tsn: what if I fail due2capabilities #Okao

Yet another revisit. See also post on dare2fail.

My intern David Okao asked “What if the west coast workplaces are too demanding? Can you cope?” I replied

• As an adventurer, I don’t mind the risk… robust, resilient confidence
• As an adventurer, I see myself as adaptable, a survivor
• I may have my secret weapons
• I may find my strengths such as domain knowledge, data analysis, trouble-shooting, efficient design, math(yes)

I then went over a similar discussion about MLP with Ashish, when I said —

• If similar to Macq, I put up a good fight but still fail due to personal “capabilities”, I ought to feel positive about the whole experience.
• I’m good at the job-hunting game so no real worries.

[19]if I had stayed ] java

I think every tsn experience and proposal has some “buts”, so does it mean we should stop trying?

No. If I had stayed within java/sql/perl then I would have been worse off —

• fewer job opportunities, less broadened technical base
• slightly more worry about job security
• more worry about churn
• more worry about outsourcing
• no differentiation from millions of java guys
• left behind by some of the alpha geeks who branch out and establish new strongholds.
  • My technical mind is the BROAD-n-deep, curious explorer type so it is stifled if confined to java
• sql and perl both falling out of fashion

But ….

• possibly more competent in terms of figure-things-out relative to team peers
• possibly fewer stigmas and more respect
• ^^ These factors depend mostly on localSys knowledge
• not so much stress, so much painful struggle in the beginning
• possibly an architect role, provided I stay long and invest heavily in localSys

Was leverage good on my multiple tsn attempts after GS? reasonable leverage in some attempts.

##[19]if I were2re-select%%tsn bets #tbudget=30m

##[17] checklist@tsn #engaging provides a checklist but here’s a FRESH look, which may not be so in-depth, balanced, and comprehensive.

Q: Hypothetically, knowing what I know now, beside c++ and python, which trySomethingNew bets would I have chosen in 2010, after GS?

1. mkt data and sockets
2. forex, equities, options, IRS — I like the well-defined body of dnlg as entry-barrier. I learned it fast 🙂
3. trading engine dev including pricing, OMS, connectivity
4. risk analytics?
5. devops?
6. big data including hadoop, cloud etc?
7. — not-so-great
8. c# — heavy investment, a lot of legwork but insufficient ROTI
9. MOM and Gemfire — shrinking demand
10. swing? Fun but very poor job market
11. quantDev? extremely disappointing job market
12. HFT? entry barrier too high

+! trySomethingNew] sg, what could I have(possibly)got

See also past vindicative specializations

• I would still do my MSFM
• I would still fail to get into algo trading or quant dev — too few jobs and extremely high bar
• I would likely fail to get into leadership roles. I was considered for leadership roles at 1 to 3 companies

However,

• I could possibly have focused on a specialization such as risk system + some analytics
• would probably have joined citi, barc, baml, UBS, SC or .. in sg
• probably java or swing or connectivity
• would Not have achieved the c#/py/c++ ZBS growth
• would Not have the skills to get this ICE raw mkt data job or the other c++ job offers.
• no guarantee to become a manager or app owner. There could be many old timers in the team.
• possibly less stress and pain. Lower chance of performance stress (#1 biggest stressor), because my GTD/KPI would be higher due to my java/SQL zbs.