IB Layoff Rounds - Are PhDs less likely to be cut? My friend hasnt been laid off yet
Hey guys, just wondering: are people with phd degrees almost never laid off in a mass IB lay off round?
All my college friends who had worked as IB analysts at Barclays have been laid off by now. All of them. Except for one of my old TAs. He's now 28 with a PhD in computer science who worked in the investment banking div at barclays as a quant analyst. has had no prior professional experience in finance or even in his own field, comp sci. i also have a family friend who is 32 yrs old with a phd in operations research who works at BofA in their investment banking div and despite everyone on his team pretty much being laid off, he's still there.
are phds immune (relatively) from layoffs or something?
Interesting. I too know a couple of phds who have dodged numerous rounds of lay offs. Probably a coincidence? I can't see why in banking that would matter at all.
No. There's more going on with them than meets the eye: PhD's are typically either (1) involved in the core operations to a much more comprehensive level than other employees or (2) have such a valuable connection / knowledge base that they are valuable beyond their job function. Energy is a good example: many energy bankers are simply bankers, but the guy with a PhD in geology or natural resources has an understanding of the industry that makes them indespensible.
It's also easier to justify firing someone with a master's over someone with a doctorate, banks can be prestige whores. GS, for examply, is the largest employer of PhD's after the U.S. government. Nothing says "I'm soooooo fucking smart" like a doctorate.
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makes a lot sense. if you had to fire one person, would you fire the one with expertise in a field or would you fire the replaceable-brand name MBA-monkey?
I think part of it is they are less replaceable. There's always another hungry monkey willing to churn excel spreadsheets and build pitchbooks when things turn around. Locating a PhD who wants to do private sector finance work in lieu of academia and has both an interest and the requisite skills is pretty tough.
will my ph.d. in jazz history insulate me?
This is interesting, but aren't there more intellectual challenging careers than IB; economic research at a firm like Roubini... HF (if you can get in after a PhD in Finance for example, i don't really know), maybe continuing in the academic field.
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