The new way to experience Citadel Securities as a female student

Winter is a good time to be a female student in quantitative trading. A number of firms offer female-focused opportunities and internships at the start of the year, and now there's a new kid on the block.

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The Ignite Women's Trading Program at Citadel Securities is taking applications for its first year right now. The week-long program, which will run in mid-January, will be open to 2027 graduates in the US, and will allow students to shadow Citadel Securities traders in New York, as well as work on trading simulations of their own. 

The program is primarily educational, geared towards people with no prior quant trading experience. It allows invitees to educate themselves on both the world of quant trading, and the culture of Citadel Securities.

It doesn't appear to pay a salary, but flights, accommodation and other expenses like Ubers to the office are paid for by the firm.

HFT firm Virtu Financial has been doing something similar with its 'Women's Winternships', which are now in their seventh year. Openings for that week-long program are currently only on offer in Dublin and Singapore, however.

If you prefer a program that pays a salary on top, consider Hudson River Trading's WITTI (Women in Trading Technology Internship). That program lasts 2-4 weeks and pays interns $4.8k per week.

Citadel's Ignite program only has around 25 places, and won't be easy to get into. It won't guarantee you a proper internship - you still need to apply through conventional channels, but it will give you experience. 

Successful 'winterns' at other firms prove that it can result in a call-back for the real deal. Christina Wang, who was a part of Virtu's 2023 Winternship class, returned to the firm for a quantitative trading internship this year. Helen Hu, who winterned at Hudson River Trading in 2022, returned a year later for an algorithm development internship.

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