<p>Is it possible for CS majors to go into something like trading on Wall Street? They do programming and value analytical skills which obviously a CS major would give you, but do you still need to know a lot of finance to break in? </p>
<p>I’m currently an undergrad, so I’m in no position to give you a definitive answer, but I would think that having a background in finance or economics would be highly beneficial.</p>
<p>There are a large number of CS graduates on Wall Street. High speed trading wasn’t even possible, for example, without them.</p>
<p>I worked on trading systems on Wall Street for a few years. Some financial knowledge doesn’t hurt, but it’s not required.</p>
<p>Lots of CS majors work on Wall Street, building the tools that traders use. A finance background isn’t specifically required. However, if you are a CS undergrad and interested in working on Wall Street, it might be helpful to take a few business or economics classes, if you can it them into your schedule. </p>
<p>I know a reasonable number of EE/CS majors who moved into Wall Street financial software development later in their careers, mostly from telecom (after the telecom tech industry in NJ took a big downturn). It was typically hard to find a first financial software job, but once you were in the door and had financial software on your resume, it was very easy to find your next job, since the recruiters would come calling. To find the first financial software job, the best path was to find a former co-worker working at a financial software company who could recommend you.</p>
<p>So, my other advice would be to try to get an internship in a financial software company, to help you eventually find your first real job. </p>
<p>
From CS you would have two options. First, develop some serious programming skills and go into finance as a “quant”, a numbers guys who develops tools and does analysis and such - great money, and little or no financial knowledge required. Second, get an MBA from a top program, pick up those finance skills, and become a conventional trader - better money still!</p>
<p>Of course, the problem with both of these routes is that there are few such jobs and they are highly, highly competitive - the fact that it is possible does not change the fact that very few ever attain these positions. If you go after this, make sure you have a back up plan, as you will almost certainly need it!</p>
<p>A friend of mine developed trading software for a large Wall Street outfit. Great GPA from one of the better schools. His algorithms made his company billions, but he was still only paid as a programmer and did not get the big bonuses reserved for the brokers. He made VP before he was 30, though, and was treated well, just low pay compared to sales VPs…</p>
<p>He has since moved more to the portfolio management side for a different company.</p>
<p>A bachelors degree in CS is a great way to get in to a MFE program (Master of Financial Engineering). A degree in Financial Engineering is a pretty pragmatic way to get your foot in the door at a lot of firms in the financial world, as the top masters programs have very impressive career placement for graduates. Although you don’t need much (or any) finance/economics coursework for these programs, it’s important to keep in mind that you’ll need ample coursework in mathematics, relevant work experience, and good grades/test scores to be competitive at a good program.</p>