I began the CQF after completing a PhD in Cryptography from Oxford University. I wanted to learn about quantitative finance from leading theorists and practitioners. I subsequently received quantitative analyst job offers from Credit Suisse even before the end of my CQF training; and then J.P. Morgan three months after my final CQF result was published.

What I enjoyed most about the CQF is the opportunity to talk face-to-face with renowned practitioners. I learnt most from my questions and the experiences certainly resemble the challenges one faces in quantitative interviews.

Having worked as a quantitative analyst at major investment banks, the knowledge that I have gained from the CQF is not only extremely useful, but also a compass to my day-to-day work. Examples are the risk-neutral pricing theory, the issue with calibration, volatility models and stochastic calculus. I believe that the knowledge I have gained will be beneficial to my career in many years to come.