- #1
GuineaPig
- 7
- 0
Dear PF,
I will be completing my PhD in Astronomy (specializing in cosmology) early next year, but I am unsure if I want to continue on with a post-doc. I have been looking into other career options lately, especially in finance and consulting. However, I haven't been able to find answers to many of my questions, so I thought I'd try my luck here.
The first and foremost of my concerns is "brand" name, i.e. the school you are receiving your PhD from. While my graduate program is tier 1 in astronomy, it is tier 100 in virtually everything else (if you're big on the astronomy scene, you can probably already guess which school I am talking about). However, on most of the job ads I've seen, employers stress the importance of having a degree from a "top school". Does this mean I should actually go and do another degree, like an MFE, at a "top school"?
Second, I have been in search of a venue where I can have my resume/CV evaluated in terms how suited I am to a financial or consulting career. Unfortunately, I recently had to leave my institution and move all the way across the country due to my adviser hopping schools, so I don't have access to a career services office. I tried e-mailing my CV to my school's career services people, but just received a generic reply pointing me to various corners of their website. Does anyone here know of a good place where I can receive some feedback?
Lastly, most of my programming experience has been in C and Python. However, I have noticed that many of these quant jobs prefer C++ or Java. I have some experience in C++, but I don't think it's at anywhere near the levels they are looking for. Is C++ really essential? Or can C/Python serve as a fair substitute?
Thanks in advance for reading and for any advice you may have to offer.
~A confused guinea pig
I will be completing my PhD in Astronomy (specializing in cosmology) early next year, but I am unsure if I want to continue on with a post-doc. I have been looking into other career options lately, especially in finance and consulting. However, I haven't been able to find answers to many of my questions, so I thought I'd try my luck here.
The first and foremost of my concerns is "brand" name, i.e. the school you are receiving your PhD from. While my graduate program is tier 1 in astronomy, it is tier 100 in virtually everything else (if you're big on the astronomy scene, you can probably already guess which school I am talking about). However, on most of the job ads I've seen, employers stress the importance of having a degree from a "top school". Does this mean I should actually go and do another degree, like an MFE, at a "top school"?
Second, I have been in search of a venue where I can have my resume/CV evaluated in terms how suited I am to a financial or consulting career. Unfortunately, I recently had to leave my institution and move all the way across the country due to my adviser hopping schools, so I don't have access to a career services office. I tried e-mailing my CV to my school's career services people, but just received a generic reply pointing me to various corners of their website. Does anyone here know of a good place where I can receive some feedback?
Lastly, most of my programming experience has been in C and Python. However, I have noticed that many of these quant jobs prefer C++ or Java. I have some experience in C++, but I don't think it's at anywhere near the levels they are looking for. Is C++ really essential? Or can C/Python serve as a fair substitute?
Thanks in advance for reading and for any advice you may have to offer.
~A confused guinea pig