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Career change too risky?

Demir

Demir

Joined
4/19/14
Messages
3
Points
13
Hi All,

I have a PhD degree in Financial Economics from Istanbul with some academic programming knowledge in MATLAB and C++. Recently, I have received a 2-years contract as assistant professor in economics in Istanbul.

Now, I have been offered admission to Masters quant finance program at SUNY Stony Brook. I am about to reject the offer, although it seems to be a very good opportunity. But I have some concerns in my mind and want to ask your opinion. I will be about 37 years old at time of graduation if I attend the program. I have been working in academia until now, I am not sure whether I can make a career change now. Will I have a realistic chance to start a quant analyst career at this point of time? Do you think it is too risky?

Thanks for your comments.
 
I am about to reject the offer
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Your decision is correct. Probably.

The fact that you applied means you have been tempted by this alternative. That you want to reject the offer means second thoughts and you want reassurance. So for what it's worth:

1) Age and stamina are factors.
2) The future of some of quant finance looks iffy (other than the regulation part, which Ken Abbott has spoken about frequently).
3) There's a supply glut from the many MFE programs, and SUNY isn't among the top ones.

For these reasons I would decline were I in your position. But the decision is of course yours.
 
bigbadwolf said:
Your decision is correct. Probably.

The fact that you applied means you have been tempted by this alternative. That you want to reject the offer means second thoughts and you want reassurance. So for what it's worth:

1) Age and stamina are factors.
2) The future of some of quant finance looks iffy (other than the regulation part, which Ken Abbott has spoken about frequently).
3) There's a supply glut from the many MFE programs, and SUNY isn't among the top ones.

For these reasons I would decline were I in your position. But the decision is of course yours.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comment.
As far as I could see from this forum, the opinions about SUNY are quite positive. I doubt that the MFE program will not be enough to become a quant, experience and reputation will also be decisive.
 
Reject the offer. You'll need to graduate from a top MFE program to have a chance of breaking into the industry and right now there are too many MFE students on the market. Firms are turning all of these students away.
 
Thanks for all comments. I think will continue in academia. The boom of the industry seems to be over after the mortgage crisis.
 
MNRC said:
Reject the offer. You'll need to graduate from a top MFE program to have a chance of breaking into the industry and right now there are too many MFE students on the market. Firms are turning all of these students away.
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What's considered "top" ? Just wondering
 
Jerrystuff said:
What's considered "top" ? Just wondering
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I'd say top 5 or maybe 10. Search through the forums and read what some long-time members have to say. There are too many MFEs right now on the market in the US, though opportunities may be better in Asia.
 
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