“SAC is an ideal place for those who do not prefer being stalled by the bureaucratic environments in today’s corporate world. Keeping yourself ahead of the rest of the world is what SAC believes in.”

As I neared my graduation, I started looking at positions that had a technical aspect tied to the finance industry. I was interested in the financial industry because of the dynamics associated with the markets. I came upon SAC through the on-campus recruiting process at Penn. Initially, I knew little about SAC but was impressed with the firm’s growth record of over 12 years.

During my interview process, I got a chance to meet few of the technology managers including the CTO. I understood how technology is integrated with the business at SAC and realized that SAC will provide me the exposure to the financial industry while working in a highly technological environment.

I joined SAC a year ago in the Graduate Training Program which allows members in the training program to rotate through a various groups in technology. By participating in the rotation, I was able to gain a better understanding of differnet areas within technology and what each had to offer. I have been through two rotations –Risk technology and Execution Services. As I moved along the groups, SAC provided me with training, both in finance and technology, and I also attended a few conferences to gain an understanding of the trends in the finance industry.

I am always impressed with the caliber of the people I work with at SAC. The firm hires individuals who are pioneers in their area of expertise. SAC promotes new ideas and everyone here is encouraged to express their ideas and views. I have also come to know that the company firmly believes that technology is an integral part of the business and that SAC has a strong commitment to technology.

8:00: Since I live in downtown Stamford, the commute is less than ten minutes which most of friends envy. As soon as I get to work, I spend time checking the emails to check for any urgent requests or failed processes. Once I am done, I head down to the cafeteria to grab something for the hungry stomach.

9:30: As the market opens, I check the simulators to see if they are responding correctly to the client requests.

10:00: I am working on a new project that redirects the incoming orders from another application to our existing order management system. So I start looking at the new design and try to understand how to achieve the fastest possible execution time.

12:00: The team heads down to the cafeteria for lunch. This is a good time to discuss what each person of the team is working on and also to talk about what’s going on in the world. Sometimes, if it’s a day with lot of activity, we had back to our desks with the lunch to make sure all the systems are working seamlessly.

1:00: Time to test the changes made to the project today before the market closes.

4:00: The market closes and the changes made to the project are again tested after the market is closed.

5:00: The team holds knowledge-sharing sessions wherein one person explains in detail how the project he or she has worked on works. These sessions are very helpful since I joined the team a few months ago and they help me acquire more knowledge about the processes handled by the team.

6:00: The changes made to the production systems are rolled out and I verify the deployment of the changes that were requested by me.

6:30: I note down tasks that are to be completed first thing next day and head back home.