Quick Math Question

[tbroker]

I only said the 6 digit comment because I will be making about 90,000 next year at 21 (turning 22) so I wouldnt want a HUGE drop in pay.

[Prometheus_Econ]

Damn, that's a lot of money. Well, it's more likely going to be a pay drop for a while (5 years in grad school, getting tenure = another 10 years if ever). The finance path definitely seems more profitable, since starting faculty already get paid more than some full professors in econ.

[tbroker]

Id be willing to give that away for a PhD cos I want it that bad...is getting tenured that hard? Also, I have heard of starting finance phds at Wharton start at 140,000

[Prometheus_Econ]

I don't doubt that they start out with that much. In fact, people with finance PhDs from my current school (which is ranked only in the top 50) have gotten starting offers that were 6 digits. I do think however that it is not easy to get a starting position at Wharton. You'd probably have to come out of a top school, and have a pretty good job market paper. I also think that people sometimes underestimate the difficulty of getting tenure. I'm not quite sure what the numbers are, but it's not an automatic thing at all. You definitely have to publish a lot of research in very good journals to get tenure at places like wharton.

[tbroker]

Ya it just feels like I will never get there or I cannot get in...

[tbroker]

Also, would it be stupid to apply to all finance phds? I figured if I take comparable coursework why not apply for econ to do financial econ especially since i bet a phd from duke in econ is way better than a number 50 school in finance...right

[tbroker]

Bump please

[hips]

Modern Algebra, a waste of time from Econ perspective, unless you just really like the subject or need to take an abstract math course to learn proofs.

Well,I think your point of view is somewhat narrow.
For example,we all know that Brouwer fixed point theorem is important,
and I first read it's proof on my algebra text(Fraleigh),
though the algebra course in my school tends to focus on Galois theory in the second semester.
Today my linear algebra prof says he forget all the proofs of Fundamental
Theorem of Algebra,except the one that uses complex analysis.
Perhaps in more advanced math everything are eventually interconnected( Can't be sure,I am just an undergrad double majoring in math)

Maybe it's better to focus on analysis and stat courses,but it's certainly
not a waste of time to touch other branches of math.

[apropos]

Id be willing to give that away for a PhD cos I want it that bad...is getting tenured that hard? Also, I have heard of starting finance phds at Wharton start at 140,000

I have heard from the admissions coordinator that the median starting salary UCB's MFE graduates (that's a 1 year Masters program) was about $160K last year. (One caveat, UCB's is probably the top Financial Engineering program in the country and they usually admit only very _very_ qualified people such as Physics PhDs, mid-career financial analysists, etc). So, a Finance PhD from a top school with thesis in asset pricing going to work in the industry should probably earn at least as much (although, I suppose the academia might pay less)