Hi,
I would be lying if I said money played no role in my attraction to finance, however there are other reasons I am drawn to it. Plenty of schemes to make money exist, however none have held my attention for very long. That I have been studying markets consistently for a year now tells me something about where my heart is. If all I was interested in was money, I would probably be better off spending all of my time studying real estate.
To me, it seems that financial markets are a suitable domain to usefully apply the background in statistics I obtained from doing bioinformatics, and to apply my decades-old programming experience. I learned a great deal about statistics and R, during my graduate coursework and research. And, again, I am well-versed as a programmer, in general.
The analysis of financial data, using programming and statistics, seems more intellectually rewarding to me than bioinformatics. Drawing conclusions from biological data takes years and years, and much of the work that is done in the process is discarded. I like the idea of being able to test ideas more quickly.
Working in biology often means becoming bogged down in theoretical arguments. When this happens, these arguments are resolved using subjective reasoning and personal politics. My impression is that, in quantitative finance, a person's abilities have an opportunity to shine, as long as the person is able to develop ideas that can be put to profitable use. Finance, as an academic discipline, seems closer to a meritocracy than biology.
I have also noticed that there seems to be a culture of knowledge sharing within finance and trading. Obviously there are secrets, but most of the people I have encountered have been very willing to help me learn from them. In contrast, folks within bioscience are hesitant to even share PowerPoint slides from a lecture they have given in public.
What I find fascinating about finance is similar to what I find fascinating about biology. I am interested in the dynamics of complex systems. I enjoy thinking about systems that involve several interacting components, and trying to determine how these components will interact to produce an outcome within a larger system. This is also why I enjoyed studying artificial intelligence in my academic studies.
In biology, the system is a cell, and the components are DNA, RNA and proteins. Or, at a broader scope, the system is an organism, and the components are individual cells. In finance, the system can be defined as broadly as the global economy or, more specifically, as individual economies, or individual markets, or even a specific securities or derivatives, and the components are factors which impact behavior of this system.
So, we could say the bond market is a complex system, like a cell or an organism. We could say that components of this system are credit ratings, interest rates, Fed announcements, perceived safety vs. the performance of other markets, etc. Obviously I know very little about the bond market, but I think you understand the analogy.... Does this make any sense at all?
I currently work about 40 hours a week as a software developer, and spend 45 hours onsite each week, if you count lunch. I am pretty happy with these hours. It would be a different situation if I had help from a spouse or someone else in terms of housekeeping and other necessities for living, but I live alone. With the ability to forego housework, I may be inclined to work more hours. At this point, I need my free time and social life in order to 1) take care of myself and 2) find a mate.
It sounds like a 40 hour workweek may be completely out of the question, based on the responses I have received. If this is the case, I will probably stay away from the field as a profession, then. I will still pursue it as a hobby, though. Perhaps there is something to be said about the merits of working smart vs. working hard. I am very efficient and productive within the time I allot myself to work. At my current position, I am certainly as productive as people who work longer hours than I do.
Work hours notwithstanding, does anyone have any comments about my questions about education--whether to start out with self-study, or enroll in a school, if I can afford to? Like I said, I believe there are introductory-level quant jobs out there for people who are already experienced with programming and statistics, even if they lack an education within quantitative finance.
Finally, has anyone here had problems with this sites HTTPS certificate? For some reason I can't connect to this site from my Mac at home due to an error with the HTTPS certificate.
Thanks very much for your help! Is this message just too damn long?! Sorry 
