Math Ph.D., physics masters, don't want to do academia. Suggestions?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around career options for someone with a math Ph.D. in mathematical physics and a physics master's degree who is not interested in pursuing an academic career. Participants explore various alternative paths, including finance, software development, and statistics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses doubt about their ability to generate unique ideas for academic research and seeks alternative career options.
  • Investment banking is suggested as a potential career path, with some participants expressing enthusiasm about its excitement.
  • Another participant notes that a strong mathematical background could facilitate a transition into finance, recommending the financial mathematics exams as a way to prepare.
  • A participant raises the importance of programming or software experience, suggesting software development in scientific computing or numerical analysis as a viable option.
  • Statistics is proposed as another career avenue, highlighting the growing demand for skills in statistical analysis and data analytics across various industries.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple competing views on potential career paths, with no consensus reached on the best option. The discussion remains open-ended regarding the most suitable direction for the original poster.

Contextual Notes

Some suggestions depend on the original poster's prior experience in programming and finance, which remains unspecified. The discussion also reflects varying levels of interest and excitement about different career paths.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals with advanced degrees in mathematics or physics considering non-academic career options, particularly in finance, software development, or statistics.

AxiomOfChoice
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It seems that being an academic requires you to be able to come up with interesting and unique ideas for attacking interesting problems, and I simply don't think that's a skill I possess. But I'll soon have a math Ph.D. in mathematical physics (and a physics masters' degree) from a large state technical university, and I was wondering...what other options do I have?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Investment banking
 
Hercuflea said:
Investment banking

Cool. Sounds exciting. Does anyone have any advice for how I should proceed with that? I mean...I don't know a damn thing about finance...
 
AxiomOfChoice said:
Cool. Sounds exciting. Does anyone have any advice for how I should proceed with that? I mean...I don't know a damn thing about finance...

You being from a heavily mathematical background would find finance easy. I took one semester of it when I was an Econ major and it was mind numbing. However I believe it gets much more interesting as you become a professional. I would recommend that you take the financial mathematics exams (pretty easy for you because of your background, you'd just need to learn basic finance concepts). http://www.soa.org/education/exam-req/edu-exam-fm-detail.aspx

After that it's really just a matter of finding a job. From what I've heard there are plenty of people in finance/investments that did science and technical degree programs in college. Although, it might require you to relocate to a financial center like New York or London.
 
To the OP:

How much programming or software experience do you have? Because one option you could pursue with a math PhD is work in software development, particularly in those areas related to scientific computing/numerical analysis.

Another option you can consider is pursuing a career in statistics. There is an increasing demand in various different businesses (including pharmaceuticals, marketing firms, insurance, etc.) for someone with skills in statistical analysis or data analytics, and your background in math can put you in good stead for such roles.
 

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