Should I take a software job as a graduate if I want to be a quant? (UK)

[postraphaelite]

Hi there. I've recently graduated with a masters in Physics (1:1) from a non oxbridge university. I ultimately want to work as a quantitative researcher/developer as I'm really interested in the area. I have strong programming (Python & C++) and data science skills but am not getting many interviews for quant roles currently, I think due to my lack of technical internships (only part time work). Right now I have 2 job offers to be a graduate software engineer for MAN group or Bloomberg. I'm not sure which to accept (ignoring salary), which would be more of a target for a HFT firm?
Considering my goal is to be a quantitative researcher what should I do?

1. Take a job offer as SWE and try to apply for external quant researcher jobs after ~ a year
2. Take a MFE degree, such as Imperial, Warwick, Oxford, or LSE and then apply for quant roles

Both Bloomberg and MAN both employ quants, but I'm assuming its hard to transition internally. Would someone employed as a SWE be looked at for quant researcher roles? Or are my chances better if I take a MFE degree and apply while I'm doing it. One thing I'm concerned about is if I do a MFE degree my lack of work experience would mean I still wouldn't get many interviews as my situation would be similar to now and I get the impression you kind of need an internship role beforehand.
I'd really appreciate some guidance here. Thank you.

 

[AppliedMath]

You should get your CV reviewed by people in industry at various levels. Also should get feedback and analysis on how you interview. These are the main things holding back most applicants. Physics + strong coding should be shortlisted all the time.
- Are you restricting you job search too much?
- Are you only looking in the UK? Benelux and DACH are good search options.
Quant isn't an MBA. You don't need any experience pre-MFE to get a job post-MFE. Any helps, even unrelated stuff.

HFT require a specific skillset. I doubt most software engineering jobs will progress you towards that. You need to message some HFT devs and pick their brains about what's needed, and where to start career-wise if it's not in an HFT fund. As for the offer, Bloomberg would look better on a CV, but the true tasks in each role would differentiate which to take. Low latency optimization?

Quant Researcher and Quant Developer are two complete different things with drastically different paths.
Researcher = PhD, or an MSc student with awesome research papers to prove their ability.
Developer = Some adept with back-end technologies for production systems. No R and No Python most likely.
Analyst = A lesser hybrid of the two above. Theoretically sound, and can implement what they know in code.

SWE does not put you on the path towards researcher.

I'd suggest talking to people industry. You might even want to go premium LinkedIn, and look for people with Physics degrees that are Quants. Worth the $ and time on this to save yourself from veering off course. Again the CV + Interviewing review would be the first step though.