ppperkins

I decided to bite the bullet and go for masters degree that focuses on quantitative modeling. I've spent a lot of time reviewing posts on the website. It's been very informative. Thanks for the advice.

I am new to trading, but I was a geek among computer geeks back in the day. Here is a summary of a few conversations I've had with a few hedge fund developers that I know. 1. You have to take the good with the bad when dealing with automated software. Programs make constantly make bad trades that a good discretionary trader would not make. They overcome this with sophisticated money management tools. A bad trade by a computer is the same as a bad trade by a person, it puts money on the table for someone else. 2. An automated system may backtest really well, but can do terribly when actually implemented. New software is often retired because a new player such as a hedge fund can throw off the dynamics that make the strategy successful and a system doesn't automatically adapt. As the market becomes "more chaotic", as some have argued in earlier posts, automated systems will become harder to implement successfully. Over time, I believe that this will become very expensive to support unless significant sums are involved. I don't know if there is enough evidence to say that cost/benefit of using an automated system will always win out. 3. As has historically been the case, larger sums of money continue to be pushed ino large institutions. If a fund is trying to liquate a $200M position, they have to expect a certain amount of inefficiency in the transaction. That leaves a lot of opportunity for crumbs that the quick and nimble can eat up. 4. OTC products are REALLY, REALLY hard to automate.

My background is primarily in software development and management consulting and I'm looking to make a career shift into trading. I've spent the last few months studying for the CMT, but I've yet to meet a trader that has heard of it (mta.org if you are curious). I learned a lot in the beginning, but I'm starting to feel a diminished return on my time. Does this credential carry any weight? What can I do to make myself attractive to a prop firm and get tied into the trading community better?