Is Quant job suitable for ladies? My backgroud is BA of Math, Master of Economics, 5 years equity (stock) financial and quant analysis
and 3 year public accounting experience. But now I find real quant jobs need a phd? and C , Matlab, how long can I finish learning this two software?
Any comments are welcomed!—
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1. In general it is not the degree, but the quality of work ( originality, being able to deliver complex projects, persistance, etc ) + eventually the personal attitudes, that count.
2. In lieu of C you should learn C++ ( roughly speaking C AND the object oriented paradigm ). Depending on the level, can take years. Read Mark Joshi’s book, very insightful. Trying to code up some problems ( bino trees, etc ) will help. Other subtle things ( templates, boost, quantlib ) will take additional time.
3. The most important in MatLab is the “vectorized way” of programming : you can write compact code, which the MKL based MatLab numerics can evaluate quickly. It is more easy to learn than C++. You should practice it.

Read Josh’s quant interview book. If you can solve 70% of the problems, you can definitely get a job.
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Definitely. it is just that some places are more ladies friendly than others. In my experience, there are mpre women quants in asset management companies than in trading rooms, but that is just a personal experience.
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Gender has nothing to do with suitability. Its your skills, your drive to learn and explore, and your capabilities to produce that count. What you need is the ability to learn anything yourself. There are plenty of online tutorials for C/C++ and free development tools. Matlab is expensive but the R languange or octave may be a suitable equivalent. Most common models and some workable strategies have been documented and published. All of this is available free on the web, including some couses on qauntitative financial engneering from major universities. Go for it.
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Of course women are encouraged to apply for quant roles. The quant space is becoming more and more challenging as managers require not only the quant background but also strong interpersonal skills. Let us know if you require additional information.
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The need for C and Matlab is just something that is needed for specific roles. It doesn’t classify the whole field. The two are prominent as most quants get exposure to them while studying and are therefore comfortable with them when they start working. C++ is most popular that C because it offers OO and a set of libraries that are helpful.

But moving away from the programming discussion and unto the “battle of the sexes”. The field is largely governed by males and there are various reasons for that; women not feeling comfortable applying because of various reasons, introverted mangers preferring to deal with male subordinates rather then ones of the opposite sex etc etc. But there is no reason why women shouldn’t be mens equals in the field.

Just for a small view my current team had precisely a 50-50 ratio between males and females before I joined and my arrival only shifted that number marginally.
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You don’t need a PhD but a good knowledge of quantitative finance is essential. A strong math background is necessary but rarely sufficient if you are not applying for a grad role. If looking to get into derivatives, it is best to know the main models and concepts. Two good books are Options, Futures and Other Derivatives by Hull, and Efficient Methods for Valuing Interest Rates Derivatives by Pelsser.

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