
Ask HN: Does the prestige of a PhD matter for getting a quant position? - beowulfy
I&#x27;m admitted to a few PhD programs to do research in statistical machine learning.
As a backup option in case academia doesn&#x27;t work out, I think quant trading&#x2F;modeling&#x2F;research would appeal to me (I&#x27;ve enjoyed learning about stochastic processes&#x2F;martingales from my prob class). I&#x27;m currently torn between Johns Hopkins and UC Irvine, if that makes any difference.
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blastbeat
Earning a PhD is though, and can be very hard, depending on your advisor. But
even if you've managed to finish it, you face a relentless fight for permanent
positions, which according to the statistics, you're going to loose.

Once you've dropped out of academia, the prestige of the PhD will matter for
nothing. What could maybe matter, are some skills/contacts which you hopefully
acquired during your PhD studies. But whether this justifies doing a PhD is
IMO questionable. A topic in statistical machine learning sounds good. But
then again, I did my PhD in pure math, and would not have a problem getting a
quant position.

If you don't manage to finish your PhD, which is quite possible, you certainly
don't have any prestige, and you will in addition face the pain of failure,
which can be huge in that context.

In short, don't underestimate the task of doing a PhD, and don't overestimate
the impact of having one.

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arcanus
On the other hand, my PhD was one of the most rewarding times in my life. I
was independent, I worked on fascinating problems, and I had the time to learn
about topics at a very deep/expert level. I am proud to have extended the
range of human knowledge in a minor way.

> Once you've dropped out of academia, the prestige of the PhD will matter for
> nothing.

I don't agree. I work at a large industry research lab, and every position
basically requires a doctorate.

I had some sloppy bad habits and a PhD helped me overcome them. It also taught
me skills that I'm finding invaluable in industry (autonomy, project
management, full stack programming, etc.)

But as the parent said, doctoral programs have high drop out rates (it's like
Navy SEAL BUD/S in some cases) and it is almost certainly not about the money:
a masters is likely the sweet spot for most technical degrees if you want the
best price/Salary optimization.

More to OP's point, I was offered several Quant positions after my PhD and had
no trouble getting interviews. I don't this the particular program matters
very much. My doctorate was from UT:Austin.

~~~
blastbeat
I agree, doing a PhD can still be worthwhile. It's just a considerable gamble
in my opinion.

> I don't agree. I work at a large industry research lab, and every position
> basically requires a doctorate.

I should have been more precise. If you want to do research outside of
academia, you will need one obviously. Also, it depends on your field and your
location. For instance in Germany, doing a PhD is mandatory if you're wanting
to pursue a career as a chemist. On the other hand, having a PhD in humanities
will significantly worsen your job prospects outside academia in Germany.

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usgroup
If you want to know for real in a way that’s relevant to your life just try
and apply for a few quant positions right now with what you have. Chase for
feedback and investigate for yourself whether your education level was a
factor. This will take you very little time and give you intel worth a damn.

In considering phd you need to think about the market as it’s likely to be in
3 years time rather than as it is now. In my opinion, the level of
qualification for quant jobs will decrease with demand so if your talking
about ML applied to industry then a PhD is a poor future investment unless
you’re a beast amongst beasts. As another poster said a masters is a much
better optimisation for time spent vs salary and it’s also likely where most
jobs preferring phds today will be at in terms of requirements in 3 years
time.

