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My experience in finance was that 50% of quants (especially physics PhDs from the 90s, when all the Cold War-era funding dried up) were failed academics. Most
by smallnamespace 10y ago
My experience in finance was that 50% of quants (especially physics PhDs from the 90s, when all the Cold War-era funding dried up) were failed academics.
Most of the rest were PhDs jumping straight to industry to avoid chasing tenure for years.
- gohrt 10y agoAnd the remaining few were successful academics who jumped to industry for astronomical pay raises.
- alasdair_ 10y agoIt depends on how you define "failed". Even the best academics may think it rational to make millions of dollars as a quant over a more conventional salary as an academic. I am not a "failed mcdonalds cashier" if I choose to quit and something that pays more, even if I started out in that particular field.
- kevin_thibedeau 10y agoSort of funny that the recently deposed McDonald's CEO was an EE. That demonstrates the true value of STEM jobs in our society rather than the phony "shortage" hype.
- smallnamespace 10y agoMaybe I'm being blunt, but my definition is that I spoke to them personally and they told me they would still be in academia if they had managed to land a job. I asked, because at the time I was considering leaving to pursue a graduate degree myself. Of course, I didn't literally speak to every quant in on the street, but I sampled from the ones who were around me. Most people were quite open about the situation but glad they had left; some were still very bitter.