Ten years ago, Abhie chose a path different from many of his peers: After finishing his Bachelor’s in Computer Science at IIT Bombay, he joined Optiver as a trading trainee. In this blog post, he shares insights and advice from his career with current students who are considering applying their valuable tech skills to the challenging world of trading.

Q: What motivated you to transition from a computer science background to a career in trading?

A: I was always interested in problem-solving. Growing up I spent a lot of time doing math and logic puzzles, and transitioned into studying computer science, where what interested me most were the algorithmic parts—breaking down a complex problem into simpler steps and making your way through them. To be honest, I didn’t know much about trading, except for a couple of chats with someone I knew in the market making space. But the combination of what I was asked during the tests and the interviews, the people I met and the way they thought about things all led me to pick trading as a career.

Q: What aspects of your education at IIT Bombay do you feel have been most beneficial in your trading career?

A: Mostly the problem-solving and logic. But at the same time, just the experience of being independent, being around people smarter than you, and in a way, growing up over the four years there to be ready for a life where you don’t limit yourself to a particular place or career or group of people—that’s what helped the most.

Q: What motivated you to join Optiver Amsterdam after graduating from IIT Bombay?

A: I’d heard good things about the firm but in all honesty, knew very little. A lot of the motivation came from wanting to spend some time outside of India, especially in Europe. At the same time, the competitive pay and young workforce sounded like a challenge well worth a shot. Obviously, my motivation has changed a lot over the last 10 years, but I can’t believe how lucky I got picking the country and company without a lot of deep thought.

Career development at Optiver

Q: Can you tell us a bit more about your journey at Optiver, and how your role has evolved?

A: I started off in a trainee group for the first two months—which has since become a three-month program. At the end of my traineeship, I joined the Delta1 team as a trader where I started off trading ETFs for the first six months, and then have been trading stocks ever since. It’s been an eventful journey—going from trading a few products on specific markets to expanding across products and countries. Over the years, I’ve also been fortunate enough to get more and more responsibility, which ultimately led to my role as a team lead of the Cash Equities team. This position has since allowed me to have a bigger say on the business plan.

Q: How does Optiver support professional growth and development, particularly for those coming from technical backgrounds?

A: The world’s your oyster at Optiver. What you work on, the tech you use, the people you work with, that’s all in your hands. You can push as much as you’d like in any direction that you think is sensible, as long as you can convince people that it’s the right thing to do. Optiver thrives on giving people responsibility and letting them grow. Plus we have a pretty rigorous training and feedback framework to help people along the way.

Q: Can you share a memorable experience or achievement during your time at Optiver?

A: The last 10 years have had their share of volatility, but probably nothing else lives up to Brexit in 2016. That was the first time I’d experienced such a volatile market event. I made my way through the whole day on pretty much adrenaline and coffee, but I look back quite proudly at our ability to stay in the markets and keep on pricing and trading on such a crazy day. The desk was also far less mature than it is today, so it was a fair bit of turning the dials manually back then.

What tech brings to trading

Q: Many CS students may not see trading as a typical career path. What advice would you give to them about considering a career in trading?

A: I’d see it as something to try if you’re excited about the prospect of solving problems, getting instant feedback from the market, and working with a diverse group of talent from across the world. We get to decide ourselves what we work on every day and the market lets you know immediately whether you’re right or wrong—it makes for a pretty exciting iteration cycle.

Q: How do you think a background in computer science can provide an edge in the trading industry?

A: I feel like having the framework to think about problems, and the ability to break them down into smaller problems and code them up yourself are quite big edges.

Almost all of the trading we (and our competitors) do is automated, so people who can think about unique ways to solve problems or optimise the current setup can make a big impact very quickly.

Q: How can IIT students make the most of their time on campus to prepare for a successful career in the finance industry?

A: At the risk of sounding like an old man, I wish I’d paid more attention in college—especially to the algorithmic and logic classes that excited me to begin with.

But I think a large part of being ready for a career here is about trying new stuff, being entrepreneurial, questioning everything and being able to work effectively in teams. I don’t think there are many playgrounds better than college to push your boundaries in any of these aspects.

Q: As the industry continues to evolve, how do you see the role of technology evolving in trading?

A: You can’t have trading firms like ours without world-class tech infrastructure. The lines are quite blurred already in terms of the boundaries of trading and tech, and while we’ll probably always need specialists, we can see even more collaboration between trading and tech in the future.

Your future career path

If you’re looking for a career path that not only puts your tech skills to the test, but offers long-lasting growth potential and self-directed professional development, we encourage you to check out our internship opportunities.