What Is It Like to Work as a Quant?

[discrete*]

I like to keep my options open. I'm doing a combined BA/MA in mathematics right now, and hope to go on to get a PhD. That being said, I think a lot about how I will make my living. Of course, I'd love to have a great Professorship at a great university and do groundbreaking research, but the realist in me just says "you better have more than a few back up plans". I'm not pessimistic, just trying to be rational.

So, from what I gather, there are a few things that I can do if I have to leave academia. I think for the most part they are: research mathematician for the government or private industry, cryptographer/cryptanalyst, programmer and quant. I'm not exactly sure what quants do on a day-to-day basis, and was hoping someone could help me out.

1. Is your job intellectually stimulating and satisfying? (this is my most prominent concern)
2. Do you get to really do math, or are you really just a programmer?
3. Do you make a good living? Good enough, that given an opportunity to go into an academic position, would you stay?
4. On "Wall Street", are you looked down upon, up to or viewed as an equal? (quotes because I'm a New Yorker, and I know you guys do not all work physically on Wall Street... Sometimes, I could swear there's no one in that part of the city!)
5. As far as programming is concerned, what language is most common and is there one or two that you recommend I become well-versed in just in case I want to/need to go to work in finance?

 

[twofish-quant]

That being said, I think a lot about how I will make my living. Of course, I'd love to have a great Professorship at a great university and do groundbreaking research, but the realist in me just says "you better have more than a few back up plans". I'm not pessimistic, just trying to be rational.

One thing that you have to realize is that things change. I can tell you want the situation is at the end of 2010. If you go for a Ph.D., then what happens next will depend on what the job market looks like in 2015-2018, and that could be radically different from the market now. I'm pretty certain that my job will be obsolete in 2015, and I'll be doing something else. What that something else, I'm not sure right now.

So, from what I gather, there are a few things that I can do if I have to leave academia. I think for the most part they are: research mathematician for the government or private industry, cryptographer/cryptanalyst, programmer and quant.

Since you are leaving without debt, you can also do pretty much everything that you can do without a Ph.D. If you want to drive trucks or sell shoes or work as a plumber you can do that. If you want to go into finance with the most money and the least amount of work, a Ph.D. is seriously a bad idea. In my case, finance let's me stay be a rather highly paid graduate student indefinitely.

I'm not exactly sure what quants do on a day-to-day basis, and was hoping someone could help me out.

Different people do different things, and things change from time to time. One thing that's confusing is that I personally think that "quants" don't exist as a job. There are lots of different jobs that could be considered "quant." I've been working for several years, and I don't know if I'm a quant or not. Some days, I think I am. Some days I don't.

What also makes the situation messy is that it's not as if people give you straight instructions for what you are supposed to do. A lot of the interesting parts is that people don't tell you want you are supposed to do, because they really aren't sure what you are supposed to do, and part of your job is to figure out what you are supposed to do.

1. Is your job intellectually stimulating and satisfying? (this is my most prominent concern)

Hell yes. Sometimes it's *too* intellectually stimulating.

2. Do you get to really do math, or are you really just a programmer?

Both. For example, if you have to modify an algorithm that has something to do with fast Fourier transforms or matrix QR decompositions, then you have to understand how FFT and QR decompositions work.

3. Do you make a good living? Good enough, that given an opportunity to go into an academic position, would you stay?

Yes. No. If someone offered me an academic position in astrophysics at a much lower salary, I'd leave. I'm not primarily motivated by money. One curious thing is that I'm not constrained by money. I really don't want very much material, and I have more than enough money to do anything that I want, since the stuff that I want to do isn't that expensive. The big constraint is time and energy.

4. On "Wall Street", are you looked down upon, up to or viewed as an equal? (quotes because I'm a New Yorker, and I know you guys do not all work physically on Wall Street... Sometimes, I could swear there's no one in that part of the city!)

Depends by whom. Where I work, the people with the physics degrees have pretty high social status. I know of places where it's different.

5. As far as programming is concerned, what language is most common and is there one or two that you recommend I become well-versed in just in case I want to/need to go to work in finance?

C++. The reason that that's a good test is because C++ includes pretty much everything else. Also, any real world system is multi-lingual, so it's pretty common that you'll be asked to work on a system written in a language that you've never seen before, so you have to develop your skills so that you can pick up any computer language quickly.

 

[discrete*]

Many thanks for the information, twofish-quant!

One more for you: what's your opinion of graduate programs in "mathematics of finance" or "financial engineering"? At this point, I'm not interested in those types of programs, but I'm curious to see how those in the field view such specific programs...

 

[twofish-quant]

One more for you: what's your opinion of graduate programs in "mathematics of finance" or "financial engineering"? At this point, I'm not interested in those types of programs, but I'm curious to see how those in the field view such specific programs...

I don't have a high opinion of them. If you are looking for a masters degree, I think you are a lot better off if you get a degree in applied math, statistics, computer science, finance, or MBA. If you have a Ph.D., then you are doing more for the program than they are doing for you.

The only real value added I see with MFE programs is that they help you with networking, but there are more effective ways of doing that. The big reason I'm nervous about MFE programs is that suppose quantitative finance stops hiring. If you have an MBA or a masters in computer science, you can do non-QF things, whereas if you have an MFE, you are pretty much stuck.

 

[jamesa00789]

I would check this 20min video interview of a qaunt. She has a phd in physics

http://www.careerplayer.com/careers/banking-and-investment/capital-markets/quantitative-analytics-/claudia-yastremiz---director-quantitative-analyst-.aspx