Many people view quantitative trading as a space dominated by engineering‑minded men. I chose to compete in this demanding field and build real success on my own terms.

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I go by Jessi (pseudonym).

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Undergraduate: University of California, Berkeley

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Master’s: Carnegie Mellon University, Class of 2027

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Majors: Statistics, Data Science, Economics

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Offer: Quant Trading Summer 2026 Internship, IMC Trading Chicago

I was once the youngest Sisyphus.

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I once lived through what felt like a Sisyphean cycle. Growing up in Haidian district, I attended an elite experimental high‑school class. Most things came relatively easily to me, and I maintained solid performance across many areas. For a long time, I felt trapped repeating the same Sisyphean labor: pushing one heavy boulder uphill over and over again, only for it to roll back down once I neared the top.

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By my sophomore year of high school, I became obsessed with philosophy, and this endless cycle began to weigh heavily on me. Repeating this grind had become second nature, yet I started asking bigger questions about purpose and meaning. I was stuck inside a polished loop, and I wanted every step I took to logically move me toward goals I genuinely cared about.

That is when I decided to break out of this pattern and pursue overseas education. While preparing for the TOEFL and SAT exams, I found comfort in clear logic, structured thinking, and measurable feedback. The process felt less like rote memorization and more like making a choice, seeing clear outcomes, and iterating to improve.

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At that point I still knew very little about quantitative trading. Even so, this way of thinking suited my strengths. It was a path where someone with wide‑ranging interests in philosophy, aesthetics, and mathematics could still thrive within a heavily technical community.

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Hitting My First Wall Following the Crowd

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When I entered university, I originally enrolled in philosophy. However, reading large volumes of complex non‑native language texts every week created significant mental strain. I kept philosophy as an intellectual foundation and shifted my focus toward technical subjects that felt more grounded.

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Like many high‑achieving peers around me, I set my sights on investment‑banking applications. Investment banking looked like a standard, prestigious career path. My academic profile seemed qualified enough, and I held broad interests spanning philosophy, music, design, and mathematics.

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During my sophomore‑year recruiting cycle, I tried navigating the whole process on my own. Every single application stopped at the first‑round interview stage.

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Despite these full‑round rejections, I stayed surprisingly calm. Following popular trends was not working for me. What I needed was a structured framework that could help me clarify direction and turn basic competence into strong performance. That was why I decided to join OSG.

Discovering My Fit for Quantitative Trading

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Working with my mentors to systematically explore different finance tracks, I found myself deeply drawn to quantitative trading. It aligned perfectly with two of my favorite university subjects: probability theory and game theory.

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I enjoyed calculating probabilities for different outcomes and reading other people’s thought patterns to build my own strategies. I also loved negotiation‑style games and grew skilled at reading what other participants intended to do.

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This dynamic mix of human psychology, intuition, and structured logical reasoning felt very natural for me. These are exactly the kinds of strengths that strong quant‑trading professionals rely on.

At one point I received an interview invitation from a proprietary trading shop. I fully immersed myself in the conversation. When I worked smoothly through a sequence of math questions, I could see genuine surprise in my interviewer’s expression. In that moment, I realized: I could genuinely succeed as a trader.

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Popular stereotypes picture quant professionals as people who live for coding, wearing flannel shirts and carrying tech‑focused backpacks. My personality and daily interests looked different. I care a great deal about personal style, creative design, and visual aesthetics. These personal interests sit outside typical technical‑industry tropes, and they form part of who I am.

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I do not carry competition medals from math Olympiad contests, and I did not grow up competing in technical tournaments. Even so, I genuinely enjoy solving puzzles, working through reasoning problems, and designing strategies. If I heard an interesting problem while riding the subway, I would automatically start thinking through its underlying mechanics and searching for optimal approaches. Challenging probability problems never drained me; solving them would leave me in a good mood for hours.

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Once I recognized this internal drive, I knew I was pursuing the right direction. I was not being pushed into this field from outside pressure — I was genuinely pulled toward it.

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My Offer At IMC Trading: Earned Through Consistent Preparation

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IMC Trading was not my initial dream firm, but it turned out to be an excellent match for my strengths. I stayed calm and performed steadily through every interview round, treating each conversation like a logical problem‑solving exercise. This steady mindset helped me earn the quant‑trading summer‑internship offer from IMC Trading Chicago.

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Looking back over that recruiting season, I completed well over twenty final‑round interviews. I tested opportunities across investment banking, sales & trading, wealth management, consulting, and sell‑side quant roles. Each rejection acted as feedback that helped me narrow down what I actually wanted to pursue.

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My OSG mentors Victor, Nathan, and Jerry provided critical support. They never dismissed my interests out of hand. When I told them I wanted to explore quantitative trading, their immediate response was: “Absolutely, let’s give it a try. We will map out exactly what you need to prepare.”

Feeling understood and trusted grounded me far more than generic comforting words.

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I also value the emotional support my friends gave me. Before one interview, I decided to try something light‑hearted and asked a friend for a tarot reading. She told me I would perform especially well if I met a female interviewer. As it turned out, my final‑round interview at IMC Trading was led by a very kind female interviewer. That small coincidence gave me quiet reassurance.

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I had imagined I would feel overwhelming excitement or even tears when I received my offer call. Instead, I felt remarkably calm.

On the phone, I heard the recruiter say “Congrats.” I simply replied softly with “mm‑hmm.” I closed my laptop and reflected on all those late‑night practice sessions working through brainteaser problems alongside Victor. Those hours had already built my confidence for quant work.

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I walked over to my kitchen and poured an iced latte, just like any ordinary day. The sound of my mug touching the table felt more real than the phone‑call congratulations. I already knew this industry suited me, and I trusted that a fitting opportunity would come my way.

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Key Advice For Students Exploring Quantitative Trading

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If you are trying to figure out whether quant trading fits you, here is my honest guidance.

1. Evaluating your natural fit

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Reaction speed and intuitive judgment

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Math knowledge is not the rigid entry barrier. At its core, quant trading asks you to reason quickly, form real‑time judgments, and keep your composure under pressure. Strong reaction speed, reliable intuition, and steady mental poise matter significantly.

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Comfort with fast feedback loops

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When you make a judgment call, markets give you near‑immediate feedback. That fast cycle defines what working in quant trading feels like.

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Your favorite university coursework offers strong clues

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Probability and game theory often point toward trading‑role fit.

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Machine learning and time‑series coursework tend to align better with quant‑research tracks.

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Your genuine interests speak louder than any generic career advice.

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Do you treat problem‑solving as recreation?

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If you enjoy working through logical puzzles in your free time rather than seeing them as a burden, that is one clear sign you may thrive as a trader.

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2. Your interview mindset: composure beats perfect answers

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Firms such as IMC Trading and Jane Street run pressure‑style interview exercises. If you make a mistake, stay composed, keep reasoning step‑by‑step, and demonstrate clear logical thinking. Interviewers care about your thought process more than every single intermediate result.

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3. Building systematic preparation

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Networking: treat outreach as deliberate strategy

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Track whether your outreach emails get opened, follow up at appropriate moments instead of sending one‑off messages, start outreach with alumni connections, and keep yourself on contacts’ radars. Focus on what you can control within outreach processes.

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Customize your resume for each role

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For investment‑banking applications: highlight leadership experience and past internships.

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For quant‑trading applications: emphasize probability coursework, competitions, strategy‑focused projects, and quantitative work samples.

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Do not submit the exact same resume for every job type; doing so dilutes your most relevant strengths.

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These points apply primarily for quant‑trading tracks. If you target quant‑research roles, you will need deeper, nuanced understanding of statistical modeling.

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Quantitative trading is not for every student. Still, if these traits resonate with you, this career path can be deeply rewarding.

People often describe my personality as even‑keeled. I rarely swing to extreme excitement, I avoid over‑internalizing setbacks, I always keep backup plans in mind, and I trust I have more than one viable path forward. That outlook is a large part of how I stayed steady through the whole recruiting cycle.

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Quantitative trading is not the only career I could pursue. But it is the path where my strengths shine brightest.

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*Disclaimer: OSG has no cooperation/affiliation with the companies mentioned in the article; OSG students enhance their abilities through OSG services and secure offers through regular campus recruitment/social recruitment channels.

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