Hi HN - throwaway account because I have a few coworkers who also read HN.

I'm 26, graduated University in 2010 with a BSc in Software Engineering and am currently working in the front office of a tier-1 IB in London (in the City).

Through the day I'm exposed to the business a lot, and have learned a great deal in around 18 months. I'm currently working in FX, but am enjoying learning about equity research in my evenings and weekends.

Recently I've been thinking of a slight change in the direction of my career - the most concise way I can say it is that I'd like the code to become more of a tool than the end product. Equity research, and ultimately portfolio management interest me a great deal.

I'm wondering if anybody has the experience to advise how I can begin to make this change, or where I should look for positions? I would love to move to a buy side firm in the next few years if possible. I've begun to study for the IMC exam also. Many job postings I've seen even for junior equity analysts require much more business experience and a different academic background. What kind of firms should I be looking at?

Any help or advice would be appreciated :)