Excelling in Algorithmic Trading with EPAT | Evgeny's story

4 min read

An EPAT alumnus, Evgeny has over 10 years of various experience in algorithmic trading and HFT working at several proprietary trading firms and hedge funds as a Quantitative Developer, Chief Software Architect, Quantitative Analyst and Chief Technical Officer.

Evgeny has also won 2nd place among more than 4000 quantitative researchers from 100 countries around the world in XTX Markets Global Forecasting Challenge in 2019.

He wished to upgrade his professional skills, develop an algorithmic edge to his career, network and more. Today, he is successfully established in the domain and still continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

This is his story and how he made it possible.


Hi Evgeny! Could you tell us about yourself?

Evgeny Tishkin pic

Hi, I’m Evgeny Tishkin! I’m a Quantitative Analyst, with an overall experience in Algorithmic Trading of 10 years, as a software developer, as a senior software developer, as the Chief Technical Officer, Quant, Quantitative Analyst for various companies, accounting for about 10 years.

I’m based in Russia, have a Bachelor’s, a Diploma, and a Master's degree in Computer Science. I love extreme sports like wakeboarding, snowboarding, and kite surfing. I believe that extreme sports prepare you for handling risks even while trading.

During the last five years, I have been working remotely, and that's why my occupation didn't get impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conferences were held online, so I wasn’t travelling.

It’s not a problem to grow Education or Career, I see no blocks because of the pandemic. I invested more time in education, probably exploring and researching new ideas and new knowledge.

I believe one should look at the long term benefits and develop their immunity rather than depending on vaccines and pills, thus having protection against all types of viruses and not only Coronavirus.


How and why did you transit from Software Development to Algo Trading?

Once I left the University, I got interested in Algo trading and my Computer Science background allowed me to enter the domain easily. So, for me, it wasn't difficult to switch to it and then stick to it, too.

Despite working as a CTO, handling a lot of responsibilities, software development, and analysis, I desired to focus on strategies and not on software development. I saw myself as more effective in this domain.

I feel one should have the fundamental knowledge of probability theory, statistics, mathematics, and the right education to enter Algorithmic Trading. It's complex because there is not much information easily available anywhere about it.

Since I’m working in this area, I'm learning some technologies like C, C++, Linux, etc. needed for high frequency trading. If you manage to develop those skills first, it's easy for you to learn Python. However, for example, for quantitative purposes, you should have a mathematical background also.

I think Programming + Mathematics + Statistics, is what do you need to enter algorithmic trading.

Trading is my passion, I love my job and I feel it is like magic. You predict the future, so that's pretty exciting.

Before QuantInsti and EPAT, I had no experience in algo trading specific education. I only had experience in software education, system development, some maths & statistics and machine learning.

So that's why I was interested when I got to know that the EPAT course exists! And I knew about this because Dr. Ernest Chan is a faculty member. I read about it, saw other lecturers, and thought this was the best!


How was your journey with EPAT?

The most important thing for me was that EPAT guided me to structure the areas of my knowledge and give a structure to my learning.

For people who are not familiar with EPAT, it is a very effective course and has a very short learning curve. Depending on your objective, you can start applying your learning or directly start some trading.

My expectation was to extract some new holy grail secrets from the faculty. These are people who have their own working business, are successful traders, and are renowned names in the industry. They shared knowledge and experience, from real-world algorithmic trading, not only academics.

This part interested me! And I did implement the valuable advice shared by EPAT lecturers and put them into practice. This was priceless for me! Since I possess some experience in the domain, their lectures might hold more value for me than they might hold for other people who don't have experience in trading before.

During EPAT, I had some periods of reflection on the areas which are covered by the course and I came to some perceptions, insights, ideas and new knowledge, that led to some new experiences. Every piece of the curriculum which exists in EPAT is quite valuable.

The faulty panel is perhaps EPAT’s most valuable feature! You get the opportunity to interact with people who have practical trading experience Dr. Ernest Chan, Rajib Borah, Nitin Aggarwal, Nitesh Khandelwal and many more, with whom you wouldn’t be able to engage normally.


What would you like to say to the aspiring Algo Traders out there?

When I passed my education, from Samara State Aerospace University in Russia, I started to work at the Image Processing Systems Institute, just probably during the first year of education. My Professor gave me advice, that I’ll always remember:

50% of your education is practical education.

The best and the shortest path to success is to dive into Algo Trading. But to go for such a job, you should have helpful, useful, and resourceful knowledge along with the right skills, to get such a job.

I would suggest developing skills that will be helpful in your career And trying to find a job with an employer as a quantitative developer or quantitative analyst or just software developer. with a company that is successful and does Algorithmic Trading.

The key is to follow your passion, your interest. When you like what you are doing, that’s it! It's not difficult at all to grow.


Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us, Evgeny. Congrats on your Certificate of Excellence, and we wish you the best for your journey ahead. May you achieve all that you aim for in your career!

If you too desire to equip yourself with lifelong skills which will always help you in upgrading your trading strategies. With topics such as Statistics & Econometrics, Financial Computing & Technology, Machine Learning, this algo trading course ensures that you are proficient in every skill required to excel in the field of trading. Enroll in EPAT now!


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