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(Sorry for the formatting, I'm on mobile)

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Quantitative-Finance-Interviews/dp/1438236662&ved=2ahUKEwiIxLiFsYzaAhXJJMAKHfobAc4QFjAKegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw2FMeyGzdYd7u1o_Ho9qJIf

This book is probably overkill for most of the questions you'll get asked (it's targeted more towards quantitative analyst interviews which generally require a much more in depth knowledge of calculus, linear algebra, algorithms etc.) but the brainteaser and probability chapters will definitely be useful.

Also as others mentioned practice quick mental math, with 2/3 digit numbers and decimals. Rankyourbrain.com isn't bad for this (someone mentioned tradertest.org is down).

In my experience interviewing for these places, many of them put a lot of focus on game theory problems. A game will presented to you and you decide whether you want to play and what the best strategy is. Another common question is to market making games where youre asked to estimate some quantity (e.g number of windows in NYC) and then play a market making game with the interviewer, whereby you set bid/ask prices on this quantity and he buys/sells and you adjust your prices accordingly. After a few trades he'll ask you what your position is, what value of the quantity would make you break even etc. They also often ask for confidence intervals of your estimates. It's key that you clarify your thought process for the estimate and make reasonable assumptions.

Finally, due to the nature of the job you will likely be but under an unreasonable amount of time pressure for some questions, just to see how you handle it. They key is not getting flustered if you get a question or two wrong in this situation. Just keep a clear head and take each question as it comes. Good luck!

Though it depends on the area of finance you are in, VBA is a very good place to start out. You already know Excel and I bet it would be an easier sell at work to start using some homebrew macro rather than something else.

If I where you, I would pick up Financial Modelling by Simon Benninga. It's not focused heavily on VBA but does use it where relevant - this just shows that you really don't need VBA for a lot of finance applications anyway (you can do a lot with functions only!). Pick up any Excel/VBA book for the things that Benninga does not cover. A book similar to Benninga is Advanced Modelling in Finance
using Excel and VBA, which I'm not as familiar with as Benninga but it does seem more focused on VBA, if only slightly.

You mention databases, which would be another direction you could go in. Your biggest hurdle will probably be to convince someone to give you access to a database with relevant data - at least while you are still learning. Not to mention that on top of having to learn something like VBA to access the database, you will also have to learn SQL to query the database for data. It's not out of reach but perhaps a bit of a learning curve. I would suggest you find out if your company has something like a Enterprise Data Warehouse or any other databases where you are allowed to hook up and get data from.

This is a business where you have to do things the hard way, typically. If you decide to become a retail broker, there are a few things I would do:

• Figure out which senior brokers are going to retire soon-ish - work to determine whether you can buy their book (this might mean you actually just work for them for a while);
  
  
• Cold call like crazy - mostly business owners, doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc., and give them a short pitch of good ideas you have. Remember that these guys get pitched constantly, so you should learn the art of the pitch. You'll have to make hundreds of calls before you succeed, but this is what sales is about;
  
  
• Partner with any realtors, accountants, tax advisors, lawyers, estate planners and so on you know, or establish those relationships. Refer business to them in exchange for them to refer business to you.
  
  I would suspect that a broker, in his first five years, probably hates his life. But once you get beyond that initial phase, it can obviously become very lucrative, as lucrative as a more institutional role. Remember that brokers eventually establish relationships with investment bankers and start doing fun little private placements. Some brokers specialize in this stuff (e.g. finding capital for small tech firms). These guys get warrants, the piece of the compensation picture that the retail client often doesn't know about. Warrants are good.
  
  Remember too that we may be entering a long-term bear market. Some good friends of mine got started at one of the world's largest brokerages back in the mid 90s. So they had timing on their side. You may not.
  
  This book might interest you: http://www.amazon.com/Pitch-Anything-Innovative-Presenting-Persuading/dp/0071752854/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp
  
  It's written by a guy who raises VC capital.

I can't give any advice for SEA. I don't know how much you've looked into it already, but some assorted resources people seem to like:

Max Dama - On Automated Trading

Jane Street - Probability and Markets

Cliff Asness - A Brief and Biased Survey of Quantitative Investing

Heard On the Street

A practical Guid to Quant Finacne interviews

A summary of quantative trading

[Mark Joshi - On Becoming a quant] (http://www.markjoshi.com/downloads/advice.pdf)

How's your programming and statistics? Those are probably the two things you can improve the most on your own to give you the best chance with interviews.

You'll hear this a thousand times but read A Random Walk Down Wall Street. It has a good overview of America's market history, specifically the last decade. Make sure you buy a revised version.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393352242/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile

Some people may suggest Intelligent Investor and Securities Analysis but I found them very dated.

Also here is the r/personalfinance reading list:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/readinglist

Cheesy but potentially useful - much has been written about P&G's culture as a model for mgt in general as well as for other consumer goods cos, so it's common to find people in the industry constantly referencing P&G methods as dogma (which is often laughable from the perspective of an analyst, but good to know.) A few reads:

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https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=procter+gamble+book&qid=1559027196&s=gateway&sr=8-2

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https://www.amazon.com/When-Core-Values-Are-Strategic/dp/0132905337/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=procter+gamble+case+studies&qid=1559027619&s=gateway&sr=8-7

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http://globadvantage.ipleiria.pt/files/2009/07/working_paper-33_globadvantage.pdf

www.investopedia.com for looking up financial terms.

www.bloomberg.com for financial news.

Warren Buffet talk on youtube

Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters

Books-

The warren buffet way will help you analyse companies.

The intelligent investor the book on value investing.

Common stocks and uncommon profits the book on picking growth stocks.

The black swan useful insight into options trading.

Anything and everything by Michael Lewis, he writes so well, his books will give you insight into how the finance industry actually works and they're entertaining; Liars Poker chronicles how the Mortgage Backed Security was created and is a good start.

When you're done with all that, let me know and I'll send more your way! Studying for the CFA helps too as recommended by the other guy posting here but you by no means need a finance/business major.

I developed ASimpleModel for those new to financial modeling. The site introduces the three primary financial statements in the context of Excel / modeling. From there it will walk you through an integrated model, DCF and LBO. All material is video driven with notes and templates available for download. With that introduction there are quite a few more advanced options available:

Free Resources:

http://ASimpleModel.com

www.Macabacus.com

NYU Stern Prof. Aswath Damodaran - check his website. It is an incredible resource.

Specific to investment banking, but a great resource:

http://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/0470442204

First, actually find a therapist.

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Second, since you probably won't actually find a therapist (even though you should), below are a few strategies that got me through my roughest patches in investment banking and private equity:

• Life will challenge you at every corner, a new career will also be stressful in its own right
  
• Maximizing every decision leads to undue stress, learn to satisfice (Barry Schwartz TED Talk on the Paradox of Choice)
  
• Learn to control your mindset to identify and note negative thought patterns (Headspace teaches Mindfulness -- try it for forty lessons and be amazed at your improved perspective)
  
• Treat yourself to purposeful rest every day. You probably don't have rest time every day. But when you have a bit of a weekend or a couple hours before bed, set aside a strict portion of that time for purposeful relaxation. Don't half-work -- watch TV, play video games, do something stupid and unproductive that makes you happy and relaxed.
  
• Stay fit, even if it's a couple core exercises, some foam rolling, and some stretching
  
• These books helped me: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Zorba the Greek, Seneca: Letters from a Stoic, Truth in Comedy

Thank you, good luck!

Rosenbaum and Pearl IB

For investment banking, you would only really have a shot at a biotech bank looking for a scientific-minded analyst. That said, they probably "know what they're getting" by hiring you, and are planning on training you. If it is something you would really consider, I would highly recommending reading Investment Banking by Rosenbaum and Pearl to gain a basic understanding of financial statements, and the 5 basic valuation methodologies. Being able to speak about these....even at a high level...will go far in an interview (these are the basics of entry level undergrad IB recruiting interviews).

Depending on the bank, some may look for you to fill an associate type of a role, but I wouldn't expect that without banking experience or an MBA, but small shops would use you as a consultant or even an analyst in the right environment. Do some searching for life science and healthcare investment banks and you can see in most "team" sections the background on the individuals at the firm. Small boutique types of shops will focus on getting the most efficiency out of analysts as possible, and your experience can be a large advantage over just a finance background in the right setting

For firms like akuna, you do not need finance domain knowledge. Very good prep book with tons of example questions is https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Quantitative-Finance-Interviews/dp/1438236662/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1514852482&sr=8-2&keywords=quant+finance. Will match the types of questions you may get very well.

Read this:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Practical-Guide-Wall-Street/dp/0470383720

The book covers the basics of what you would want to know going into banking and will help you learn products and jargon. A managing director at MS suggested to me a few years back and it was very helpful.

Sounds like this would be a good start: http://www.amazon.com/Valuation-Measuring-Managing-Companies-Edition/dp/0470424656

I would start here

Some additional books that I like are:

Financial Schnanigans

Avoiding the winner's curse

If you are interested in high-yield debt (and you should be, this is where all of the action is), then read the first four books on Amazon

Finally, learn the basics of accounting and financial accounting. Finance is just a bunch of ratios. You need to understand how the numbers are created before you can analyze them.

Thanks, I appreciate that. 1 sounds necessary and 2 good, 3 and 4 arent big for me. I also am hearing SDD is necessary! Would you mind checking these two out? This is what I'm thinking about getting, but I dont see any reason not to get the cheaper one here. https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i5-8250U-GeForce-E5-576G-5762/dp/B075FLBJV7/ref=cm_wl_huc_item

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RF2123Z/ref=psdc_13896615011_t1_B075FLBJV7#HLCXComparisonWidget_feature_div

Pretty expensive, so I'd recommend any older edition. But this is the same textbook I used in my Derivatives course, it's basically an industry standard.

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Futures-Options-Markets-9th/dp/0134083245/ref=dp_ob_image_bk

I have looked into that one before, but the reviews on amazon seem pretty bad:

https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Still-Beats-Market/dp/0470624159

I have this book and actually worked with these guys (Rosenbaum and Pearl). It's more banking-specific, but the valuation information is more universal. They even walk you through the modeling/comps/valuation formulas step-by-step. Fairness opinions will require knowledge of a lot of the information covered in the textbook.

I am sure a quick google search will give you an introduction to what quant is all about. Here is some stuff you can use:

http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_1/FINANCE%20Paul%20Wilmott%20Introduces%20Quantitative%20Finance%200470319585.pdf (Long ass read, but Paul is all you basically need for Quant Fin stuff) -> Skim through topics to see what background you need.

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"But that is a lot, you're confusing me even more"

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https://the55thfx.com/ebooks/QA.pdf (Suitable for Sunday Afternoon Pina Colada)

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"Alright stop flexing mathematics and statistics, too hard"

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http://www.mysmu.edu/faculty/christophert/QF101/QF101_Week03_Principles%20of%20Quantitative%20Finance.pdf (Very nice comparison of Physics and Quant Finance - something I have screamed before on how they are so related)

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Other reads: (May not be free)

https://www.amazon.ca/Financial-Mathematics-Comprehensive-Giuseppe-Campolieti/dp/1439892423

https://www.amazon.ca/Stochastic-Calculus-Finance-Binomial-Pricing/dp/0387249680

https://www.amazon.com/Undergraduate-Introduction-Financial-Mathematics-Third/dp/9814407445

Work in the industry, what he said is largely true... and has been for a while. the last few hold outs on the industry just started flipping everyone to fee based inflow the DOL started putting pressure off things. You can read when this initial movement started when ML first started moving to annuitized/advisory business: The Supernova Advisor .

Primary difference is at most of these you can offer a breadth of different products to clients once you survive the first 3-5 years. At that point there will always be pressure to do things that maximize income, but you can largely ignore that which you think is improper or does not benefit clients.