Story here: https://news.efinancialcareers.com/sg-en/3002181/…
I've never been on the buy side or am econ PhD, but I did do my PhD in another field and have been on the sell side for a decade. I'd have to say I broadly agree: YMMV, but for me finance has offered more opportunity for creativity, experimentation, and intellectual freedom than academia. Job security is obviously sacrificed, but you make up for that in higher comp.
Thoughts from other ex academics?
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Depends if you have tenure.
It's more arbitrary
Not an academic here but work with many PhDs who went into MC and have 2 relatives current doing PhDs in STEM and Humanitarian subjects. I would say that it generally depends on the university you attend and the specific topic you do. But I've heard from many people that as you "climb the ranks" in academia it becomes a pissing contest just like in MC, IB or PE. It's about who gets the most publications done and who gets them in the most "prestigious journals". People often do research they simply do not care about because it has a higher chance of being published in Nature or journals of similar caliber. Not sure you can call it less or more stressful but you certainly have pressure to publish, attend conferences and inflate your university's brand. It can be a toxic world for some.
Prelims and dissertation are brutal. Publication process is brutal. Tenure clock is brutal. I have no doubt this is true up to tenure. I don’t think people realize how hard getting tenure at a respectable institution is.
I had PhD in engineering. These days I must say academics has been all about publications. It's very bad.
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