PhD: does school brand matter?

[Tyler Tuan]

Hi all,

I am currently studying for Master's in statistics at Stanford. I have been accepted to several PhD programs in Statistics such as CMU, UCLA, and U Penn. However, I would prefer to go to a PhD program in Asia (due to personal issues) like National University of Singapore or Australian National University. However, my main concern is that earning a PhD degree in these Asian schools might lower my chance of getting good quant jobs (especially in New York or London) vs US schools.

Can anyone give me advice of this? Does the school brand for PhD matter for recruiting process?

Many thanks.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

The obvious answer is that going to Asian PhD programs will lower your chance of getting a job in the west, simply for the fact that there are an oversupply of qualified candidates locally.
You need to think strategically long term. What kind of "quant" jobs will look like 5 years later and where the job opportunities are.

 

[Tyler Tuan]

Hi Andy, since I dont know much about the outlook of the jobs in 5 years, can you provide me more information on this? What you think of jobs opportunities in Asia?

 

[Barny]

Brand name is the single most important factor on getting a job in any walk of life, not just finance.

 

[Shadowfox]

I totally agree with Barny. If you are going for conventional job it is the only thing that matters.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Brand name is the single most important factor on getting a job in any walk of life, not just finance.

How and when did it all go wrong?

 

[bigbadwolf]

How and when did it all go wrong?

Was it ever different?

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Was it ever different?

Probably not.

But now it looks more like a Milan catwalk.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Probably not.

But now it looks more like a Milan catwalk.

The jobs are fewer and the pool of contenders larger. And one reason why the college-industrial complex is under stress: tuition continues to increase in real terms but the graduates of an increasing number of schools cannot find jobs. The link between academic credentials and subsequent white-collar employment seems to have been broken except for elite students with elite credentials. And it's not clear even this will continue.