Physician Looking to do Quants
I am a physician who has gotten some statistical training in my career, calculus, advanced stats, econometrics. I have gone to top schools (U of Chicago undergrad, Stanford for medicine, Harvard for public health) for my education.
After medical school I worked for a small but prestigious management consulting firm in San Francisco, but no other business work experience.
I am considering doing the MSc in Quant Finance from the University of London distance program, and/or the CQF program. The director of the London program has already told me that I would likely to be accepted given my stats background.
I am wondering what is the likelihood of getting a job after finishing one of the programs above. I know I will not be competitive with the PhD's or MBA's for the top spots, but as long as I can get a job I will be satisfied.
My age is also a factor (44).
I am making good money practicing medicine but simply do not like it, I should have gone down the quants path many years ago instead of medicine.
Any thoughts or advice?
Thanks.
your age would def be an issue, most places want an entry level hire that is young because they are typically easier to train and more willing to work long hours as they are earlier in their career. i have found hfs dont particularly like older people bc they tend to be 'less motivates / lazier' in the sense that they have families / kids / other priorities than work; that being said the exception is if you have relevant experience. given your background a place may be willing to give you a shot given you are clearly qualified but be sure to convey you are in it for the long haul and will be committed to the job!
The grass is not greener my friend. You would start out at the bottom of the totem pole...do you really want to do that, again? The other thing is that while it may seem interesting from afar, you don't know if you would actually enjoy it in practice. Also, when you say you want to be a quant, what kind of role are we really talking about here and at what kind of firm? There really is a wide range of things you could be doing as a quant.
My gut is that becoming a quant is a terrible idea for you. I say this as someone a little younger than you (35) and as someone who couldn't imagine being the low man on the totem pole again. Just think about some of your work 'peers' as being ~25 years old. I think if we're putting all of the cards on the table, that would be brutal. Then again, maybe you don't think like me about this situation.
From a practical standpoint, the situation is tricky from the employer's point of view. The reality is you are not a peer from a life experience standpoint with 25 year old guys, but you would have a similar level of relevant work experience to them. So, what do they do? They either put you at a level or two above them and you have to produce at that level right away, which isn't very realistic, or they put you at their level, which is awkward.
Pharmaceutical/biotech equity analysts often have a background as a PhD in the subject matter, I would assume an MD degree might also be applicable (but haven't seen it personally, so I'm not sure, maybe someone else could weigh in). People are looking to you for some insight as to how effective a drug is, the likelihood of FDA approval, the market potential, etc. I don't know if that sounds interesting or not, but you wouldn't need to go back to school for that. You could just try to meet analysts in this space and see if you could line something up.
My main suggestion is this: if you really want to get into finance you should not throw away all of your medical expertise. This way, you can be relevant immediately while you bulk up on your financial skills. Starting as a pure quant will be starting from ground zero and will make it harder for you to get a job.
Agree with the grass is greener comment. Why exactly do you want to switch?
ajvita...you have an interesting background and it resembles mine. I have some empathy for your situation. I was Ivy UG, Med school, now a resident transitioning to back to finance. Have gotten two offers from BB banks during my job search this year, both with the help of other doctors...I worked on a derivatives desk between college and med school and have close relatives that work across the spectrum of quantitative finance. Have worked through many questions, including those the posters before me threw at you, and could discuss with you if you want...just shoot me an email at plw2359...at...gmail as I can't send private messages as a new subscriber.
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