Mathematics & physics considering career switch to finance.
I graduated with a double major in mathematics and physics a couple of years ago. I've been working in the optics and photonics industry doing basic R&D, but the upward mobility is nonexistent and the pay is absolutely horrible and is irrelevant of how good I am. The only way to advance my career at this point is to get a PhD, and I have long decided against ever going to graduate school. Basically, I am finished with STEM and considering switching to a completely different profession/career,
Everyone tells me I should consider getting into finance, but I haven't taken this seriously until quite recently as I initially believed it was some exaggerated half-truth that physics/mathematics departments used to advertise their program. I mean, one would logically think that finance jobs that require advanced finance knowledge would only be interested in hiring finance and related majors (economics and business)? If banks are really interested in non-finance majors, I am curious as to why when is no shortage of applicants who are trained in finance and have the relevant knowledge?
As for a possible entry-level position, I assume only the graduates from the top schools (MIT, Caltech, ivy league schools, etc.) get hired by banks and not those graduates from the majority of schools? Personally, I graduated from a decent state school with a 3.6 overall. I assume I have very little chance at getting any type of entry-level position coming from a non-target school, would I not?
Given the lack of any response of the past 2 days, I guess that is a resounding 'no' to my question.
It is true that demand of Finance is increasing rapidly. But i think it could be possible to shine from mathematics or physics. What you want to do its totally up to you. So take your decision wisely.
Can you be a bit more specific with your questions? What exactly do you want to know?
I want to know the best way of transitioning into a quantitative role in the finance industry. From what I can find online, almost all positions I find require a PhD unfortunately.
What companies are you looking at? You definitely should cast a wider net than just BB. Look at prop shops, MM/boutiques and if all else fails heed the advice of @"IlliniProgrammer", with a 3.6 and a 700+ GMAT you'd be a top contender for MFin or MFE programs.
You don't necessarily need a Ph D, but you do need a pretext to perform a career change. The easiest of these is some sort of a graduate degree,. whether it be Masters of some sort (e.g. MBA) or Ph D.
So a lot of people with your background would look into a pricing role in sales and trading.
There are definitely routes into finance for you. I'd start doing some research on quantnet.com and try to boil down your financial interest into something a little more specific.
If you can't network your way in, one option for you may be an MFE.
Make a post at quantnet.com/forum, they'll be more helpful there.
The advice would be that don't get a PhD if you know you want to go into finance, because there is little chance that you will finish your PhD in mathematics and physics when you aren't genuinely interested in those areas.
With that said, I would think applying for the MFE or an MFin program would be the best way. A lot of the people who join these programs are those in engineering/physics who want a career change into finance, especially the quantitative roles. It is definitely one of the more common ways, but that doesn't mean it has a high success rating.
MFE will likely be your best bet. It's tough to network your way into it without a platform.
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