Hi, I was wondering if someone can share their experience in which is the best field I should be preparing myself for. I have a MS degree in CS and I will also get another MS in a year in Fin. Eng. from NYC. I also have descent Experiance in IT working for Bloomberg and have very strong programming skills. I am little confused on which sector in Financial industry I should be focussing on. Is it FI/Equities/MBS/Credit Derivatives,Swaps and what positions...etc. The list can go on but I want to know what is hot today...in terms of work and pay and how should I plan my career. Thanks for your suggestions.

QuoteOriginally posted by: sbshilagThe list can go on but I want to know what is hot today...in terms of work and pay and how should I plan my career. Thanks for your suggestions.Don't look at what is hot today. What is hot today will be cold by the time you get into it. The problem with looking at what is hot tomorrow is that this involves a dice roll. I'm investing my time in Chinese markets. Who knows what the dice will come up as? Since a lot of it is luck, you might start asking what do you want to do, and then work from there.It's also difficult to answer because a great division in company A could be a lousy division in company B. A great division in company A in 2003 can be a lousy division in 2005 (and vice versa). A huge amount has to do with your immediate supervisor and coworkers. The other thing is that one shouldn't be too passive. To quote my fathe paraphrasing Kennedy "ask not what your employer can do for you, ask what you can do for your employer."What I've found is that looking at a job, it's not the field, it the work environment, the people, the pay, and most importantly the opportunity for personal growth. The question I ask myself is is how is this job going to improve my fundamental skills (math, communication, sales, etc.) Even if you are lucky enough to find yourself in a hot field, hot fields grow cool after a few years, and you need to always look for what your next act is going to be.

Thanks twofish. I guess I have to worry about the Comapany and the team when I am actually looking for a job. I also understand that the market will support different sectors at different times. My question is which sector gives a good exposure to different fields in the market. Which will help me grow..technically and personally. Again it is a personal preference and depends on what one is good at but if I am neutral and know what I don't want to be in but don't know what I want to be in, which is a good field to start with. I am sure there are Quants who are starters and might not have liked what they are doing or someone who really enjoys what he is doing...only from work, long term career and salary's point of view. Money though motivating factor is always a secondary factor to start with. What is strategically best position to start with and what market has to offer? Would be glad if u can consider my background in your response..even otherwise ur response is appreciated. I guess it would be more like ur experiences. Thanks

You have said that u will be doing MS in Fin. Engg. from NYC. Its a good choice considering your background. After completing, u can get a risk management job in any reputed IB. From there a good option would be shifting to hedge fund as a portfolio maneger, if possible. However, what I said r all possibilities and I guess you would be in a better position to judge in future. Twofish has rightly said that its difficult to predict about tomorrows hot sectors. Also it depends where do u want to work. In emerging markets, across the asset categories opportunities are there in future. Best of Luck!!!!

The other thing is that its really not that necessary to worry too much in what sector is hot. When a sector first turns hot there is a lack of people with a lot of experience so it is easy to get in even if you don't have all of the experience necessary for that sector. The time you have to worry about is when a sector has peaked, but people don't quite realize that it has peaked. The trouble then is that you have so many people trying to get in and are already a little too late, and so it becomes a lottery.I've found Derman's book and Taleb's book very useful because they both have stories about how the market has changed over time. They are useless at telling you what the next hot sector is, but they are useful at telling you what happens when a sector gets hot, matures, and then crashes.

twofish my background is from market risk (risk management), can you elobrate more which field in finance at peaked and which are lacking... it will very interesting to hear from the experts as well, what they reckoning..

QuoteOriginally posted by: RiskCapitaltwofish my background is from market risk (risk management), can you elobrate more which field in finance at peaked and which are lacking... it will very interesting to hear from the experts as well, what they reckoning..My *personal* view is that the next big fields are the BRIC markets and things like Islamic banking and combining quantiative analysis of things like political risk with qualitative analysis. Basically, the history of the 21st century will be to bring the third world up to first world standards of living, and there should be a lot of finance jobs created in that process. Also, things that require a lot of face-to-face contact are good things to pursue if you are in the developed world and things that don't require face-to-face contact are bad in the developed world, since they will be moved offshore.The other thing to think about is what are the sort of business opportunities that will be available once the baby boomers start retiring.But that's what I'm betting my career on. You shouldn't bet yours on something like this unless you've done your own "due diligence." Also (and Taleb's book is good for pointing this out), whether I'm right or now depends on luck and random events. Just out of principle, I think it is a good idea to do something slightly different than everyone else, so you don't get trampled by the stampede.

QuoteOriginally posted by: arghyaYou have said that u will be doing MS in Fin. Engg. from NYC. Can somebody tell me what school "NYC" stands for?

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: arghyaYou have said that u will be doing MS in Fin. Engg. from NYC. Can somebody tell me what school "NYC" stands for? Haha...It is NYU Courant.