Actuary vs. quant: math, pay, hours

[Zakarin]

Originally Posted by creepypasta

So you're saying getting a 3.8 gpa in physics and math double major from a top 5 State university with average letters of rec won't be good enough to get into a MFE program and then find a job as a quant?

I'm similar to the OP in that i am considering quant vs Actuary, in terms of how much math each uses and their respective salaries. Is it really that impossible to become a quant?

No it's not that impossible to be a regular quant.

To be one of the insanely highly paid Wall street quants right out of Grad school? - Yes.

An MFE is enough to be a 'grunt quant' - you'll be doing the coding for the research type-quants (where the real money lies), until you come up with your own money making idea and convince someone to fund it.

With the background you described getting into a MFE program should be quite easy. Getting into the best MFE program might be a bit trickier; checkout www.quantnet.org for program reviews and such.

Pay and hours for a quant is a pointless question - there is such a wide variety of positions and companies that there is no simple answer, much like being an actuary. Some people will be chained to a desk and make a pittance, others will be able to surf the net all day and make bank. All comes down to who you work for.

Z

[creepypasta]

Originally Posted by Zakarin

An MFE is enough to be a 'grunt quant' - you'll be doing the coding for the research type-quants (where the real money lies), until you come up with your own money making idea and convince someone to fund it.

Pay and hours for a quant is a pointless question - there is such a wide variety of positions and companies that there is no simple answer, much like being an actuary. Some people will be chained to a desk and make a pittance, others will be able to surf the net all day and make bank. All comes down to who you work for.

Z

any ideas if the average salary for a 'grunt quant' are better than actuaries? any ideas of what the average hours are for quants?

[Zakarin]

Originally Posted by creepypasta

any ideas if the average salary for a 'grunt quant' are better than actuaries? any ideas of what the average hours are for quants?

It depends

A grunt quant will probably make 50-80k base + bonus, when they first start fresh out of MFE school - Mostly due to not having enough industry experience and being largely unknown.

Once they've proven themselves pay should be around 100-150k + bonus.

Being able to be a "creative quant" pay will be around 200-500k + bonus

Hours will very by the shop and job. If the job is to deliver pricing code to clients, then you can have insane hours to meet deadlines; if the job is to support proprietary software it can be very relaxed until something breaks.

Z.

[Locrian]

I remember reading a lot of "Quants are awesome!@#!" threads back when I was changing careers. They seemed to go something like this:

-----

Quant: I MAKE MORE MONEY THAN YOU I WIN

Actuary: How much do you make?

Quant: A KABILLION

Actuary: Wow, that's a lot. How many hours do you work each week?

Quant: A ZILLION

Actuary: That doesn't sound like a very good ratio. . .

Quant: I WIN

Actuary: Okay. . .

-----

Maybe that's oversimplifying a bit. . .

Sounds about right. My brother was a quant for a while. For much of that time, my pay/hour was better than his, although his pay was far more than mine.

[Arthur Kade]

Originally Posted by Omega3

Does anyone have an idea of the salary + bonus of a chief actuary in a Bermuda reinsurer compared with that of a top quant in Goldman?

Six digits vs Seven digits.

[deathfrombelow]

Originally Posted by Arthur Kade

Six digits vs Seven digits.

Arthur Kade does more with one line than most AO posters do with two paragraphs.

[creepypasta]

Originally Posted by Zakarin

It depends

A grunt quant will probably make 50-80k base + bonus, when they first start fresh out of MFE school - Mostly due to not having enough industry experience and being largely unknown.

Once they've proven themselves pay should be around 100-150k + bonus.

.

how many hours per week do they have to work to earn 50-80k, and 100-150k?

[banpeikun]

41 and 80, respectively.

[Zakarin]

Originally Posted by creepypasta

how many hours per week do they have to work to earn 50-80k, and 100-150k?

In the office at a desk? 35-50 hrs

The more you want to be paid - the more you'll think about work while out of the office

It isn't unknown for quants to spend their free time talking about new models and numerical techniques, or to read technical papers.

Z