Quant skills

Let's look at some skills in demand today at Quant Finance Jobs. The employers are mostly hedge funds and the average salary: $200K USD + %PnL (Percentage of Profit/Loss).

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1) Quant Trading Analyst-Algorithmic Trading Team-London

London, United Kingdom

Interested candidates should have extensive experience in the following;
• Time Series Econometrics
• Alpha Construction
• Bayesian Statistics
• Transaction Cost Modelling
• Black Litterman modelling
• Portfolio optimisation

2) Ultra high frequency Statistical Arbitrage Trader

New York, United States of America

Requirements:-

Candidates will have a background in the high frequency trading space, with experience creating and managing strategies with a high Sharpe Ratio, high ROC and holding little to no overnight positions.
3+ years experience of researching, back testing and deploying systematic trading strategies straddling multiple asset classes including equity index, currency, fixed income and commodities. Futures experience would be ideal.
Ivy League calibre PhD in a hard science

Strong to expert programming skills in C++.
Candidates should be innovative and analytical thinkers with strong communication skills.

3) High Frequency Quant Trader

New York or London, United States of America

Required Skills and experience
PhD from a top tier University in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering or related subject
Strong hands on programming experience in C++
Experience with analytical packages such as Mathematica, Matlab, PyLab or R
Between 1-3 years experience of developing, implementing and trading high frequency trading strategies across any asset class.
Strong quantitative skills and experience
Passion for solving complex problems and drive to success

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We can see that strong mathematics is a must, and computer science a close 2nd, or an ivy league PhD in a "Hard Science" (I'm thinking physics, statistics). So knowing what the hedge funds possess and utilize, how does the average private trader compete and survive, profitably?

Just some ideas

• Invest time and energy to gain necessary skills to level the playing field
  
• Find ways to quantify institutional buying/selling pressure (but risk being always a bit behind)
  
• Raise enough money to influence and exploit the markets like Soros or Buffet
  
• Hire a quant...