Serving the Quantitative Finance Community

 
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Alekk
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Joined: September 14th, 2007, 4:39 pm

life after quant

January 28th, 2010, 3:33 pm

This section is packed with threads describing how to enter the quantitative finance industry: what are the ways to leave it ? I have heard of many PhD students discussing of how they would work as a quant for a decade or so, make some real money, and they leave. I have not been given the chance to actually meet anyone having left the quantitative industry (mainly because I am still a poor PhD guy, I guess) - I am curious about what people can do if they eventually decide to have a try outside the quanty world. On one hand, I am inclined to think that after 10 years or so in a bank one can easily get accustomed to a certain level of income and lifestyle, which can make such a decision quite intricate. On the other hand, with so many threads describing the joys of a quant life, I am sure that many people do consider this option. In short, with a science PhD background, what would be your best shot after a decade of quant job ?
 
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EscapeArtist999
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Joined: May 20th, 2009, 2:49 pm

life after quant

January 28th, 2010, 4:41 pm

box jellyfish in a bathtub of icy cold water.
Last edited by EscapeArtist999 on January 27th, 2010, 11:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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HyperGeometric
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Joined: March 27th, 2004, 4:13 am

life after quant

January 28th, 2010, 5:26 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: Alekk On one hand, I am inclined to think that after 10 years or so in a bank one can easily get accustomed to a certain level of income and lifestyle, which can make such a decision quite intricate. You've summarized it yourself.
 
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nicka81
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life after quant

January 28th, 2010, 5:45 pm

one option would be to get a PhD in finance and a faculty position in a business school
 
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plus
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life after quant

January 28th, 2010, 6:02 pm

One option would be to teach high school kids.
Last edited by plus on January 27th, 2010, 11:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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traderjoe1976
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life after quant

January 28th, 2010, 9:07 pm

Quite a few Finance PhDs got laid off last year. Most of them went to teach in the universities. They get university salaries approx $150K. Some of them tried to interview again on Wall Street but were getting offers of around $100K which is less than one sixth of what they were earning previously. Probably similar thing occured with the Physics, Math, and Engineering PhDs.
 
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J
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Joined: November 1st, 2001, 12:53 am

life after quant

January 28th, 2010, 9:17 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: traderjoe1976Quite a few Finance PhDs got laid off last year. Most of them went to teach in the universities. They get university salaries approx $150K. Some of them tried to interview again on Wall Street but were getting offers of around $100K which is less than one sixth of what they were earning previously. Probably similar thing occured with the Physics, Math, and Engineering PhDs.Are those finance PhD from top 30 schools? It should be very easy for them to get a professor job.
 
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HyperGeometric
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January 29th, 2010, 12:15 am

QuoteOriginally posted by: traderjoe1976Quite a few Finance PhDs got laid off last year. Most of them went to teach in the universities. They get university salaries approx $150K. Each one must be teaching a lot of courses/sections as lecturers to make 150k. Hard to believe they managed to get tenure track at top 30 (or even 50) unis after getting laid off from industry so may be some low tier schools. But do those schools pay that much?
 
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nicka81
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January 29th, 2010, 12:15 am

this is weirdfirst, for a person who chose industry after getting a PhD, its almost impossible to get back to Academia, at least to a top schoolof course, they can teach as adjuncts; i do not know how much do adjuncts get but I always had impression that it is much less than for tenure track facultyat second, 100k offer for graduates with PhD in finance is crapaccording to my sample (a couple of hedge funds in NYC + GS), it is more like a 200k-250k in guaranteed first-year compensation + discretionary bonus
 
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EEGrad
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Joined: May 7th, 2009, 3:34 pm

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January 29th, 2010, 12:50 am

QuoteOriginally posted by: AlekkThis section is packed with threads describing how to enter the quantitative finance industry: what are the ways to leave it ? I have heard of many PhD students discussing of how they would work as a quant for a decade or so, make some real money, and they leave. I have not been given the chance to actually meet anyone having left the quantitative industry (mainly because I am still a poor PhD guy, I guess) - I am curious about what people can do if they eventually decide to have a try outside the quanty world. On one hand, I am inclined to think that after 10 years or so in a bank one can easily get accustomed to a certain level of income and lifestyle, which can make such a decision quite intricate. On the other hand, with so many threads describing the joys of a quant life, I am sure that many people do consider this option. In short, with a science PhD background, what would be your best shot after a decade of quant job ?Even if you wanted to stay wouldn't you be anyhow laid off at the age of 50? At least in tech industry ageism is rampant, and given the insane hours and lifestyle in finance it seems logical that you will be let go and will find it very hard to find a job after 50, so better to have some plan for future.
 
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surya2cents
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Joined: January 30th, 2009, 8:04 pm

life after quant

January 29th, 2010, 3:17 am

QuoteOriginally posted by: plusOne option would be to teach high school kids.Its way easier to be a quant than be a high school teacher. You may be fired within a year from hs.
 
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Alekk
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Joined: September 14th, 2007, 4:39 pm

life after quant

January 29th, 2010, 4:48 am

QuoteOriginally posted by: EEGradQuoteOriginally posted by: AlekkThis section is packed with threads describing how to enter the quantitative finance industry: what are the ways to leave it ? I have heard of many PhD students discussing of how they would work as a quant for a decade or so, make some real money, and they leave. I have not been given the chance to actually meet anyone having left the quantitative industry (mainly because I am still a poor PhD guy, I guess) - I am curious about what people can do if they eventually decide to have a try outside the quanty world. On one hand, I am inclined to think that after 10 years or so in a bank one can easily get accustomed to a certain level of income and lifestyle, which can make such a decision quite intricate. On the other hand, with so many threads describing the joys of a quant life, I am sure that many people do consider this option. In short, with a science PhD background, what would be your best shot after a decade of quant job ?Even if you wanted to stay wouldn't you be anyhow laid off at the age of 50? At least in tech industry ageism is rampant, and given the insane hours and lifestyle in finance it seems logical that you will be let go and will find it very hard to find a job after 50, so better to have some plan for future.so that's basically the same question: what can you do after a quant job ? You will maybe tell me that at the age of 50, after a career in the quantitative finance, you don't really need another job (at least financially speaking ?)
 
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twofish
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life after quant

January 29th, 2010, 1:59 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: EEGradEven if you wanted to stay wouldn't you be anyhow laid off at the age of 50?In quant finance and in high-level IT, I don't think that ageism is particularly strong. First of all, if you know the secret bits of knowledge that make the systems work, it's hard to lay you off. Second, the people making the big decisions on who to layoff tend to be in their 50's, and so they have an interest in not being ageist.QuoteAt least in tech industry ageism is rampantDepends which part of the industry. Programmers in the oil industry and high-performance big-iron consulting tend to be older. Game programming and web developers tend to be younger. One reason that older programmers get out of some industries is that they figure out that they are being over-worked and under-paid, and so it's cheaper to get someone young and stupid to do the work.QuoteGiven the insane hours and lifestyle in finance it seems logical that you will be let go and will find it very hard to find a job after 50, so better to have some plan for future.The hours aren't insane. I'm working fewer hours in finance than in my previous job, because I'm working with people "with clue". I don't think the hours working in finance IT are worse than working in non-finance IT, and the reputation that finance has for having totally insane hours comes from parts of finance that don't have much to do with IT. There's also a matter of doing an apples to apples comparison. If you work for a high tech startup, you *will* be working pretty crazy hours, since those more usually more cults than companies.
 
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quantmeh
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January 29th, 2010, 3:13 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: AlekkI have not been given the chance to actually meet anyone having left the quantitative industryhow come you didn't meet James Simons yet? he just retired from quant industry
 
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EscapeArtist999
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Joined: May 20th, 2009, 2:49 pm

life after quant

January 29th, 2010, 3:48 pm

TwoFish you are so boring... I almost fell asleep reading your post.