Hello everyone. I’m an economics major minoring in math and I really want to become a trader, specifically derivatives. How much math do I need to get interviews and get the job? I hear a lot of people in derivatives are great at math but not sure why because it’s not like they need to do the job of quants…maybe I’m off about this. I know you have to prep math and brainteaser questions but how good do i have to be to get offers and do well at the job?
I don’t think that perception is true, you’re right they’re not quants. It’s good to know some probability and basic stochastic calculus though. Hard to imagine if you didn’t have to know black scholes and all that
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So there’s a difference between flow traders and exotic traders. Flow traders deal with vanillas and simpler derivatives than exotic traders do so require less technical knowledge. However you still need a working knowledge of Black-Scholes, Greeks etc. For exotic traders, they tend to come from math or other highly technical backgrounds. But don’t worry, even if you wanted to be an exotic trader, just take more math classes and study the relevant material well!
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Thanks a lot! If I haven’t really taken that many math classes, what books or resources can I use to get the knowledge you mentioned?
if you want a somewhat technical introduction to derivatives, i would strongly suggest Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives by John Hull. It goes into the basic details of the models used in quantitative finance, and it also gives a decent amount of info different types of financial transactions in markets. If you need sth more technical/advanced, feel free to drop me a note here 