- Joined
- 7/28/12
- Messages
- 2
- Points
- 11
Hi everyone. I'm a undergrad physics student and a decent university (ranked 70th in the US for physics), with decent grades (~3.7/4.0), who should be graduating in May of 2014. My original plan was to go on for my PhD in physics, focusing on some sort of computational astrophysics research (modeling stellar structure/evolution, radiation transfer, celestial dynamics/n-body problems, etc.). However, I am now strongly interested in mathematical/quantitative finance, and I'm not sure if I should change my plans.
I have a pretty good background in programming, I learned C++ about 5 years ago and use it semi-regularly, and have since picked up Python, C#, VBA, Matlab, and Java. As far as finance goes, I have almost no experience, but I do plan to start working my way through the reading list posted on these forums.
My questions/concerns:
I have a pretty good background in programming, I learned C++ about 5 years ago and use it semi-regularly, and have since picked up Python, C#, VBA, Matlab, and Java. As far as finance goes, I have almost no experience, but I do plan to start working my way through the reading list posted on these forums.
My questions/concerns:
- If I go on to do research in computational astrophysics, will I have any chance of being employed in this industry when I graduate? Should I look for a MFE program, of Financial Math PhD instead?
- If I do go the physics PhD route, how do I prepare myself for a career in finance?
- I've gotten mixed feedback on the state of the profession. Can I be sure quants will even exist 6-8 years from now, when I graduate?
- If there is no longer a demand for quants in the future, can MFE's and Financial Math PhDs be employed in other industries? With a PhD in physics, the employment opportunities are fairly broad.