Quant analyst at a 2.2bn hedge fund vs quantum scientist in JP Morgan (career question)
I just finished my PhD in physics and have an offer from a header fund and jpmc. But the roles are entirely different, one is a research position for quantum algorithms while other is a quant analysis. Coming from a academia, I really don’t know how to weigh the hedge fund position against jpmc’s offer. Any help will be appreciated.
The group at the hedge fund seems really interesting and they do HFT. Things that worried me are that they are smallish group (15-16 people) but I understood that it’s the aum that counts for size and not the number of people. They have been up and running for 4 years now. Basically the questions are,
1) how risky is this headgear fund position for my future ? ( is there a high chance they will go under)
2) how huge a difference would a bonus make typically in hedge funds like these? ( browsing various places gives a wide range)
3) how typical is the growth at these hedge funds
4) if things go south, is it going to be extremely hard to move to another position at other place with this experience.
I am yet to make finally discussions with them, but I want to be prepared and informed before making any decision. Any help for this ignorant mind will be appreciated !
1) There's always a risk of this
2) HF >= JPM. Potentially >>> JPM.
3) Depends what you mean by growth. A small team with a stable asset base with a good sharpe is the ideal situation
4) It wouldn't be that hard, no.
I would 100% go for the HF and don't look back. With a PhD in physics, you will probably always be able to get an offer at a big bank. Much more difficult to get an offer at a small HF for a research role.
Thanks a bunch for the answer, I absolutely understand that there is a risk to go under, but if it is fairly standard to move/get a new job if it goes under, then that’s a risk I would gladly take !
Being in academia, I do not have a feel for how risky it is to get a new job if things go south.
I would especially be careful of that kind of role at JPM. Big companies set up groups like that when they have cash to spend, but they are often disconnected from the main business and tend to be shut down when a recession comes. If you want to do quantum computing, you're better off at a tech firm where that is a frontline activity.
Yes, apparently a new research division. Team seems to be young (around a year old) and have “assured” they are in for the long term. And I do believe they are to stay for the long term as moving further almost all banks would need an in-house quantum team once large scale quantum systems kick in. There are couple of quantum consulting firms they could outsource it to, but even that’s scares now and it would be extremely profitable to build patented quantum algorithms.
yeah that team from IBM is doing some interesting stuff, but it will take some time before real results show
Like why do you want to work in finance anyways? Compared to Google/Lockheed's quantum research group?
In my opinion, you can work at JPM QC for 1-2 years to see if you want to continue. B/c you have a phd, you can always interview for a quant job anytime you like. But the vice versa is not true.
They always say it's for the long term but if the company's profits dry up, the upper management will start asking what the group's impact to the company is. The problem is that quantum computing will never be a core business at JPM, unlike banking or trading. If it becomes mainstream, companies like Google or IBM will bring it to market first and sell it to JPM. The same thing has happened to many data science groups in non-tech companies.
quantum algorithms at JPM? That sounds deeply suspicious.
If the hedge fund is only doing HFT I'd be careful. Its been very hard to make money in the space. For HFT aum is meaningless. You should try to get a sense of how profitable they are.
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