Hello!
I’m Ashwin Goyal, a to be fourthie in the CSE department and this blog is about my Jane Street trading internship experience.
I heard about JS in my second year from some friends and initially dismissed the idea of working at a quant firm, mostly because I used to think that they don’t add much value to society and just earn a lot of money. However, in the summer of my second year, I spoke to some seniors who were interning at JS and I learnt that quant was not necessarily just a workaholic money-making job (as was my first impression). I learned about the amazing work culture of JS, as well as the fact that the work of a reader revolves around thinking about probability, expected values, game theory, and data science. All of which I enjoyed a lot. Based on this, I thought why not give it a try?
The internship process generally consists of multiple interviews, one after the other. This year there will likely be a test to start it off, followed by a few interviews on day 1. The interviews generally look for the ability to reason about problems quantitatively and think about problem-solving, puzzles, and probability as a whole. JS has some good sample interviews and sample material on their website which is a must for any aspiring candidate. They value clear and open communication and the ability to come to a solution together with the interviewer instead of the interviewee just computing an answer in their head. There is plenty of preparatory material online, I would particularly recommend the Green Book of Quant by Xinfeng Xhou and 50 Challenging Problems in Probability.
Interning at JS has been an absolutely stunning experience. The work involves two main parts: research and mock trading, both of which challenge you in different ways. Research tests your data science skills and your abilities to apply your ideas to real data and mock trading is an exhilarating experience that tests your ability to be an actual trader where you constantly communicate and send orders into a simulated market.
The company has a very positive culture with lots of events designed to teach you various things. There are also various evening events, from cruises and Broadway shows to cocktail-making classes and even ice skating.
Hong Kong, as a city, was a paradise for me. It had everything you could need, from great public transport to incredible food and outgoing people. There are lots of great hikes and beaches to go to on the weekends as well. We also had a weeklong trip to New York City during the course of our internship and that gave me even more opportunities to explore and learn.
Furthermore, I learned that quant as a field does add value to society since without market makers there would be huge inefficiencies in markets and on average the economies of the world would be worse off. JS actually has a pretty nice discussion event on this where we get to discuss our concerns on the purpose market makers serve in the world.
I’d like to conclude the blog by saying that I personally felt that being part of Jane Street’s internship program was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Though difficult and mentally challenging, the learnings were well worth it.
