talthun
02-19-2008, 11:35 PM
hi everyone, i'm new to quantnet and have some questions about the best way to break into the finance industry with my background; before asking away i'll provide a brief summary:
i have a bachelors in math/comp sci, and two masters degrees in ee, one of which is from an ivy league school; also i have about 4 yrs work experience relative to engineering, though some of it has been in systems engineering, and is not the most technical
i am currently in a phd program in ee at a school that is not well-known for engineering, but consistenly ranks in the top 20's for its business and law programs; essentially i came to the school on a fellowship and stayed a year before going on a leave of absence due to some personal circumstances that now warrant i continue only part-time in the program; in my year of study and research (and with transfer credit from my first masters) i managed to complete my course requirement and passed the qualifying exam at the phd-level; only the dissertation is before me now and the topic is stochastic optimal control theory and will involve some programming and numerical methods, and a great deal of theory pertinent to stochastic calculus, diff eq, and processes; i believe my phd would have a lot of applications to finance
ok, so here's the questions:
(1) i've considered not doing my phd and maybe getting a mfe or mba deg instead, but would such a decision drastically reduce my chances of breaking into the market for quantitative finance?
(2) is the phd absolutely necessary for most quant positions as opposed to a masters degree related to finance?
(3) would a phd with a dissertation in an area that is heavily involved with stochastic modeling give me equal exposure to recruiters as would a degree more concentrated in finance or would i have to get a finance internship before becoming marketable?
to anyone who takes time to provide advice, it is appreciated; thank you in advance :D
i have a bachelors in math/comp sci, and two masters degrees in ee, one of which is from an ivy league school; also i have about 4 yrs work experience relative to engineering, though some of it has been in systems engineering, and is not the most technical
i am currently in a phd program in ee at a school that is not well-known for engineering, but consistenly ranks in the top 20's for its business and law programs; essentially i came to the school on a fellowship and stayed a year before going on a leave of absence due to some personal circumstances that now warrant i continue only part-time in the program; in my year of study and research (and with transfer credit from my first masters) i managed to complete my course requirement and passed the qualifying exam at the phd-level; only the dissertation is before me now and the topic is stochastic optimal control theory and will involve some programming and numerical methods, and a great deal of theory pertinent to stochastic calculus, diff eq, and processes; i believe my phd would have a lot of applications to finance
ok, so here's the questions:
(1) i've considered not doing my phd and maybe getting a mfe or mba deg instead, but would such a decision drastically reduce my chances of breaking into the market for quantitative finance?
(2) is the phd absolutely necessary for most quant positions as opposed to a masters degree related to finance?
(3) would a phd with a dissertation in an area that is heavily involved with stochastic modeling give me equal exposure to recruiters as would a degree more concentrated in finance or would i have to get a finance internship before becoming marketable?
to anyone who takes time to provide advice, it is appreciated; thank you in advance :D