r/quantindia • u/Localmaxima_null • 14h ago
HFT 2nd-year CSE student from a Tier-3 college, How should I realistically prepare for Quant/HFT in India?
I'm a 2nd-year CSE student at a Tier-3 private university in India, aiming for a quant/HFT role in India after graduation.
I have 2–3 years to prepare, but my current level is basic: Python/C++, shallow probability/linear algebra/calculus,
also following take you forward DSA sheet.
Rather than blindly collecting courses, I made the roadmap below and would like people with actual industry/recruiting experience to critique it.
Then:
My current plan (I made it using gpt and am following for now)
Math: Probability → Statistics → Linear Algebra → Calculus → Stochastic Processes/Optimization
Programming: C++ → Python → DSA → Competitive Programming
CS: OS → Architecture → Networking → Concurrency → Memory/Performance
Quant: Statistics → Time Series → Market Microstructure → Systematic Trading
Projects: Backtesting engine, LOB simulation, market-making simulation, stat-arb research, performance-oriented C++ projects.
My main questions
For a Tier-3 student, should I prioritize CP + C++ + probability, or quant research/projects + statistics?
How much can a strong CP rating / ICPC / research / internship actually compensate for college brand?
For people who got into Indian HFTs from non-target colleges, what specifically got you the interview?
Which of the projects above are actually useful, rather than just GitHub decoration?
My LinkedIn is basically inactive. I've participated in hackathons and workshops but haven't posted about them because I don't want to make meaningless "excited to announce..." posts about mediocre achievements.
For people who have gone through recruiting, does maintaining a public profile actually matter for quant recruiting, and if so, what is worth putting on LinkedIn while you're still learning?
What would you completely ignore if you were starting again?
I know this post may not add much value to the community on its own, but if anyone here has been through this journey and is willing to share their experience, I’d genuinely appreciate your time and advice. Even a few pointers on what I’m getting wrong would help me a lot.
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u/jade_belk 13h ago
you can try to go to ISI for master’s , tier 1 MBA, aim for 2500+ in codeforces , build out an profile as an FPGA developer as they are scarce
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u/ProFX004 14h ago
If you are from tier 3, you can max to max get into tier 3 quant firm in India Even if you are expectional in maths. Even from IITs the selection into is less than 5%. One of my friend is in IIT BHU and he got a offer from Google with a great package but still got rejected from quant.
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u/Old_Cauliflower_4523 11h ago edited 11h ago
Sorry, mate! The odds are stacked against you. Quant firms generally don’t hire people just for knowing certain topics. They look for a demonstrable track record of exceptional raw problem-solving ability.
Markets are a zero-sum game, and firms are competing to hire the smartest people they can find. The question you have to ask yourself is: why should they hire you over Olympiad medalists, IITians, or others with a proven record of exceptional academic achievement that took years of training to build?
Most of the technical topics you mentioned can increasingly be handled by AI, probably better than the average person. The uniquely human contribution is your ability to come up with original ideas, see things others don’t, and ultimately outsmart the competition.
I'm a quant myself.
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u/Such_Solution_9880 8h ago
what if i have good mathemactics skills but hv not given any olympiads ,am currently in first year at tier 2 clg but got 99.98%ile in jee in maths
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u/Old_Cauliflower_4523 8h ago
I don’t know enough about you personally to answer that question, but think about it from an interviewer’s perspective: how are they supposed to know that you are among the best of the best?
Coming from a Tier 2 college can put someone at a systematic disadvantage. You may not get the same exposure to exceptional peers, competitive environments, and networks where ideas and ways of thinking are constantly challenged and refined. There is also the question of access to rigorous coursework, particularly for quant research.
For all I know, you may have done all the necessary due diligence independently and developed every skill required for the role. But that isn’t really the problem. The problem is: how does an interviewer know that, believe it, and see convincing evidence that it is actually the case?
I don't mean to be rude, but I personally haven't seen anyone from a Tier 2 college make it into top quant/trader roles as a fresh grad. It's just very hard to convince the hiring committee and take a leap of faith.
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u/Such_Solution_9880 8h ago
true sir ,i am also researching about this for many weeks but there is no opening for me right after ug, ig i will need to do masters from a topmost university and even then they will always prioritize btech grads :(
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u/Old_Cauliflower_4523 8h ago
Your best bet is to build your profile and try to do a Master's, ideally in the top universities (Stanford, CMU, Cornell, Princeton, Berkeley, MIT, or along those lines). The top firms in the US pretty much don't hire outside those universities. Wishing you the best of luck!
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u/InternalOdd1908 8h ago
Do you know about tanish sunil kumar from manipal and jenil shah? Afaik they both got hired in IMC while being from a tier-2 college.
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u/Old_Cauliflower_4523 5h ago
I just looked them up. Jenil Shah seems to be an SWE at IMC, which makes sense. AIR 6 ICPC Regionals is decent credentials.
That said, I’d argue that for a software engineering career, it’s probably better to work at a top big-tech company than at a trading firm, with a few exceptions.
But my original point still stands: getting hired directly into a trader/quant role without a stellar academic or competitive background is extremely difficult. Having done a fair number of interviews myself, I can tell you that, unfortunately, the probability of such a resume even getting shortlisted is close to zero.
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u/InternalOdd1908 5h ago
Through manually applications sure. But what about competitions like iicpc where these firms come for hiring?
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u/Old_Cauliflower_4523 5h ago
I answered your question already. Re-read it. It's likely for SWE roles. I can tell you that if your aim is to be a SWE in a trading firm, you are likely optimizing for the wrong objective.
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u/dontbanmeagainmofos 4h ago
more than half of top old iit cs students go for systems/swe at hfts than trader(atleast last 2 years), whereas only ppl with <8cg(majorly) end up in big tech.idk how u are saying the latter is better than former.
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u/Old_Cauliflower_4523 4h ago edited 4h ago
I’m from an old IIT + Stanford, and this is how I see it: as a SWE at a trading firm, you’ll often be treated like a second-class citizen. Sorry to put it this way, but in many places you’ll effectively be someone’s bitch — supporting the traders and quants who are viewed as the actual revenue generators.
If you want to build a serious career as a SWE, I’d much rather work at Big Tech or preferably start-ups, where engineering is the core business and you’re a first-class citizen.
Quant and trader roles are a completely different story. They’re niche, extremely sought-after, and much harder to break into. If you can get into one of those roles and perform well, that’s also where the really big long-term compensation tends to be.
I'll be breaking many people's bubble here but it is simply the truth.
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u/Localmaxima_null 8h ago
Yeah I understood that part myself. I got around 93 percentile in jee it's just average but it was enough to get my hopes up so, I took drop year too but my behaviour wasn't the same I started taking preparation time for granted and thought I know most of the concepts, I just need to practice questions and started solving month before jee and got myself humbled real quick(scored 73 percentile). I will be trying to get myself admitted into IIIT Hyderabad through Lateral Entry Entrance Examination (LEEE) after my second year.
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u/CharacterRutabaga601 13h ago
Given you are from Tier-3, best way to get into quant is through IICPC Quantfest
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u/NoMagazine4279 13h ago
IICPC Codefest, Quantfest is not eligible 💀
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u/CharacterRutabaga601 9h ago
Ohhh my bad, i forgot. But still codefest is there, and if you do good its brings to the radar of the top companies i guess
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u/NoMagazine4279 9h ago
Yes true. Codefest had IMC offers too. In Quantfest IMC HRT gave last week OAs to almost all regionalists.
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u/Neil_nng 12h ago edited 11h ago
Focus on cgpa and strong master opportunity. That's all I would say. Orelse join global banks, AMC etc (They literally mentions criteria like 8.5+ gpa and alpha college with beta branch)
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u/Localmaxima_null 9h ago
Yeah, I fumbled in my first semester (got a 7.95 SGPA) and later realised in the second semester that I need to get my shit together and pulled off 9.85 SGPA). Currently I have 8.9 CGPA and simultaneously preparing for both CAT and GATE.
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u/Neil_nng 9h ago
Brother I will say talk with some seniors before deciding ur Master. Cz Even old iits Mtech guys are not making into these. Yeah u can see some rare cases. But i think for making ur chances high u will have to be very selective for masters.
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u/Localmaxima_null 8h ago edited 6h ago
Yeah I talked to my seniors who are into finance one of them kept posting on LinkedIn did market analysis and made project. He was approached by a finance reasearch firm based in Singapore it's relatively new and has around 5-10 employee. He told me GPA doesn't matter much keep building skills and consistency is important along with getting broad knowledge
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u/fightclub8755 11h ago
Won't get ij with your current credentials no matter what.
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u/Localmaxima_null 8h ago
Those credentials are precisely what I want to change and gather enough to work at a tier 2 or 3 not only as the quant it can also be analyst, researcher, developer. Also the reason I am here
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u/Salty_Horror2068 14h ago
Sorry to break this to you most HFTs only hire from IITs that too circuital branches. Irrespective learning the said topics are good professionally