Torn between tech (SWE / data science) and finance (quantamental / investment data analyst / data scientist)

Basically what title suggests. Wondering where to put my skills and what gives the most consistently good pay since pods are cutthroat but bonus upside is huge. 

SWE market is extremely rough right now and I've always gotten more attention from investment firms than tech companies so confused where to take my career right now... seen a lot of big tech data scientists get hired to pods later on in life but wondering if it happens the other way as well.

Any insight / thoughts are appreciated, what should I prioritize right now?

3 Comments
 

Quant finance IMO has much better job stability (maybe not always at the same firm, but in finding work) than a SWE. Have friends who do both and the quant made a bit less early on but now makes substantially more vs other guy ran into a ceiling then bounced during one of the big layoffs the other year. 

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

I thought that quants made more super early on then get bogged down a little by non-competes? In terms of maximizing base, what would you recommend? I know job hopping in SWE typically increments your base more than quant, but quant is the higher bar to begin with right?

 
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"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion

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