MBA in finance or PhD in Statistics?

IAmEric · Post by **IAmEric** » Mon May 29, 2006 3:18 am

But from the responses I see here and from other research i did, money will not be a deciding factor in a man's success / satisfaction...

?!?!??!?! Head against Wall

doctorwes · Post by **doctorwes** » Mon May 29, 2006 5:31 am

I don't think "MBA or PhD?" is the right question. I work with lots of people who are talented, successful and happy. Some of them have doctorates (in various fields, including the humanities); some of them have MBAs; some of them have CFAs; a few never finished high school. But they are all very, very good at what they do. So I think you should begin by asking a different question.

FDAXHunter · Post by **FDAXHunter** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:37 am

crassus: Whatever the forum says, everybody loves an MBA, because it is sexy.

On which planet would that be? On every trading floor in the world, MBAs just get laughed at. Either by the guys who never went to uni but still make 50 times more money than you do, or by the guys who can actually solve [4 5]' x + [1 8]'y = 0 without having to hire a consultant.

To quote a buddy of mine who actually has an MBA: "Well, I didn't really know what to study and this MBA crap seemed easy...."

Crassus · Post by **Crassus** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:59 am

lol. normally the consultants would be MBAs non? in any case FDAX, you know as well as I do, that some MBAs do have decent technical backgrounds. agreed that there are many morons, but I think you have to be a moron in the first place. can also understand that many are ridiculed, especially graduate program MBAs (some hires there are beyond belief. it is also beyond belief that some are left for the wolves after one year because no desk will have them: wtf were they hired in the first place? )

so let me rephrase: if prior to MBA you would be able to get the respect of people on the trading floor, an MBA would most likely add to your sex appeal.

p.s. surely you invented that quote. you? buddies with an MBA?

FDAXHunter · Post by **FDAXHunter** » Mon May 29, 2006 10:07 am

LOL! Awesome, you know me too well by far Blush We used to be buddies. Haven't stayed in touch.

Nonius · Post by **Nonius** » Mon May 29, 2006 11:13 am

kr · Post by kr » Mon May 29, 2006 1:02 pm

A couple of things

- 'The business' is not as easy as it used to be. When money grows on trees, having a dunce cap on your head can be considered a qualification. But now there are tons of MBAs out there and that isn't working. At the same time, advanced technical knowledge does not equal profits these days either.

- Of course, everybody has their own yardstick of success. But I think a certification of your MBA or PhD is neither the entry ticket or the closing P/L for this. If you want to be successful in finance, you need the appropriate curriculum, AND, you need to get in the door, AND you need to avoid an early stopping time. NP can probably help you with the first, and just maybe the second. The third requires a bit more individual effort.

- If there's any advice I can give on the third, it's that at the end of the day, you work for yourself. This is obviously true on the desk, where you may be destroying the firm's long-term business franchise for short-term bonus potential, say, or cultivating clients to take with you when you move to a new job. It may be more innocent stuff. But it is also what happens when you bullshit your way through either an MBA or a PhD as a means to get in the door, when your real interests (making money, doing intelligent finance work) aren't really parallel. On that specific note, may I suggest that when interests aren't aligned properly, that you should use the Gram-Schmidt process. We waste far too much time kidding ourselves about 'being team players' - if it's not locked in by the mechanics and it's not obvious, it's probably not true, so don't be inefficient.

- On that last note, it's probably true that doing a PhD is less 'efficient' than an MBA. My recommendation then is that you carefully manage your time. Though these days, with less free money lying around, some of the pressure is off.

probably none of that is helpful, sorry

Anthis · Post by **Anthis** » Mon May 29, 2006 4:15 pm

I hold already an MBA and hopefully in the near future a PhD as well. The fact the everybody here, with FDAXHunter leading the chorus, makes unlimited fun of me is a good reason no to do either of them.

Eventually i would rather herding a flock of cows or goats, they are much more peaceful than many NPers... I hope you too... Tongue out

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Tue May 30, 2006 2:37 am

Well, an MBA is good for engineers to learn about things that aren't engineering (about which we typically have no idea) such as accounting, corporate finance, managing people, etc so they can contribute more broadly to a company. It is far from the ideal stepping stone into a quantitative role in a bank.

Johnny · Post by **Johnny** » Tue May 30, 2006 9:39 am

Exactly. MBAs and PhDs in statistics are designed for entirely different purposes. It's like asking whether you should use a toothbrush or a piano ... it depends what you're trying to do*.

* Hint: do not attempt to brush your teeth with a piano.