How hard is it to make money? Math Major
I'm a Canadian international student and will be studying maths at Oxford next year. I can graduate with either a BA in Mathematics & Statistics or an MMath degree in Maths & Stat. I'm hoping to do internship recruiting many times and full time offer recruiting twice (if I can't find a job in 3 years, I will stay for my masters).
I am considering all potential careers in finance (HF/IB/PE/S&T/Quant). I know that as a math major, finance will be the main career prospect for me (or I could do research, but I'm mainly asking about finance careers).
My dad is worried for me since he used to be S&T at JP Morgan (long retired). Right as he was about to retire, he got an offer as a PM from a HF in Singapore but he rejected the offer because of all the stress that comes with it. He does not want me to go into finance at all. For HF he thinks that I won't be able to make any money as a junior analyst and will get fired, and at S&T he says it's all about luck with which desk you are at, and at IB he says the work hours are insane and I will die of exhaustion. The only field he doesn't know about is quant....
My questions are:
(1) As a math major, am I limited to a certain subsection of finance? (mainly HF/S&T)
(2) How hard is it to make money in finance? Should I just go down the research route and get my PhD?
(3) If anyone knows, how hard is it to make money in quant? Is it as hard as a HF where you get fired in one year if you can't make any money?
Great advice. My dad has no idea what I do.
I think the people who win have big inflated egos and don't look at the odds rationally. If you just keep getting back up again and again, you'll hopefully get really lucky eventually.
I think I'm getting MS for this. Sorry, big egos.
x
responded :)
I work at one of the large multistrat hedge funds and is incredibly stressful. Anyone who says otherwise isn't being truthful. I see PMs and analysts in their mid 30s with white hair all the time
on the money-making part, it feels easy when you get lucky. but you gotta stay in the game long enough to give yourself a chance to get lucky. that can be grueling
I feel like a lot of finance people aren’t cut out to work in a pod. The people who go to IB and PE are the opposite of who will actually succeed in a game of variance. I don’t work at an MM but I just don’t understand how most ppl in our field are the type that are hyper-fixated on the next step and structured processes like 2+2+2–I honestly feel like you’d be better just hiring some poker pros lmao
I understand what you're trying to say here, and I agree. It's one of the big systemic issues of this industry.
The people irrationally chasing these jobs are not intellectually curious, creative, nor interesting beings. And when they get a job, they hire likeminded people.
That’s because when you’re a multi-millionaire in your 30s you don’t need to dye your hair to get laid. Your car, boat, condo, lifestyle, etc. are more than enough to get you beautiful women who would otherwise be out of your league.
Unfortunately, in 2025 there are enough multimillionaire tech bros who have more money than you but are not douchebags.
Also, I wouldn't want to touch the women you're describing with a 10-foot pole.
Bill Ackman is a silver fox for a reason I guess lol
(1) no, back in college I interviewed for IB/PE jobs as a math major too. As long as you know your technicals you will be fine
(2) don't chase a paycheck. Pursue what you think you will enjoy. You will make good money in both careers, and neither will be a walk in the park. Good money doesn't come easily.
You could land a great HF seat and crush it in 3-5 years or blow up and exit the industry. You could do IB/PE and work in a great team with relatively stable paychecks or work long stressful hours with micromanaging seniors. You could do a PhD, do great and become a professor/get a high paying job or you could burn out and drop out of your PhD. I've seen (or heard) all of these cases happen. A lot of luck involved in each step of your life/career.
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