STEM in Finance Guide
Australia’s leading student-led association for businessrelated fields
Editor Sophia Gao | Publications Director, FMAA Sydney
Introduction
The landscape of finance recruiting has become increasingly open to candidates from nontraditional backgrounds. A Finance major is not necessarily a must for finance roles internship and graduate job descriptions often explicitly state that candidates from all disciplines are welcome. Moreover, STEM talent is greatly sought after and even prioritised for certain roles, such as those in quantitative finance This guide discusses the range of opportunities in finance for STEM students, outlining specific sectors that may be of interest: Quantitative Trading, Sales and Trading, Management Consulting, and Investment Banking. However, this list is certainly not exhaustive, as STEM students have the analytical and quantitative skills that are favourable in practically every sector of finance. This guide features the insights from FMAA team members with a STEM background, who can attest to this
FMAA welcomes all STEM students to its annual STEM Pathways Evening in Semester 2. One of FMAA’s six inaugural keynote events, this event offers valuable insights from professionals across a variety of industries, spanning retail and investment banking, asset management, tech, and financial services. It is a perfect opportunity to learn about different industries, and discover which ones interest you.
STEM in Finance: Sectors
Quantitative Trading, Sales and Trading, Management Consulting, Investment Banking
Quantitative Trading
What do Quantitative Trading firms do?
Quantitative (quant) trading firms are proprietary traders, meaning they trade financial instruments (stocks, bonds, derivatives, etc.) with their own capital, rather than managing money for external clients As their name suggests, these firms specifically use quantitative strategies underpinned by mathematical models rather than human judgement and intuition.
Quant trading firms are often referred to as “market makers”, meaning they provide liquidity in the financial markets by constantly quoting a buy (bid) and sell (ask) price for financial instruments, and are ready to execute trades at those prices This “makes” a market since it ensures there is always a buyer or seller for an asset. The bid-ask spread on each trade is typically very small. Quant firms make their profits, instead, from the massive volumes of these trades. The execution speed for quant trades depends on the liquidity of the product itself, but it is always fast futures are often traded in microseconds to nanoseconds, while fixed income may be traded in seconds to milliseconds, depending on liquidity
What roles are there?
There are typically three main roles within a quant trading firm: quant traders, quant researchers, and software engineers. The traders execute the firm’s trades and manage its position (long, short, and by how much) in the market, using the signals or predictions of algorithms developed by the researchers. The software engineers build and maintain the software used to execute trades.
Key skills
Traders need to have very fast mental math as they need to perform quick calculations for their high-speed trades. This involves simple arithmetic (percentages, multiplication and division for determining profit margins and positions) and statistical computation (estimating probabilities, calculating expected returns, using concepts of stochastic processes). These key statistics concepts are introduced in first-year core units like BUSS1020: Quantitative Business Analysis for Commerce, and MATH1X62: Mathematics 1B for Science, and are taught more indepth in second and third-year units, such as STAT2011: Probability and Estimation Theory.
Researchers need to understand more advanced mathematical concepts (e.g. time series analysis, stochastic processes, optimisation), machine learning, and be proficient in coding to develop trading algorithms Financial markets are highly competitive so many firms have similar algorithms. A researcher’s goal is to design them innovatively to give their firm an edge.
Software engineers need strong programming skills in languages like Python and C++ to write code, and be proficient in data structures and algorithms to optimise that code.
While quant internship applications often state that prior knowledge of financial markets is not required, having a deep understanding certainly doesn’t hurt. This is less about checking a box for internship roles and more about genuine interest how can one know if they would enjoy a role that completely revolves around the financial markets, if they don’t have a clear understanding of what they are, and how they work?
Recruitment process
The interview process for quant trading firms is known to be rigorous, with complex technical questions, brain teasers, and coding problems. A few samples:
How many permutations of the numbers {1, 2, 3, …, 9} are there such that each number (after the first) differs by at most 1 from some number to its left? An example of one such permutation:
5 6 4 7 3 8 2 1 9
Imagine you roll three fair 100-sided dice. What is the expected value of the lowest roll?
Jane Street
We have an n x n square grid. We fill each cell in the grid with either 0 or 1 in such a manner that the sum of numbers in each continuous 2 x 2 sub-grid sums up to 2. What are the number of ways we can fill up the n x n grid? You are expected to find a closed form solution in terms of n
Pen and paper may be allowed, depending on the firm. There are multiple stages, usually consisting of a resume screen, online assessment, brief phone interview, preliminary interview (often multiple), and final round interview.
Recruitment events and opportunities
Summer Internship
Development, Quant, Trading, Infrastructure
Trading invitational
Eligible undergraduate students
Summer Internship
Quantitative Trading, Quantitative Research, Software Engineer, Fundamental Analyst
Portal Program
Pre-penultimate students
Internship (May – September)
New York, London, Hong Kong
FutureFocus
Pre-penultimate students
Summer Internship
Trading, Technology, Research and Data Science, Market Risk
Poker Tournament & Trading Challenge
Students from all degree backgrounds
Trading Internship
Hong Kong offices
IMC Launchpad
Pre-penultimate students
Prosperity Trading Challenge
Students with STEM backgrounds
Women in Trading and Engineering
Women with STEM degree backgrounds
Summer Internship
Trading, Quantitative Research, Engineering
Discovery Days
Quantitative Trading, Quantitative Research, Software Engineer
Summer Internship
Quantitative Trading, Quantitative Research, Software Engineer, Macro Analyst, Equity Analyst
Summer Trading Internship
Penultimate-year students
Sales and Trading
What happens in the Sales and Trading division at an Investment Bank?
Unlike quant trading firms that trade on their own behalf, the Sales and Trading division at an investment bank facilitates trades for institutional clients such as hedge funds, asset managers, corporations, pension funds, and superannuation funds. Salespeople manage client relationships, pitch trade ideas, and help structure solutions tailored to a client’s needs. Traders “make markets” by quoting bid and ask prices, taking the other side of client trades. Each trader manages a trading book, allowing them to take positions, manage risk, and generate profit and loss for the desk. Each team typically focuses on a specific asset class, such as equities, fixed income (credit and rates), derivatives, or foreign exchange.
Key skills
Like quant traders, traders in this division of a bank also require fast mental math and a solid grasp of statistics to quickly compute the expected risk and return of potential trades. However, this is arguably to a lesser extent, since trades are not as high-speed as those at a quant firm, being executed on behalf of clients rather than the firm. Another difference is that these trades typically have higher bid-ask spreads, but smaller volumes, compared to the highfrequency, high-volume trades at quant firms
Because they execute trades to meet their clients’ investment mandates, traders at an investment bank arguably have less ‘freedom’ than quant traders, who tend to have greater independence in designing their own profitable strategies.
Recruitment opportunities
Many investment banks offer various markets internships, which provide exposure to the financial markets in which salespeople and traders operate. Some also host case competitions centred around markets, the winners of which often being fast-tracked to the interview stage for their markets summer internship.
Capital Markets & Advisory Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
Equities Research Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
Markets Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
Citi Global Markets Challenge
Students from all degree backgrounds
Summer Markets Analyst
Penultimate year students
FICC & Equities Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
J.P. M tition
Students from all degree backgrounds
Markets Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
Global Capital Markets Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
Global Markets Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Global Markets (Sales & Trading) Internship
Penultimate year students
Global Markets Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Management Consulting
What do Management Consultants do?
Management Consultants provide advice to firms to maximise growth and improve their overall performance. Consultants offer solutions to a firm’s issues and risks, including how to implement them. Since the core of this role is problem solving, consulting firms recruit from a wide range of disciplines the focus is not what you have studied, but the way you think. STEM students often make excellent consultants with their analytical and quantitative skills, and strong work ethic
Recruitment opportunities
Strategy Internship Program (Sydney)
Final year students, all degree backgrounds
Graduate Analyst
Final year students or recent graduates, all degree backgrounds
True North: Scholarship for Women
Penultimate year students, all degree backgrounds
Graduate Program
Final year students, all degree backgrounds
Spark: Women’s Scholarship
Women from all degree backgrounds
Summer and Winter Internship
Penultimate year students, all degree backgrounds
Women’s Scholarship
Women from all degree backgrounds
Graduate Associate Program
Final year students, all degree backgrounds
Scholarship and Early Intake
Students from all degree backgrounds
Business Analyst
Final year students or recent graduates, all degree backgrounds
Entry Level Consultant
Final year students, all degree backgrounds
Investment Banking
What do Investment Bankers do?
Separate from the Sales and Trading division at an investment bank, is the Investment Banking Division (IBD) which is what “investment banking” colloquially often refers to. Investment bankers facilitate transactions for their clients, which are commonly mergers and acquisitions and capital raises.
The IBD is further separated in two ways. The first is by product group: bankers are specialised by a particular type of deal, such as Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Equity Capital Markets (ECM), Debt Capital Markets (DCM), and Leveraged Finance (LevFin). The second is by industry coverage group. As the name suggests, bankers are specialised by industry, such as Consumer Retail, Financial Institutions (FIG), General Industrials, Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT), and Financial Sponsors (FSG).
How do I stand out as a STEM student?
Historically, there has been a stereotype that investment bankers tend to come from Commerce and Law backgrounds. Perhaps this should be attributed to the fact that law students in general tend to be high-achieving, rather than recruiters preferring a specific degree background. The focus has always been a student’s skillset, rather than their degree title. Some of the key skills valued in investment banking include attention to detail, analytical skills, and methodical thinking, all of which can be developed extensively throughout a STEM degree. If you are a STEM student, there are plenty of ways for you to demonstrate this to your interviewer.
Importantly, interviews are tailored to the interviewee, so if you do not have a Finance major, or have an ‘unconventional’ degree path, it is worth being prepared to answer interview questions along the lines of ‘Why Investment Banking?’ and general questions about motivation. It is equally important to research the firm thoroughly so you can clearly articulate why you wish to work there. Moreover, you should still expect to be asked the technical questions traditional to Investment Banking interviews, just like any other candidate. There are many online resources to help you prepare, compiling commonly asked investment banking interview questions, and teaching the fundamentals of corporate finance.
Recruitment opportunities
Graduate Program
Final year students or recent graduates
Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Winter Development Program
STEM students or women
Graduate Program
Final year students
Internship
Penultimate year students
Corporate Finance Winter Internship
Penultimate year students
Corporate Finance Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Analytic p
Penultimate year students
Bloomberg Academy (Analytics and Sales)
Final year students
Sum
Penultimate year students
Graduate Programmes
Final year students
Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Women in Banking Program
Penultimate year female students
Graduate Analyst
Final year students
Winter and Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Corporate Advisory Development Program
Penultimate year students
Summer Analyst Program
Penultimate year students
Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Graduate Program
Final year students
Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Women in Banking Scholarship & Internship
Penultimate year female students
Investment Banking Development Program
Penultimate year students
Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Investment Banking Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
Winter Internship
Penultimate year students
Investment Banking Summer Analyst
Penultimate year students
Summer Analyst Program
Penultimate year students
Industrial Placement Program
Penultimate year students
Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
Graduate Program
Final year students
Summer Analyst Program
Penultimate year students
Winter Internship
Penultimate or final year students
Graduate Analyst Program
Final year students
Summer Internship
Penultimate year students
UBS Women’s Insight Program
Penultimate year female students
Investment Banking Development Challenge
Penultimate year students
Graduate Talent Program
Recent graduate
Q&A with the team
Hear from members of the team with a STEM background
Jacinta Ma
2025 President | FMAA Sydney Bachelor of Advanced Computing (Computational Data Science) and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) (IV)
Why did you switch from Commerce and Law to Commerce and Advanced Computing?
Personally, I found Law to be somewhat constraining in that much of the work involved reasoning within the boundaries of established precedent, which left little room for creative problem solving. Having had no prior coding experience, I was initially hesitant to transfer into a computing degree. However, I decided to take INFO1110 (Introduction to Programming) as an elective and was consistently excited by the structured logic of programming and immediate feedback loop that came with building something from scratch and seeing it work. This experience ultimately motivated me to make the switch to Commerce / Advanced Computing
Can you comment on how your computing background influenced your internship application process? Did it help you stand out? Did it change the way you think?
“In my experience, a computing background has become increasingly valuable in today’s rapidly evolving world. It has proven to be an unexpected asset in every interview and professional setting I’ve been part of by shaping both my technical skillset and the way that I approach problems.”
Studying computing has fundamentally changed the way I think, training me to develop a more logical and systemic way of thinking. By breaking complex problems down into smaller parts, I learnt to iteratively test hypotheses to build a strong understanding. This problem-solving mindset has served me well in interviews, where I was able to demonstrate clear reasoning, and on the job, where I’ve been able to quickly adapt to unfamiliar situations.
In the workplace, these skills have enabled me to contribute beyond the scope of my role and add value to the firm in areas outside my initial responsibilities. This not only improved team efficiency but also helped me build credibility and trust with colleagues early on.
Do you have any degree planning advice—for instance, electives you recommend, or important units to prioritise?
“If you are not currently a computing student, I would definitely encourage you to try an introductory coding or data unit as an elective... Even if you don’t end up loving it, knowing how to code (even just a little bit) can be a huge asset across fields like finance or consulting.”
Units like DATA1002 (Informatics: Data and Computation) or INFO1110 (Introduction to Programming) are designed to be beginner-friendly and can give you a real sense of whether computing might be something you might enjoy
For students in Advanced Computing, I’ve found most core units to be quite well-taught. One elective I particularly enjoyed was COMP3308 (Introduction to Artificial Intelligence), which is becoming increasingly important in a practical context. More broadly, I would encourage students to have a read over the unit information and just choose what you have a genuine curiosity for!
Joshua Zhang
2025
Sponsorship Director | FMAA Sydney Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) and Bachelor of Laws (III)
What factors should students consider when choosing their degree and major if they’re considering a career in finance but have STEM interests as well?
“If you don’t learn any finance at university, will you take the initiative to learn it yourself? I find lots of students who tell themselves they will learn everything at home but when you’re tired and it's late at night this motivation may be hard to find.”
I think firstly a STEM degree is inevitably a bigger time commitment than Commerce. There are more face-to-face hours due to labs and you won’t be able to just come into campus once a week. This is because most STEM students are not working alongside studying, which is something that is recommended for Commerce students What this means is that you should not be doing a STEM degree with the purpose of standing out in finance. You need to actually find interest in your STEM major as it will be tough to balance alongside extracurriculars and work. When applying for finance jobs, firms nowadays are not restricted to hiring purely Finance or Business majors but they want to see that you are proficient in your field, may that be STEM or the Arts. That means if you do a Computer Science degree for example, you need to immerse yourself in that degree and show that you are highly proficient at what interests you
Secondly, if you are determined about entering finance, you need to be realistic with yourself. If you don’t learn any finance at university, will you take the initiative to learn it yourself? I find lots of students who tell themselves they will learn everything at home but when you’re tired and it's late at night this motivation may be hard to find. Personally, I recommend that you pair a STEM degree with a Finance major - that helps you get the best of both worlds!
The final and very important consideration is what STEM degree/major to choose. As you will read in this guide, the reason that STEM is valued by firms is because of the quantitative and technical skills that you offer in a tech-driven world. If you are able to, seek out maths or coding-heavy degrees It is a lot harder to link how Biology or Marine Science is related to quant or finance. This is something I have personally struggled with with my Chemistry degree.
Personally, I would recommend Maths, Physics, Statistics, Financial Maths & Stats, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering and Advanced Computing. In particular, Maths and Financial Maths & Stats will definitely be the best ROI on time if you are good at maths, as the standard units are not too challenging and they don’t have labs like Physics or Engineering.
Can you comment on how your STEM background influenced you when interviewing for private equity internships, and competing in consulting case competitions? Either directly, by helping your resume stand out, or indirectly, by changing the way you think?
I am not actually sure if my personal degree (Chemistry) stands out as much as taking a Physics or Computer Science degree for example in a traditional sense. It certainly stands out as an unusual choice!
When interviewing, I have found that my degree has interested interviewers and that usually leads to conversation. But again, this flows from my own passion in my research and studies that allows this to occur. When it comes to technical or case interviews, I find there is still the usual barrier to pass so it is really important you don’t assume they will just go easy on you.
For case competitions, if the case is related to sustainability, energy or more technical biotech for example, I find that my knowledge is certainly additive to the team.
“When it comes to technical or case interviews, I find there is still the usual barrier to pass so it is really important you don’t assume they will just go easy on you.”
The biggest way that STEM has influenced me when it comes to interviews and case competitions is to be very hypothesis-driven. This means I am always searching for and testing solutions and assumptions, which is something that is looked favourably upon in case interviews.
Sophia Gao
2025 Publications Director | FMAA Sydney
Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and Bachelor of Science (Financial Mathematics and Statistics) (II)
Why did you switch from Commerce and Law to Commerce and Science?
I simply didn’t enjoy law. While I’ve always loved reading and writing, I realised I couldn’t extend that to law’s never-ending prescribed readings, and essays that you write only for a grade It didn’t align with my skillset either I’ve always been a STEM girl when I told my friends what degree I chose at USYD, they asked each other “So how long do you think it’ll take her to drop the law degree?” I also missed maths a little, so I replaced law with Financial Mathematics and Statistics. It was probably the best decision I made in first year I always enjoy my math units and they complement my finance units extremely well. You would be surprised at how much overlap there is
Do you have any advice for students wanting to pursue finance, or are unsure about their career?
“...don’t be too worried if you are unsure. What has helped me in the past is doing my research and talking to people I’ve always believed that whenever you are indecisive, you simply don’t have enough information to make your decision yet.”
I have lots! Firstly, don’t be worried if you are unsure. What has helped me in the past is doing my research and talking to people I’ve always believed that whenever you are indecisive, you simply don’t have enough information to make your decision yet. Secondly, work hard. It is very rare that you will be the “brightest” person in the room, but you can always be the hardest worker, and that alone can take you very far. If you work twice as hard for half as much, opportunities will stay open for you Thirdly, don’t be afraid to go against the grain you would be surprised as to how positively it is often received. Fourthly, know what you actually want. Ask yourself quite seriously if you are doing something because you actually want to, or because everybody around you thinks it’s the right thing to do. Fifthly, and most importantly, don’t take things too seriously! If something doesn’t work out, it simply wasn’t meant to be. Sometimes you just need to wait for happy accidents.
Zachary Smith
2025 IT Director | FMAA Sydney
Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics, Finance) (II)
Why did you decide to pursue Quantitative Trading?
I decided to pursue quant as I had always been interested in financial markets and economics, and more recently became passionate about mathematics and quantitative problem-solving. To me, quant seemed to be the perfect mix of my academic interests.
However, that being said, quant firms will commonly, perhaps primarily, hire university graduates from purely STEM backgrounds with minimal knowledge or experience within markets or the financial services industry. This is because it is believed that so long as you hire someone good at problem solving, who is able to view the world systematically, and communicate sufficiently with a given team, they will be suited for quant roles (different technical requirements for research and trading divisions aside) and will be able to pick up market intuition fairly quickly (in most cases education programs are provided anyways)
Why did you choose a Bachelor of Science?
“Quant firms will commonly, perhaps primarily, hire university graduates from purely STEM backgrounds with minimal knowledge or experience within markets or the financial services industry.”
BSci allowed me to complete my degree in a short amount of time whilst still studying two disciplines (double major Mathematical Sciences Adv and Finance) Whilst typically in Australia, having two degrees has always been deemed to make you ‘more employable’, I had realised that in other countries with strong financial services industries such as the UK or US, having a single degree (e.g. BS or BA) covering multiple disciplines (notably from a reputable university) was just as good. Since I had wanted to move to London further on in my career, I decided BS would be an efficient path for me and allow me to ignore dreaded BCom core subjects BUSS1000, BUSS2000 and BUSS1030.
Are quant interviews as rigorous as they are known to be?
Definitely. Whilst I admittedly haven’t done many interviews for roles outside of quant, from what I have experienced and heard from other people who have, the technical questions for quant interviews are amongst the toughest this makes sense intuitively since quant firms put
“Quant interviews are less behavioural focused than interviews for other roles, and have a significantly smaller emphasis on networking”
a lot of time, money and effort into their interns (comprehensive education programs, trading simulators, shadowing, attention with intern projects, as well as an attractive salary). However, with that being said quant interviews are less behavioural focused than interviews for other roles, and have a significantly smaller (if even existent) emphasis on networking, which may come as a relief to some
Any tips for quant interview prep? Would you have done anything differently?
I would do a lot of your own research first to decide if quant is truly something you want to pursue it's easy to get sucked into romanticised ideas about the job that circulate around campus or online forums. Try to get in touch with and talk to people that have been in a quant role themselves. After doing so, if you believe that this is a field you want to pursue, you will have formulated your own reasons why and so any motivations or behavioural questions you may be asked should be a breeze. To prepare for the technical aspect of the interview, ensure you have a strong foundation in probability, statistics, and general problem solving try to gather as many questions as possible from a variety of resources. The list below can be a start.
“I would do a lot of your own research first to decide if quant is truly something you want to pursue it's easy to get sucked into romanticised ideas about the job that circulate around campus or online forums.”
There are also (thankfully) many online websites that have collated questions that have been asked in real quant interviews over the years and are one google search away It can help to do your research into the type of questions that some firms typically will lean towards (though note that of course sometimes they will change them suddenly one year so do not become too reliant on them).
If I were to do something differently, had I the opportunity to approach the most recent recruitment cycle again, it would be to do more practice answering problems under pressure perhaps with mates, as if in an interview. Interview nerves get to you in normal interviews, let alone when attempting to answer highly complex technical problems, so practicing maintaining your calm and thinking clearly under pressure, in my opinion, would be highly beneficial.
Then again, remember that whatever happens happens and if you mess up an interview, just take it as a learning experience and move forward onto the next opportunity.
Can you give any advice for the core units of study you have taken, noting that you are in the SSP stream and taking Advanced units?
I study within the Advanced/SSP streams purely out of interest in the subjects. Subjects within these streams typically have more challenging assessment tasks and assignments, and go deeper into the ‘why’ behind mathematical phenomena rather than just brushing over certain topics and taking them at face value which in my experience I have found the mainstream units to do. That being said, given they are harder, they demand more time and it can be more difficult to obtain the same marks you may have in mainstream units. My advice would be to consider this tradeoff with respect to your own interests, time-commitments and study style when choosing which units to enrol in.
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