學習金融工程真的需要PhD學位么？

01-30

註：原文來自QuantNet《The Value of a PhD and MFE Degree》

作者Peter Wagner，曾任摩根斯坦利和雷曼兄弟高管。

小編特意翻譯成中文，並於文末總結附贈生僻辭彙和片語搭配，以供大家學習。

Since writing for this blog in January about the HFT/algo job market, I』ve received many inquiries from students asking about the 「requirements」 for quant jobs on Wall Street. 「Do I need a PhD?」 is a frequent question. Each time I receive one of these inquiries, I struggle with the answer.

自從寫了有關高頻演算法交易的就業市場的博客後，我收到了很多學生的詢問，他們問我華爾街的「寬客」工作要求。其中一個常見問題就是「我需要PhD學位么？」每次收到這樣的問題，我都要思躇良久。

My instinct is no. But when I look at who is working in these jobs, I do see a predominance of PhD』s in the top positions. PhD』s in mathematics, physics, operations research, EE, etc. are common in the quant community. So it』s tempting to tell students that a PhD is helpful, but it feels like the wrong answer.

我的本能會說不，但是當我著眼於寬客崗位上的人時，的確會發現PhD學位在頂部職位的顯著優勢。在寬客群體中，擁有數學、物理、運籌、電子工程等專業的PhD學位是很普遍的。因此，答案傾向於告訴學生PhD是有幫助的，但是這個答案感覺起來又是錯誤的。

In my gut I know that the people getting these jobs are not getting offers because they have extra letters after their name. The people in these positions are there because they have proved over their academic and professional lives that they are:

我的直覺告訴我，得到寬客工作的人不是因為他們的名字後多了什麼學位頭銜，而是因為他們在學術和職業生涯中證明了他們具有以下的品質：

Very smart
Quantitative thinkers
Good at figuring things out with minimal guidance
Dedicated

非常聰明；量化思維者；善於在最少的指導下解決問題；專註。

But the above is a generic list of attributes for hiring into just about any job. So what is it that makes someone hirable as a quant? The list isn』t long:

但是以上這些特徵適用於任何工作。究竟什麼特徵才能讓人勝任寬客工作呢？這份特徵的名單也不長：

Education in advanced math (stochastic calculus, statistics, probability, etc.)
Good software development skills
Good data analysis skills

具備高級的數學方面教育（例如隨機微積分，統計學，概率論等）；擅長軟體開發；優良的數據分析能力。

Okay, now combine the two lists, and you have the list of qualifications for a quant.

結合這兩份名單，你就可以知道成為寬客的必要條件了。

So, back to the question of whether to get a PhD. Should I get a PhD?, asks one student who is angling for a career in quantitative finance. Will it help me? Is it necessary? No, it』s definitely not necessary. Will it help? Empirically, it seems to help. But does it? I』ve finally come to clarity on the subject with the help of a conversation today with the director of a quant group supporting credit trading for a major investment bank.

回到要不要拿到PhD學位的問題。PhD是必需的么？肯定不是。PhD有幫助么？經驗上來看，似乎是有幫助，但果真如此么？我和一個負責投行信用交易支持的寬客組主管聊了這個問題，最終我有了清晰的答案。

Of the two lists above, the important qualifications are on the first list. This list has nothing to do with your education. Your success in any field depends on the first list. The 2nd list consists of skills, skills that can come from your education or experience. They are enabling skills, but they are not dictators of success. All career success comes from differentiating oneself with respect to the elements on the first list. You can get a PhD, spend the money and the time, but if you don』t differentiate yourself in the fundamental elements of success, the PhD won』t help.

在上面兩個名單中，更重要的是第一個名單裡面的品質特徵。這份名單與你的教育無關，而你在任何領域取得成功都依賴於這份名單。第二份名單都是些技能，而技能來自於你的教育和經歷，它們能夠讓你有能力勝任工作，但是卻不是成功的締造者。所有的職業成功都依賴於第一份名單的因素。你可以花費時間和金錢去讀PhD，但是如果你不具備成功的根本因素，PhD學位也幫不了你。

So why are there so many PhD』s in quantitative roles, anyway? I think the answer is pretty obvious. Very smart people with quantitative instincts are drawn to the PhD path. Later they find that they are well suited to a career in finance. They satisfy both lists and hence are successful in quantitative roles in finance. Almost without exception, these are individuals who pursued a PhD based on their interests and passions (EE, Physics, Applied Math, etc.), not people who pursued a PhD as a means to a job in finance. QED: A PhD is not a requirement for a career as a quant in finance.

那為什麼寬客中有這麼多PhD呢？我覺得答案很明顯。非常聰明而且有量化直覺的人自身嚮往去讀PhD。然後他們發現，他們非常適合在金融業工作。他們同時滿足上面兩個名單，因此才會在量化金融領域取得成功。幾乎毫無例外地，這些人讀PhD是因為興趣和熱情，而不是因為想把PhD當做進入金融業的手段。證畢：PhD學位不是從事金融寬客的必需品。

I feel this article isn』t complete without addressing the MFE degree. The MFE provides students with the fundamental skills utilized in quantitative jobs. If you can afford it, it』s an easy way to satisfy List 2. However, it』s by no means a ticket to success in quantitative finance. I』ll explore the MFE further in my next post, 「The MFE, Is it a Contra-indicator?」

我覺得如果不談一下金融工程碩士學位，這篇文章就不完整。金工碩士學位可以提供給學生量化工作中要用到的基本技能。如果你能夠負擔起學費，這會是一個捷徑來滿足第二個名單，但它絕不是通往量化金融成功的門票。

文末小結

PhD學位並不是在金工領域取得成功的原因，只不過寬客天才因為喜歡順便讀了個PhD而已。想要取得成就，無論什麼行業，都要做到專註、量化思維和善於解決問題，當然還要有聰明的天賦。

HFT/algo：HFT是High Frequency Trading的縮寫，即高頻交易；algo是Algorithmic Trading的縮寫，即演算法交易。

quant：寬客，指從事量化金融/計算金融工作的人，其工作就是設計並實現金融的數學模型（主要採用計算機編程）。

predominance：n. 優勢；卓越

empirically：adv. 以經驗為主地；經驗主義地

in my gut：在我看來；憑我直覺

figuring ... out：解決；算出；想出；理解；斷定

angle for：謀取；追逐；試圖得到

differentiate ... with respect to：數學裡用來表示求導，differentiate f(x) with respect to x

be drawn to：被…所吸引

without exception：一律；毫無例外地

by no means：決不；毫不；一點也不