- Joined
- 6/6/08
- Messages
- 1,194
- Points
- 58
How about this: there are plenty of people vying for these positions that, if they can contribute something socially positive as a direct result of that work, so much the better, and if they don't, then it isn't the end of the world either.
If making a social contribution through your 9-5 (or whatever hours you work) is what you're after, why not go and become a math teacher? I hear Jim Simons wants plenty of people who'd otherwise go to Google or Genentech or Goldman or RenTec or whatever else to say "forget money, I'm going to teach math to the next generation".
No, really. If you want to be socially productive, there are plenty of fields with more obvious social contributions.
If you must be a quant though, why not go into model validation or risk, and keep firms from betting the ranch on loony schemes cooked up by MBAs who haven't done math/programming in 30 years? Certainly we need such kinds of people in high positions these days. Just look at Corzine's firm that just got splattered all over the financial headlines.
If making a social contribution through your 9-5 (or whatever hours you work) is what you're after, why not go and become a math teacher? I hear Jim Simons wants plenty of people who'd otherwise go to Google or Genentech or Goldman or RenTec or whatever else to say "forget money, I'm going to teach math to the next generation".
No, really. If you want to be socially productive, there are plenty of fields with more obvious social contributions.
If you must be a quant though, why not go into model validation or risk, and keep firms from betting the ranch on loony schemes cooked up by MBAs who haven't done math/programming in 30 years? Certainly we need such kinds of people in high positions these days. Just look at Corzine's firm that just got splattered all over the financial headlines.