Please advise on my PhD situation

[Shun]

Hi everyone. This may be just another "should I continue with my PhD?" post, but I guess everyone's situation is different, and I would appreciate your words of advice.

I am approaching the end of my 2nd year in a mathematics PhD program (the department of my school is one of the top 10th in the U.S., if this adds to the information). I didn't do a Masters and went straight to the Ph.D. program after finishing a mathematical economics and statistics double major in an Ivy League university.

I spent my 1st year finishing my qualifying exams (prelim.), and in my 2nd year I started to explore different research areas. However, it turned out that the range of research topics here do not suit me. I had two professors in mind before I came here, but unexpectedly, one of them was actually planning to retire, and things were not working out with the other (in terms of research focus and philosophy). Thus, I have a serious problem in finding an advisor I like, since the rest of the faculty members have very different interests than I have, and I do not want to change field.

That being said, I'm really not sure if I can find a research topic that can keep me motivated for the next 4 years (it usually takes 6 years to finish the program here).

This makes me think if it would be more suitable to look for a job (I have earned a M.Sc en route now). So my question is: how much/what kind of marketability do I have in the field of quantitative analysis with a M.Sc in mathematics?

(Due to financial reasons I don't think a MFE would be an option for me.)

In terms of knowledge, I am familiar with measure theoretic probability, stochastic processes, and PDE, and I have taken courses in numerical analysis and C. I don't think I am an expert in programming though.

In addition, this summer I plan to educate myself in financial mathematics by reading the books from the Master Reading List.

[I don't know if it is relevant for a quant job, but as for statistics, I have some knowledge in econometrics and statistical inference, and I have some programming experiences in STATA.]

To recap, what makes me consider leaving my program is that I am not optimistic about finding an advisor in my field of interest. Perhaps I have just chosen a wrong school to go to, or perhaps I have simply overestimated the amount of my interest in mathematics (On retrospect, I think a PhD program in applied math/statistics would have been more suitable to my interest). I don't know if I should leave the program or not -- I guess it is another "should I try to persevere? vs. should I just cut down the loss at an early stage?" type of dilemma that I am being faced with. Please advise. :smt024

 

[DominiConnor]

I suppose the first thing to do is work with your current supervisors to find a course somewhere else.
What is your current PhD direction ?

 

[Sanket Patel]

Speaking of PhDs...Dominic, what is your opinion of a Financial Mathematica PhD?

 

[Shun]

I suppose the first thing to do is work with your current supervisors to find a course somewhere else.
What is your current PhD direction ?

Thanks DC for your reply. I don't have a very clear direction yet, but it is something on pure analysis (with a possibility of applying to some applied problems -- but I doubt if my supervisor likes to direct a thesis on an applied problem).

By "to find a course somewhere else," do you mean I should find another supervisor or discuss another direction with my current supervisor? Thanks.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

To get a direction, you should understand what you are getting into and how to best prepared for it. I would suggest getting all the free guides in this reading list.
Master reading list for MFE - QuantNetwork - Financial Engineering Forum

 

[Yuriy]

If you have passed all exams, I suggest to go for the thesis and explore all possibilities in the department. If it is a top 10 program, there should be faculty interested in many areas. Talk to them and maybe you'll find someone with similar interests.