There are three distinct roles available for undergrads in NYC and Chicago quant companies:
- Quant trading: For quant trading, you don’t need to be at the IMO level, but being at the USAMO level (or doing something considered equivalent, like published math research) certainly helps to get your resume noticed. To put things into perspective, I know a very bright 4.0 student in Yale CS who couldn’t get a single quant trading interview because there was nothing in his resume that suggested really strong math talent.
- Software engineering: This doesn’t require any special math background, but requires exceptional CS skills. Think leetcode medium to hard.
- Quantitative developer: A small set of developers who know enough math to be able to create tools for quant traders, and be able to take their insights and implement them to help them trade quicker.
There are also quant companies in the Boston area that don’t require the same level of math skills, but require a much better understanding of financial markets. In contrast, the well-known NYC and Chicago quant firms will readily hire people with no understanding of financial markets, believing that smart people can learn them.