Better career if you’re mainly in it for the financial incentive?
(If you could answer without the “require two different personalities answer”)
Buyside quants (supposedly sell side makes less than big tech engineers) vs bankers (PE/IB/HF):
1st: which is more competitive is it the same amount is it more but just slightly or a lot
2nd:which career makes more stable high amounts of money
3rd: which skills are harder to acquire
4th: which career has more high paying options with its relevant degrees (stats, math,cs and accounting,finance,econ ) and experience you get from it
5th: which career is more stress free at entry/junior, intermediate, and senior levels
HF/quant is not stable by any metric
Yeah I heard because of how PnL-based it is quant and fundamental hedge funds compensation range is like 0 dollars to make the most out of all of them
bump
Total shots in the dark from a non quant, but who has some quant friends
1st: which is more competitive is it the same amount is it more but just slightly or a lot
2nd:which career makes more stable high amounts of money
3rd: which skills are harder to acquire
4th: which career has more high paying options with its relevant degrees (stats, math,cs and accounting,finance,econ ) and experience you get from it
5th: which career is more stress free at entry/junior, intermediate, and senior levels
Yeah my 4th question was very Google able, now that I’m thinking about it
So, from what I’m seeing, quantitative finance is more competitive, but not because of relevant applicants to openings; just that the skills are harder to get, which is also why they get paid more. Usually, the technical skills are more valuable.
And again, sell-side quants at J.P. Morgan make similar amounts to a little more annually than bankers at the same progression levels and way more per hour. Correct me if I’m wrong though; the views vary. I’ve seen people say sell-side quants make similar amounts to people on the buy-side or less than big tech!
JPM quant can mean anything though. Are you a risk guy? Are you building automated trading tools for equity desks? Are you working for research department and publishing quant stuff? Are you a trader on the FICC desk. Are you optimizing analysis of loan portfolios?
I'm not an expert at this world but you need to narrow in a bit more, and don't pick a career track to optimize average net earnings or some bs. I promise you, life doesn't work this way, careers don't work this way...
Find what you are truly talented in. Explore the fields, optimize after your learnings and feedback from experience. In a few years you can find yourself in a radically different position, in a radically different job market.
Generally, if you want high pay for getting more advanced degrees and to be a cog in the machine, on average, a quant may have other seats beat because its like being a doctor sort of. Requires more training and advanced qualifications usually, so its paid higher. There is always going to be some level of quant work that may be commoditized on some levels but is still a specialty and is in demand - and you can't just pick up a self taught person to grind away (usually).
But ya know, finance isn't 1980s, or 1990s, or 2000s... def not 2006, and not even 2010 anymore. Its fairly institutionalized. The big pay comes from the people who run these businesses, or took big career risk to start a boutique practice, or have contractual payouts based on revenue/PnL they bring to firms. Same as it always was in some ways, but coupon clipping gets harder.
Just keep an open mind. Don't box yourself into one way of thinking, and early career it is typically best to optimize for optionality + tool kits above all else. Find what you are truly talented in and can bring real value to the table in, above all else, always.
Expect I will get some MS here, but honestly it sounds like a good risk management spot would largely fit what you're after, IF you pick the right place. Sounds like you're trying to optimize for stable comp but still solid money, low stress and not impossible to get into. Hard to beat a solid risk quant type role for that if the team is actually involved in the interesting stuff.
What would be "the interesting stuff"?
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