Advice
Hi everyone,
I am a final year university student currently studying philosophy. As someone who had to move around a lot, I found philosophy quite fascinating since it offered insights into how people from different traditions and backgrounds think and approach problems. I also had a great teacher in high school, who greatly increased my interest in the subject and encouraged me to pursue it further. I had planned on pursuing a Masters in relevant subjects.
However, this past summer, I talked to a few classmates from high school and university, who are a few years older than I am. Many of them are now in quantitative research, data science/analysis roles, and other various roles in AM/HF. Though it's impossible to get a full picture of their work, I found their methodical approach to drawing out ideas from a jumble of data extremely interesting. I also reached out to a few people in the industry but they all seem to have a quantitative background.
Given my Philosophy undergraduate background, I was wondering what I can do to pursue a data analyst/quant research roles in the future. Would a data science/CS masters (there are a few programmes without a CS background prereq) coupled with relevant independent projects be able to at least get me in consideration for these roles. As I have recently gained interest in this area (finance, etc), I would greatly appreciate any advice that can help me pursue this line of work.
Sorry for the lengthy post and thank you in advance.
If what interests you is genuinely the data science aspect but not the compensation aspect, then why not go to a data science bootcamp and work as a data scientist for a couple years at a tech company? The standards for hiring aren’t actually that high at tech companies so even if you don’t have the right background they probably won’t care so long as you can demonstrate you can do the work.
it’s really unlikely you’d be able to work for a good quant fund with your background without a lot of work. But if you get relevant experience for a couple years then maybe do a grad program in something quantitative (maybe consider a masters in something like “quantitative methods in the social sciences” which is a program at Columbia I think). While a grad student, you should do a lot to try to position yourself for a good quant firm. With this additional experience then I think you’d be able to make the switch no problem.
Hey, thanks for the input. That makes a lot of sense. If I have the opportunity to do a Master's next year in Data Science/CS, followed by a few years in the tech industry, or do a bootcamp, which one do you think is a better option?
With regards to roles that I am interested in, while all data science roles seem interesting to me, I think what attracted me to the data science roles in finance is that they seem to have more of a tangible impact. But again, this could a misconception or just a reflection of my friends' roles at their respective companies.
You probably don't know what you actually like doing. For every hour of time you spend pondering what you like that's worth 1 unit of information. For every hour you spend talking to someone who actually does the thing (e.g., informational interviews) that's worth 100 units. For every hour you spend actually doing the thing yourself, that's 10,000 units of information. So, you shouldn't spend too much time pondering or think that your pondering really will give you much insight. The best advice is to actually do the thing you think you want to do, but to not take your instincts on what you'll enjoy that seriously until you actually have done the thing. So, I recommend committing as little as possible first. Maybe do a bootcamp first because that's only 12 weeks of your time. Then maybe work somewhere for 6-12 months, because that's not that much time and you actually make money doing that. Going to grad school is 2+ years of time and it is expensive. If you're really wealthy that changes the equation, because then school I guess is free to you. But you get the picture.
My answer makes a huge assumption and that's that you care about how a job makes you feel (e.g., whether it makes you feel fulfilled or engaged). That may not matter to you which is totally OK too. You actually may not know at this age what motivates you. Classically, you might think money motivates you, but find out that alas it is not that easy to live a life well lived. Some people actually are quite motivated by money and prestige, which I won't make any judgments about. If you are one of those people and you know yourself to be that kind of person with high confidence, then you can disregard my advice; you already know that finance gives you a lot of money and prestige and there is no need to directly experience that yourself. If this is true of you, then you should take the shortest path to money and prestige which would be to go to grad school, make good grades, then get the high paying / prestigious job in the shortest amount of time.
Great post as usual.
thanks dude
Thank you so much for your advice. You're absolutely right about instinct vs. experience. There have been many areas of Philosophy I thought I'd enjoy, but ended up being entirely indifferent about. so I definitely understand what you mean. I have a few free electives left next term so I'll start there and see how I like data science and go from there. With regards to my career, it's definitely the case that fulfillment is a massive factor. Once again, thank you for the advice. It was a much needed reality check.
no worries, best of luck. if fulfillment is what matters, there is no rush. take your time and trust how you feel. the best data for you to make decisions is the sense-data of your own experience. you should trust others to guide you to how to get to the next step, but only trust yourself when deciding what you enjoy. always feel free to ask questions on this forum or PM me.
Great post.
Would love to hear how did you know what you want to do? What inspired your interest in investing and HF?
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