i am 30 and due to be released from military service in a year's time. i have an electrical engineering degree . after 8 years of experimenting (programming, military) i have made up my mind to take up full-time teaching and research. the broad area of interest is quantitative finance. i would be applying for phD prodrams for fall 2005. 1. am i a bit too old to do a PhD? 2. given my CV, what do you suggest that i can do in this year to increase my chances of getting admitted? i have a part-time teaching opportunity (financial theory course to undergrads). does teaching experience count in getting admission?3. a friend of mine suggested that phD in applied math (those specializing in fin math) is better than doing a phD in quant finance from a b-school. what are your suggestions?Thanks in advanceRegardsBalaji

Not too old. Some places will appreciate your experience.While there is a lot of overlap, your experience in a financial econ program in a b-school will be very different than a quantitative program where you choose quant finance as an application area.Your friend is probably right if you want to go into industry. If you want to teach and do research, any field is fine.An MS in financial mgt is probably good background for either, but I am not sure how much it will count in the admissions decision - at least at the better schools.btw, financial econ programs are very selective (programs are usually small) and, while there are more spots for students in applied math, it will be hard to gain admission if you do not have a fairly good math background. I would guess most math phd students were math undergrads. You'll have to take the subject GRE. And, as for the few programs that have specific mathematical finance programs (CMU, NYU, etc.), they are as selective if not more so than the financial econ programs.You'll have to consider what type dept. you eventually want to work in. It seems rare to find people w/o B-school degrees working in Bschools. Columbia's bschool recognizes the value of a math or OR phd....pick some schools and take a look at the backgrounds of the profs.Teaching exp. will help at those schools trying to train teachers. Most of the better programs try to train researchers.Good luck....you can definitely do it if you are willing to consider mid-level schools as well.

thank you KO. can you suggest me some "good" mid level schools?regards

You are never too old.Too old for a PhD?Regards,Niclas

I am at your age and considering applying to a PhD program as well. Personally I prefer bschool because they give you a broad background in finance plus basic mathematics and economcis theories. You have more chance of teaching at a bschool than a maths phd unless you just want to work in industry. I am searching schools as well but was quite confused. Can any one give some suggestions on school selections?

Be prepared for a couple of things. First, the school you go to may not accept as many units from your previous school as you know they should, and you may end up taking classes in material you already know. That is frustrating. Also, there will be culture shock for you. Right now, you have a serious job and are likely respected and reasonably senior. That will change. You will be sitting at a desk for many hours listening to someone's every word, writing it down, and getting tested. That seems normal when you are 18. When you are 30, it is not how you have been running your life and it will be a big change. When you are 18, you may just ignore the fact that some class is lame and figure its required and just play the game to get a grade and move on. When you are 30 and you are doing these classes to learn, you will feel cheated in that same class. I'm not telling you not to do this, I am just saying to be prepared for a serious life change.

In doctoral level courses (at good programs) only the arrogant professors may not treat you like an adult. It is my impression that the level of phd courses is much beyond MS level (at least at my program they were), so look into it, but don't worry too much about overlap.To recommend schools, you'd have to tell which way you are leaning....finance in Bschool or stat/math/OR/etc. program with individual focus in quant finance.Keep in mind where you'll want to teach....Bschools tend to hire phds from Bschools, quantitative programs tend to hire people from quantitative programs. (we like those like ourselves).And, again, if you think there's a high chance of being in industry (financial engineering, quant finance, math finance, etc), then the quant programs are preferred. Ideally, choose a school that is good across the board (Berkeley, Michigan, Stanford, MIT, etc., lesser, but still very good would be Purdue, UofI Urbana-Champagne, UofTexas, Wisconsin, GT, Minnesota, etc)

btw, the deadlines for admissions with financial aid (the free kind like assistantships and fellowships) has likely passed for Fall 2004 admissions. I don't recommend paying for a phd to anyone. Also, if you haven't taken the GREs, you likely have to wait until Fall 2005 to enter.

30 is definitely NOT too old in my view. Iwould recommend choosing a PhD topic/field that genuinely interests you, rather than one that you think will be best from a career point of view.