If possible, get an internship, or placement, or something. You seem to be quantitative, so send a million emails / LinkedIn requests to people in charge of qu

If possible, get an internship, or placement, or something. You seem to be quantitative, so send a million emails / LinkedIn requests to people in charge of quantitative things and be fast to follow-up. Practice and theory are aligned, but getting to the nuts-and-bolts of a few practical, current problems can be a great education. Even something seemingly simple, like constructing a proxy for an index, is practical and skills learnt applicable. Focus on getting the foot in the door, as long as you ace the above, that's enough academically. Your academic drive (having mastered the above) should be enough to problem-solve and push forward.