Posted: Aug 10, 2011 1:57 pm
Sonoran Lion wrote:VictorTheSixth wrote:If I may weigh in, get the degree in physics. Many of the Quantitative Analysts I've met have been physics majors. These are the people who craft the trading algorithms that earn companies millions of dollars. A Quant's paycheck is upwards in the six-figure range when end of the year bonus is counted. That is if you don't want to go into the sciences themselves.
I'm a bit prejudice just to warn you seeing as how I tend to have a dismal view of the Economic Theory and Degree holders overall.
Quite frankly too, if you want a job in the Financial Industry, you need to have a degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or something along those lines. I'm in the Financial Field myself, I should know. Economics, Business, and other such degrees are holding less and less weight. I knew someone with their Masters in Economics who regularly attended conference about The Market and made friends with people in various Hedge Funds, Investment Banks, and Firms. In three years she had not had a single job offer and struggled to get an interview. I hold a BS in Computer Science with a concentration in Financial Modeling (creating large elaborate frameworks through which you can trade stocks, bonds, futures, etc.). In the four months after graduating I had 7 interviews, 3 of them with big name firms. Need I say more?
Thank you for your insight into the financial field. I suppose if I decide to go to graduate school to study physics that I could also minor in economics (I've noticed some programs give you the option to minor in them at the graduate level). What strengths were the interviewers looking for that interviewed you?
Well Sonoran, I'm a Financial Modeler or Financial Software Architect, so the strengths they were looking for in me would be different than the ones they'd look for in you.
For you:
* Strong Math ability
* Knowledge of the Market
* Knowledge of Black-Scholes Algorithms
* Knowledge of Technical Analysis
* Familiarity with High-Frequency Trading (it's a computer scientist's area primarily, but we need algorithms to program)
Having read Black Swan by Nassim Taleb (a fellow atheist) is a good starting point as well seeing as how his algorithms have come more into vogue in recent history (not the "Let's make money everyday" ones, but the "Let's lose a few thousand a day and then one day make tens of millions of dollars" strategy).
Also, Statistical Analysis plays as important of a role, if not more important than Calculus.