4 ms·

If you're a talented mathematician who thinks that the financial industry is a net positive for society, you're most probably already working in it. It undoubte

If you're a talented mathematician who thinks that the financial industry is a net positive for society, you're most probably already working in it. It undoubtedly pays the best and generally recruits talent. So, if you're a talented mathematician not working in that industry... it's reasonably likely you've made a conscious decision not to work there - perhaps because you don't agree that it's directly useful to society. There's a reason why the financial industry has to pay the highest salaries. It's surely not out of generosity.

kamaal 12y ago
Its not that finance is bad, people who love to work in some field which doesn't pay well always tend to think lowly of people who work in other fields and get paid well.
davmre 12y ago
Lots of people just don't think of financial modeling as a particularly interesting or beautiful area of math (this is of course a matter of taste). You could believe that finance is socially useful, and yet prefer for selfish reasons to work in algebraic geometry instead.
- trhway 12y ago
  >Lots of people just don't think of financial modeling as a particularly interesting or beautiful area of math I kind of surprised how those things are frequently mixed together. The math is a science while various industry modelling is an application of the known/established tools/skills. It is like designing a drill vs. actually drilling a hole. (note: i have an MS in Math (3.8 GPA) from one of the top Russian schools)
saiya-jin 12y ago
"There's a reason why the financial industry has to pay the highest salaries. It's surely not out of generosity." They are one of few who can afford to pay higher, and give all kinds of perks. Everybody wants the best of breed to work for them, don't we? On the other side, while searching for a job, the lure of neat cashflow is a strong persuator for many. Plus there is plenty of pretty clever people in banking crowd (maybe some of them don't use their talent to max or in a way they would find fulfilling, but that's another topic).
WalterBright 12y ago
I don't know of any industry that pays out of generosity. They pay for talent because they have to to get it.

kamaal 12y ago

Its not that finance is bad, people who love to work in some field which doesn't pay well always tend to think lowly of people who work in other fields and get paid well.

davmre 12y ago

Lots of people just don't think of financial modeling as a particularly interesting or beautiful area of math (this is of course a matter of taste). You could believe that finance is socially useful, and yet prefer for selfish reasons to work in algebraic geometry instead.

trhway 12y ago
>Lots of people just don't think of financial modeling as a particularly interesting or beautiful area of math I kind of surprised how those things are frequently mixed together. The math is a science while various industry modelling is an application of the known/established tools/skills. It is like designing a drill vs. actually drilling a hole. (note: i have an MS in Math (3.8 GPA) from one of the top Russian schools)

saiya-jin 12y ago

"There's a reason why the financial industry has to pay the highest salaries. It's surely not out of generosity." They are one of few who can afford to pay higher, and give all kinds of perks. Everybody wants the best of breed to work for them, don't we? On the other side, while searching for a job, the lure of neat cashflow is a strong persuator for many. Plus there is plenty of pretty clever people in banking crowd (maybe some of them don't use their talent to max or in a way they would find fulfilling, but that's another topic).

WalterBright 12y ago

I don't know of any industry that pays out of generosity. They pay for talent because they have to to get it.