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
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
