Hi, Is it too late to finish a PhD in quantitative finance at around the age of 30, and then go for a quant job?I heard that quant job is a very tiring job, so it is difficult to stay in this position for more than 10 years. I am not a very enegetic person. Then, how to plan for the career of the rest life? Many thanks.

QuoteI am not a very energetic person.First, work on that.

It is very late. By the time you finish you will be like 35. If you want a life and want to be a quant there are plenty of jobs in that domain. And please learn programming. Mathematician who cannot program is no good and often poorly paid.

QuoteOriginally posted by: capafan2It is very late. By the time you finish you will be like 35. If you want a life and want to be a quant there are plenty of jobs in that domain. And please learn programming. Mathematician who cannot program is no good and often poorly paid.Sorry for the wrong word I used, I mean I will finish my Phd at my age of 30. But as far as I know, quants usually retire very early, then how do they plan for the rest of their life

QuoteOriginally posted by: fmfreshmanQuoteOriginally posted by: capafan2It is very late. By the time you finish you will be like 35. If you want a life and want to be a quant there are plenty of jobs in that domain. And please learn programming. Mathematician who cannot program is no good and often poorly paid.Sorry for the wrong word I used, I mean I will finish my Phd at my age of 30. But as far as I know, quants usually retire very early, then how do they plan for the rest of their lifeMaybe they used to retire early. But not anymore. They have the same life-span as anyone else. They also do not get paid like they used to. But you are right the work pressures are considerably. If you wanted a more predictable job you should consider another field.

fmfreshman, It is never too late to do anything. I was 36 when I entered quant space and I am enjoying it thoroughly. Quants typically are older because most of them have PhDs. I should say you are young to be entering the field at 30!!!Pay also is better than doing application development/support work. (It has to be since this is a specialized field where there's not much supply). I know it because I moved from IT into quant field and am getting paid more. If you have passion age is not a factor. I know tons of people who have PhDs, worked in non-finance fields and then did MFE to get into finance. Also don' t believe in general that quant life is short, long hours etc. Quant is a very diversified field. You have quants who deal in derivatives pricing/modeling (aka desk quants in sell side banks), quants who are on buy side (asset allocation, quant trading, stat arb etc). Pick your area of interest and do the hard work. You will find something you like. There are tons of high paying quant jobs esp on buy side these days (not easy to get in though).Don't have a defeatist attitude. Since you already did PhD in quant finance I hope you are interested in this field. So don't get discouraged, dive right in, prepare rigorously for the interviews and give your best shot. Trust me if you put in the effort you will be pleasantly surprised with the results. Happened with meGood luckD

Did I hear someone mention "tons of jobs"?!

For a different point of view, one headhunter told me that "this job market fscking sucks". The other one called it "worst market in years". So it could be too late to enter the market, but it also could be too early in case it recovers. As for the original question, this age is nothing out of normal. More important is the reputation of your school and your ability to code.

QuoteOriginally posted by: qqqqqFor a different point of view, one headhunter told me that "this job market fscking sucks". The other one called it "worst market in years". So it could be too late to enter the market, but it also could be too early in case it recovers. As for the original question, this age is nothing out of normal. More important is the reputation of your school and your ability to code.1) 30 yo doesn't even start to be too late for quant, provided you are ok with being an associate to start with2) the job market is not really good in general, but people are definitely hiring in risk space3) incidentally, being a quant in risk space is on average not so stressful4) however, let me just say that with this "old and tired" attitude you won't get far in any bank that I know5) most likely as a quant you will not become rich, but rather be able to live a comfortable life and maybe move to non-quant jobs later on6) learn to codeThat's pretty much all on DF radio for today.

Definitely learn to code - most likely in C++, C#, Python, R or MatLab. You will give yourself a much broader set of jobs with which to apply to. Just be careful you don't wind up as IT support, which can happen.

Of course it is not too late. But you need to:- pick up the skills and the basic knowledge required- network, make some friends and gain knowledge and advice from those with experience- be motivated and find the area that interests youThe term 'quant' seems to have become a little meaningless in its breadth these days (historically it probably would have referred to derivatives pricing). But in a way that is a good thing because it reflects the breadth of the application of technical skill sets to finance, which makes it easier to find an area that suits your needs. You will certainly need to find your energy, but once you do go for it!Just ask Steve (RIP)...

QuoteOriginally posted by: neuroguyOf course it is not too late. But you need to:- pick up the skills and the basic knowledge required- network, make some friends and gain knowledge and advice from those with experience- be motivated and find the area that interests youThe term 'quant' seems to have become a little meaningless in its breadth these days (historically it probably would have referred to derivatives pricing). But in a way that is a good thing because it reflects the breadth of the application of technical skill sets to finance, which makes it easier to find an area that suits your needs. You will certainly need to find your energy, but once you do go for it!Just ask Steve (RIP)...Agreed. Nowadays the word gets added to all manner of job titles. Quant trader, quant analyst, quant researcher, quant developer...Fmfreshman - What aspect are you most interested in? The following is a list of some quant job roles:* Derivatives pricing/options theory* Prop trading/systematic trading* Financial infrastructure development/model implementation* Risk management/portfolio risk analysis

QuoteOriginally posted by: DevonFangsQuoteOriginally posted by: qqqqqFor a different point of view, one headhunter told me that "this job market fscking sucks". The other one called it "worst market in years". So it could be too late to enter the market, but it also could be too early in case it recovers. As for the original question, this age is nothing out of normal. More important is the reputation of your school and your ability to code.1) 30 yo doesn't even start to be too late for quant, provided you are ok with being an associate to start with2) the job market is not really good in general, but people are definitely hiring in risk space3) incidentally, being a quant in risk space is on average not so stressful4) however, let me just say that with this "old and tired" attitude you won't get far in any bank that I know5) most likely as a quant you will not become rich, but rather be able to live a comfortable life and maybe move to non-quant jobs later on6) learn to codeThat's pretty much all on DF radio for today.How hard is it to get a job in risk without prior risk experience?

QuoteOriginally posted by: qqqqqQuoteOriginally posted by: DevonFangsQuoteOriginally posted by: qqqqqFor a different point of view, one headhunter told me that "this job market fscking sucks". The other one called it "worst market in years". So it could be too late to enter the market, but it also could be too early in case it recovers. As for the original question, this age is nothing out of normal. More important is the reputation of your school and your ability to code.1) 30 yo doesn't even start to be too late for quant, provided you are ok with being an associate to start with2) the job market is not really good in general, but people are definitely hiring in risk space3) incidentally, being a quant in risk space is on average not so stressful4) however, let me just say that with this "old and tired" attitude you won't get far in any bank that I know5) most likely as a quant you will not become rich, but rather be able to live a comfortable life and maybe move to non-quant jobs later on6) learn to codeThat's pretty much all on DF radio for today.How hard is it to get a job in risk without prior risk experience?That depends on your background. What are you currently working on?

QuoteOriginally posted by: quantstartQuoteOriginally posted by: qqqqqQuoteOriginally posted by: DevonFangsQuoteOriginally posted by: qqqqqFor a different point of view, one headhunter told me that "this job market fscking sucks". The other one called it "worst market in years". So it could be too late to enter the market, but it also could be too early in case it recovers. As for the original question, this age is nothing out of normal. More important is the reputation of your school and your ability to code.1) 30 yo doesn't even start to be too late for quant, provided you are ok with being an associate to start with2) the job market is not really good in general, but people are definitely hiring in risk space3) incidentally, being a quant in risk space is on average not so stressful4) however, let me just say that with this "old and tired" attitude you won't get far in any bank that I know5) most likely as a quant you will not become rich, but rather be able to live a comfortable life and maybe move to non-quant jobs later on6) learn to codeThat's pretty much all on DF radio for today.How hard is it to get a job in risk without prior risk experience?That depends on your background. What are you currently working on?Quant trading (not high frequency)