Where can my background add value?
I'm a Ph.D. student in philosophy at one of the best schools in Texas. Recently I've grown kind of tired of philosophy and tired of living on a T.A. stipend. I'm interested in getting an M.A. in philosophy instead of a Ph.D. and pursuing a MSF but first I need to do more research especially on the specifics of the jobs that an MSF sets me up for.
I think the transferable skills from philosophy are that I'm an extremely good good writer, researcher and critical thinker. What are some specific positions in finance where those skills and my educational background would add value? Would my background at all improve my chances of getting a position after graduation?
Equity Research is the first thing that comes to mind: you'd be covering a sector, researching equities within the sector, writing reports on them, etc. While having a MA in Philosophy wont really "help" on your resume, in interviews you can definitely talk about how this experience of reading and writing has helped you develop good skills for ER.
The downside is that they will also think you're not good at math (unless you get a MSF, then you'll be fine). But regardless, there are many ways to prove your math skills, and things you need to learn regardless. Ex: DCF and CAPM, Valuation Ratios, etc. Start researching stocks and sectors, and be able to pitch a stock or two in an interview.
And the MSF sounds like a good idea...an MBA could also be another idea. What school are you at? If you're at UT or Rice, you could stay there and do the programs there. You just need to be somewhere that has access to recruiters (like UT and Rice MBA). If you go somewhere like TCU, SMU, Baylor, UTD, UTA, UH, etc. you'll get a good education but you won't have as much access to recruiters as you would at UT or Rice.
Careers you'd also enjoy: Venture Capital, Corporate Development? Or possibly: IB, AM, PE Careers you would probably not enjoy: Trading
Also...I know people on the forum will hate me for suggesting this...but have you ever looked into Consulting? Just thinking it might be a better fit than finance for someone with a philosophy background / good researcher and critical thinker.
^^^ Agree on the above. Solid fit for equity research.
Also agree that consulting would be a good fit, probably moreso than other areas in finance besides equity research.
In response to KeepYourDistance's comment: "Careers you would probably not enjoy: Trading"
Michael Marcus had a very similar background to that of OP (PhD. Philosophy student who was dissatisfied with a life in academia) and he became of the best prop traders alive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Marcus_(trader)
Sorry I didn't mean to generalize about trading...I'm sure some people in philosophy have made it into trading. But since it seems to be one of the more math-oriented finance areas and it's much more fast-paced than, say, equity research, it seemed like it wouldnt be as attractive to the stereotypical PhD Philosophy student.
Thanks for the fantastic response KeepYourDistance,
I am looking into consulting very heavily and it's my first choice to be totally honest, but even though I go to one of the top 2 programs you mentioned, it still seems like a pretty tough field to break into. The plan is to apply to every consulting firm I can think of and if I don't get in, start a MSF program. The programs I'm looking at are University of Houston, UTD and to a much lesser extent Tulane at Houston. None of these programs seem to have strong recruiting, but I'm hoping I could also leverage my Rice background in the job hunt.
I'd love to get an MBA, but I have zero work experience so I can't get in to any good programs. I could probably get into some bad programs given my educational background and GRE scores, but that would be selling myself short in case I want to get an MBA later. Ideally I would really like to go to UT some day.
One thing I probably should have mentioned is that I have a poker background. I made around 30k in a year or so playing online. However, the major poker sites have been shut down, so I'm kind of done with poker. I know some poker players go into trading, but based on what I think I know about trading I don't think I have the personality for it.
Thanks again for all the great info.
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