Problem: switching university

[Haroon Arshad]

Hello everyone, my first post on this board.

If you dont want to read everything about me and the full details of problem, scroll to bottom!

I'm currently at the University of Manchester in my 1st year PhD, okay university in rankings in the Department of (theoretical) Physics and sub-department theoretical biological physics. One supervisor is in this department, the other in the physiology (life sciences) department.

I'm somewhat ok in C++ programming, well versed in matlab and both are part of the thesis where i'm hoping to create a modelling platform. I took a few financial engineering courses in my undergrad days. My degree and masters are in mathematics at University of Manchester also.

I hope to be a quant, but I could put this prospect in total jeopardy before I begin this journey, if i make the wrong choice between the following...

One of my supervisors is moving to Oxford but he going to the department of physiology. I will most probably have the opportunity to move with him at this prestigious university BUT my PhD will come from the department of physiology and NOT department of physics or the like, however I maintain my supervisor from manchester (physics) and my thesis remains on mathematical modelling with some experiments.



note thesis title starts with "mathematical modelling of..."

So to sum up do I
1) remain at University of Manchester with PhD from Department of Physics
2) go to Oxford get a prestigious name but from the Department of Physiology.


What do I do

 

[Haroon Arshad]

Has anybody got an opinion on this - even if you think i'm being silly? Maybe those who are recruiters?
Simply because job descriptions require a PhD from a "numerical/quantitative field".

 

[Jose T]

Three unrelated thoughts:

Do you have your heart set on being a quant? There are physiologists working in industry, particularly the Pharma industry. Are you aware that the employment prospects for traditional quant work have severely contracted?

If you transfer to Oxford, why can't you recreate the situation you have at Manchester? Move with your supervisor but gain a second supervisor in the physics department and be housed in the physics department?

Some people have PhDs in Econ, Finance or Psych which I personally don't think are as quantitative as Physiology. However, you may be screened out if there's nothing signalling 'quant' on your resume. There are other ways to signal that you want to work in finance, the most common being doing internships in IBs or hedge funds.

 

[Haroon Arshad]

Firstly, thank you very much for your reply!

Three unrelated thoughts:

Do you have your heart set on being a quant? There are physiologists working in industry, particularly the Pharma industry. Are you aware that the employment prospects for traditional quant work have severely contracted?

I would say I do have my heart set on being a quant although not as much as others on this board. I enjoy using languages to solve problems, software development, and most importantly using math for real world problems. I am somewhat aware of the volatile nature of getting a job as a quant. I just dont want to close the door on being a quant one day. I'm reading more into these forums which are quite good and i'm getting a better understanding of what,when,where,why of things.

If you transfer to Oxford, why can't you recreate the situation you have at Manchester? Move with your supervisor but gain a second supervisor in the physics department and be housed in the physics department?

I can defo try that. Although my Manchester supervisor is from the physics department, and the one moving to oxford is physiology department. In this case I would need a third supervisor which if possible would be OK.

Some people have PhDs in Econ, Finance or Psych which I personally don't think are as quantitative as Physiology. However, you may be screened out if there's nothing signalling 'quant' on your resume. There are other ways to signal that you want to work in finance, the most common being doing internships in IBs or hedge funds.

So given this, would you say i'm giving too much emphasis on being from the DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY? In this case I would need to represent my skills i have used/learned and emphasis the title of my thesis? I will defo think about doing an internship thanks for that.

 

[Jose T]

No, I think you are correct to think it would be an issue. It would almost certainly be easier get a quant job with a Physics PhD than with a Physiology PhD. Many of the existing quants are Physics people and people tend to hire those who have backgrounds that they understand and / or are similar to the backgrounds of the existing team members.

I think we, as students, put too much emphasis on 'am I going to be using hardcore math and coding skills on the job'. Even if your job is not purely quantitative, the thinking you develop by working on mathematical problems translates into 'real life' in a lot of unexpected ways, and this is especially true if you were working in the sciences in say Pharma. You can make your and your colleagues work easier by programming at almost any job.

I would see about trying to stay in the Physics department but move to Oxford. If that's not possible, it's a judgment call and I don't think I can help b/c I don't know the relative difference between Oxford and Manchester (though I've heard of Oxford of course). I would also suggest that you research non-financial career paths that you can pursue assuming that you don't stay in academia. Research the differences in possibilities between Physics and Physiology and see what would interest you more, excluding financial work. Remember, traditional quant work may not exist in a recognizable form by the time you graduate.

As an anecdote, I have a friend who was a senior executive at GE's Healthcare division. He got a Physiology PhD straight out of undergrad and it always opened doors for him.

 

[Barny]

Go to Oxford. You get a DPhil. It doesn't specify what department you did it in.