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sheaves
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: January 24th, 2018, 11:45 pm

Math undergraduate looking into finance?

January 25th, 2018, 12:10 am

I have a Bachelor's in Mathematics from a state school with multiple NSF-funded research projects in probability theory and computer science. I've also taken the PhD qual sequence courses in Mathematics and Economics, including stochastic calculus, as well as a bunch of other graduate courses, so I'd say I'm in a solid place in terms of coursework. One of my research projects involved options-pricing, which I really found compelling, even though at the time I knew (and now still know) very little about finance.

Now that I've graduated and have been looking at job opportunities, I've started to consider finance as a potential field of work. Unfortunately, due to my lack of actual financial experience or knowledge (outside of what little is necessary to price certain options), I'm a bit hesitant to step into the field.

I was hoping for some direction from experienced members of the financial community here. What kind of jobs should I be looking for? Should I just go for a PhD before considering entering finance? What can I even do in the financial field, really? Any advice would be appreciated.

P.S. I have good algorithm developing experience. I can also program in a wide array of languages, although I can't say I'm an expert in any of them.
 
User avatar
ppauper
Posts: 11729
Joined: November 15th, 2001, 1:29 pm

Re: Math undergraduate looking into finance?

January 25th, 2018, 10:19 am

maybe look into MFE (masters in financial engineering, has different names in different schools) and ask any prospective schools if they help with placement and what recent grads are doing now