches for months while rotating at the swaps and govies desks. But who cares I got in that is all I cared about. A top uni is pretty much a must to get noticed nowadays, top grades should not even have to be mentioned. Multiple internships, references,...
If you get unnoticed then I would aim for interesting internships or start out in a less competitive department and make an internal move later. You seem to have the right attitude, am pretty sure you will find something in case you are looking. Good luck
If you get unnoticed then I would aim for interesting internships or start out in a less competitive department and make an internal move later. You seem to have the right attitude, am pretty sure you will find something in case you are looking. Good luck
Last edited:
I'm proficient with both hardware design and software. To do true HFT requires paying for NJ<->Chi microwave network access. The people on these forums that think their 10ms time frames are HFT are kidding themselves. Unfortunately I don't have enough $ saved to be able to afford the monthly infrastructure expenses. I know of a HFT start up run by very experienced people in Chicago that is less than 10 people, so it doesn't take a lot of people to make this happen, but it does take a lot of capital.
And with a single regulatory change you might be out of business as well and completely write off your investment.
Bang on. They're cheaper, they learn faster and they are more flexible.
A 23 year old is happy to go home after 7pm, read a few technical blogs and prototype some code for tomorrow.
A 33 year old is happy to go home about 6pm, mull over the day's work on the journey but once in the house has other things (husband/wife/TV) to take their attention.
A 43 year old is bitter if they leave any later than 5pm and they forget anything work related the moment they walk out the door.
Programming is not the specialist skill it once was. Many of the old timers have a real problem grasping this. There is now a huge number of very competent new and recent graduates competing for a limited pool of jobs.