Advice for Older Software Developer

[ebrobyn]

Hello QuantNet Forum,

I'm hopeful someone here can give me some good advice. I'm in my early fifties and recently ended a role that was unsatisfying, so I am considering a career change that makes better use of my interests and skills. I am a Software Engineer by profession, with a couple of decades of experience in the full stack .NET space for a wide variety of industries. I hold two BS degrees, in Computer Science and Physics, with excellent grades from an average school. My math and physics skills have been underutilized in a professional context. I've worked on some interesting academic projects, including a Lattice-Boltzmann Method CFD using CUDA and C++, and I have a strong interest in GPU programming techniques. I'm interested in financial engineering internship or associate roles, and I wonder if it makes sense to even consider this an option. If not, well, I am just really curious about the field in general and want to learn more about it for my own projects.

Any feedback is most appreciated!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I would strongly suggest taking the Python course on QuantNet and using that as a stepping stone into the field. It will provide you with an essential language to explore financial data, data science, and what is being done by developers in the industry.
Traditionally, I would suggest the C++ course first as it's the most popular one and seems to be required by anyone entering the field. However, as you mentioned, you are a seasoned developer, so I do not know how much overlap your knowledge has.

 

[MikeLawrence]

An internship seems like the wrong move, unless you got one at a truly top-tier firm - you know the type, the ones that would pay so much it's worth it just for the lols.

Otherwise, you've got decades of experience - unless that's an internship is the norm and I'm not aware of it, I wouldn't take one at a random small shop.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Knowing maths is obviously an advantage

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[achirikhin]

As opposed to others who replied, I don't think you should waste any time on learning Python. There are many "low level" quant developer jobs in financial companies that require understanding of metal programming, including CUDA, although the demand in the latter has gone down due to the rising cost of hardware.

Internship route is for fairly young people.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

With your experience, you can leverage it.
And age is probably an advantage, depending on the role. I reckon get foot in door could be an issue.

Lattice-Boltzmann Method CFD using CUDA and C++
Not many who can say that.