> Although the IQ of the average astrophysicist is probably higher than the average banker, quant, or whatever, it seems far from certain that the astrophysicis

> Although the IQ of the average astrophysicist is probably higher than the average banker, quant, or whatever, it seems far from certain that the astrophysicist will make a stack of money and become financially independent in 3 years. I think this is dismissive of the intellectual capacity of quants (which are not at all your average banker), and too flattering of the intellectual capacity of academics. More importantly, I think you haven't met many quants. Most of them WERE astrophysicists (and mathematicians and statisticians and from other computation-heavy academic backgrounds). If you have a PhD in physics, you can battle for one of the few slots in academia and deal with politics and favoritism and backstabbing and insultingly-low pay, or you can go to Wall Street and make a fortune.