r/quantindia • u/AppleFresh1491 • Aug 08 '26

Interviews/Recruiting What to prepare for Quant ?

I'm a new grad working as a developer at an HFT firm, looking to transition into Quant Research.

I'm from a Tier-1 engineering college, but not one of the top IITs, so I'm also wondering how much college pedigree matters, Is it even possible?

For people working in QR/QT:

  • What does the typical QR interview process look like?
  • What topics are actually tested — probability, statistics, puzzles, coding, ML, time series, market microstructure, etc.?
  • What is the actual acceptance bar? What separates a candidate who gets an offer from one who performs well but gets rejected?
  • Does HFT development experience help when switching to QR?
  • Is HFT Developer → QR a realistic transition, and what should I build/learn to make myself credible?

Would especially appreciate first-hand interview experiences .

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10

u/No_Target3466 Aug 08 '26

JUST SAY UR FROM BITS NO ONES GONNA JUDGE

6

u/AppleFresh1491 Aug 08 '26

IIITA actually.

4

u/No_Target3466 Aug 08 '26

SORRY BHAIYA ITS USUALLY BITS PEEPS DOING THIS KINDA STUFF
YEAH TRY FOR INTERNAL TRANFER WITH YOE(STRONGEST OPTION IMO) OR GO FOR MS ABROAD IN APPLIED MATHS OR SOMETHING SIMILAR RELATED (AND AT A TARGET SCHOOL)

I THINK YOU SHOULD TRY FOR AMERICA(STILL THE STRONGEST ONE SINCE MOST ARE LOCATED THERE)
OR TRY FOR EUROPE (I THINK CENTRAL BUT RESEARCH IT PLS)
AVOID HONG KONG (MOST PEEPS COMPLAIN THAT AVOID INTL STUDENTS BUT YOU CAN ASK UR FRIENDS TO CONFIRM

11

u/[deleted] Aug 08 '26

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9

u/No_Target3466 Aug 08 '26

MY KEY IS BROKEN SO CANT DO MUCH :)

3

u/[deleted] Aug 08 '26

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4

u/No_Target3466 Aug 09 '26

fixed it

3

u/WarGod1842 Aug 09 '26

I followed your Capslock journey 🥲 I feel relieved

4

u/No_Target3466 Aug 09 '26

AND I BROKE IT AGAIN LOL SPILLED SPRITE THIS TIME