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Careers outside Academia - USC Computer Science Masters and Ph.D. Students
The document outlines career advice from Ashwin Rao, emphasizing the importance of versatility, introspection on skills, and preparing for suitable job paths in tech and finance. It discusses the value of advanced degrees like Ph.D. and MBA, the current job market dynamics, and provides insights on tech jobs and Wall Street scenarios. Additionally, it highlights effective resume and interview strategies, and promotes the use of zlemma.com for evaluating job suitability.
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Careers outside Academia - USC Computer Science Masters and Ph.D. Students
- 1. First steps toa Successful Career Ashwin Rao USC, Los Angeles, Nov 2013
- 2. My background • B.Tech.Computer Science. IIT-Bombay. • Ph.D. Algorithmic Algebra. USC, Los Angeles. • VP. Quant Strategist. Goldman Sachs, NY. • Managing Director. Morgan Stanley. • Founder. ZLemma.com (A Tech Startup)
- 3. Life after ‘SC • USC tag follows you J • Learning curve actually gets steeper • Acquire versatility in skills and personality • Associate with people different than you
- 4. What are suitablejobs for me ? • You can figure it out objectively • Glamour, Money and the Mom Syndrome • Introspect on your Skills and your Interests • Think Career, not Jobs
- 5. Prepare Well, butChill Out • Research the various jobs thoroughly • Advice from peers and alumni? • Personal Life versus Professional Life • Never compare yourself with others! • Easy to correct bad jobs or wrong decisions
- 6. Should I goto Grad School? • Titles like M.B.A., Ph.D. - what is their value? • What do the best employers care about ? • Ph.D. è If you want to be in academia/research • M.B.A. è If you want to hit the Reset button • Masters versus Ph.D.
- 7. Quant Finance Jobs • Derivatives Trader • Trading Desk Quant Strategist • Derivatives Modeler, Statistical Modeler • Algorithmic Trading Quant • Analytics Developer
- 8. Current Wall StreetScenario • Regulations have reshaped the industry • Compensation levels down but still high • Engineers are thriving in quant finance • Markets turning increasingly electronic • More emphasis on vanilla trading businesses
- 9. Tech Jobs • Boomin Tech, particularly in Silicon Valley • Compensation levels are growing fast • Big Data is the new buzz • Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon • Are Tech jobs boring?
- 10. Silicon Valley versusWall Street • Do you enjoy Continuous Math? • Depth versus Breadth • Office environment and Colleagues • Compensation • Location
- 11. Some important topics • Statistical Learning • Functional Programming • Domain Specific Languages • Quantitative Modeling • Architectures for Big Data
- 12. Startups • Appetite forVolatility • <Market, Product, Team> • Funding • Advisors • Passion
- 13. Resume • One-pager withprecise education/work details • Links to LinkedIn, Github, Stackoverflow … • Reflection of your communication skills/style • Less drama, more objectivity • State your international exposure, if any
- 14. Interviews • Represent yourabilities clearly and accurately • Typically, a large and diverse set of interviewers • Flood of puzzles/programming/math problems • Tough Qs in your claimed areas of expertise • Evaluation of your communication and attitude
- 15. ZLemma • Zlemma.com evaluatesyour profile in great detail • Zlemma Quotient (ZQ) – your suitability for a job • ZQ is a score out of 100 for a specific job • Apply for high-ZQ jobs of interest to you • Jobs ranging from Silicon Valley to Wall Street
- 17. Addendum • Tune into: blog.zlemma.com • Write to: ashwin@zlemma.com for advice • Our app is your friend: zlemma.com