Career graph
The Quant Career Graph
Four routes into quantitative finance and the progression that follows each one.
What backgrounds do quants come from?
Four routes dominate. Physics and maths PhDs move into quant research; software engineers move into quant development and low-latency engineering; quantitative graduates enter directly as trainee traders; and bank quants move from pricing and risk onto the buy side. No single route is required — the common factor is demonstrable mathematical and programming ability.
Physics or maths PhD
The classic research route. Signal discovery rewards people trained to test hypotheses against noisy data.
- 01
Physics / maths PhD
Empirical research training, statistics, heavy programming
- 02
Quant researcher
Signal research under a senior researcher
- 03
Senior quant researcher
Owns a signal family and its live P&L
- 04
Lead researcher
Directs a research agenda, mentors juniors
- 05
Portfolio manager
Owns a book and a compensation formula
Software engineer
The largest and most underrated route in. Strong systems engineers are scarcer in quant than strong mathematicians.
- 01
Software engineer
Production systems, performance work, C++ or Rust
- 02
C++ / systems engineer
Trading-adjacent infrastructure
- 03
Low-latency engineer
Kernel bypass, network path, hot-path optimisation
- 04
Quant developer
Research platform and execution systems
- 05
Trading infrastructure lead
Owns the stack a desk trades on
Quantitative graduate
The direct route: a strong undergraduate or master's in a quantitative subject straight into a trading seat.
- 01
MSc / BSc quantitative subject
Maths, CS, statistics, engineering
- 02
Graduate trader
Rotational training, then a product
- 03
Quant trader
Runs risk on a product or venue
- 04
Senior trader
Owns a desk's risk and its junior traders
- 05
Portfolio manager
Independent book on a platform
Bank quant
The sell-side route. Pricing and risk work is the most common entry point into the industry overall.
- 01
Quant analyst
Derivatives pricing, model validation, risk
- 02
Senior quant analyst
Owns a model library or asset class
- 03
Buy-side quant researcher
Move to a fund; alpha rather than pricing
- 04
Senior researcher / PM
Systematic strategy ownership
Methodology
Figures are expressed as annual total compensation (base salary plus expected performance bonus) in the reference market's local currency, converted from a US dollar base. They describe typical market ranges rather than any individual offer, and exclude sign-on payments, deferred equity and carried interest. Portfolio-manager figures reflect formulaic profit-share arrangements and are therefore far more dispersed than any other role.
KnowQaunt 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
These are indicative ranges pending first-party verification. They will be replaced by verified submissions as the Quant Salary Index dataset builds.