Profile Evaluation for MS/PhD Finance

[kumar.mr]

Hi,
I wish to pursue a career in academia, but I'm stuck between prospects of Operations Research vs Finance.
Now, I wish to go back to academia. The two fields that really interest me are Decision Sciences (mostly operations research in the field of optimisation of supply chain) and Finance (exploring impact of new trends/fads on short and long term industry returns etc.)

For want of enough Finance/Math research experience, I believe getting into Top 20 Finance PhD programs would be tough. However, given my background in Mechanical Engineering, I feel getting into Operations Research would be easier/more natural path for me.

So, in such a situation, should I target Top 20-50 Finance PhD Programs or rather pick a Top 10 Operations Research program and work on my application for that? Which one would have a better career prospects (in academia, and in general)?

Or are there any Masters in Finance programs which can help my cause in getting into a better Finance PhD program?

What are my chances of getting in top programs? Also, which programs should I target?


Profile:
Indian, 23, Male
Undergraduate: Mechanical Engineering from HKUST, Top 2 in Hong Kong.
GPA: 4.1 out of 4.3 (1st in Class, Academic Medal, Dean’s List in all Semesters. Full Tuition Fee Scholarship for undergraduate)
GMAT: 760 (Q50,V44)

Courses: Advance Mech. Engg courses (which I hope substitutes for Math requirements) Broad fundamental courses in Accounting, Finance, Project Management, Int’l Relations.

Work Experience: Working in Transaction Banking Graduate Program (2 years by Fall 2019) in Hong Kong.
It will include 6 Months of work experience in London. Mostly sales, business analytics etc. related rotation.

Research Experience: Undergraduate research experience.

International Experience:
High School- Singapore (2 years)
Undergraduate- Hong Kong (4 years)
Internship- United States (1 month)
Full Time Work- Hong Kong (1 year)
Full Time Work Rotation- London (6 months)


Cheers

 

[DavidHilbert]

I think your perception is a bit messed up. Getting into top 20-50 OR PhD's will be harder then getting into top 10 Finance PhD (what programs are those anyway? No one cares about Finance PhDs). Especially given your curriculum and work experience in Finance, which is pretty much worthless for OR.

Whatever your research focus will be in finance will probably be totally outdated 5 years from when you complete your degree. On the other hand, OR methods are quite time-resistant and applicable to a vast variety of fields. And if you want to stay in Academia, then there's much more opportunity in OR positions than in Finance positions.

 

[kumar.mr]

I think your perception is a bit messed up. Getting into top 20-50 OR PhD's will be harder then getting into top 10 Finance PhD (what programs are those anyway? No one cares about Finance PhDs). Especially given your curriculum and work experience in Finance, which is pretty much worthless for OR.

Whatever your research focus will be in finance will probably be totally outdated 5 years from when you complete your degree. On the other hand, OR methods are quite time-resistant and applicable to a vast variety of fields. And if you want to stay in Academia, then there's much more opportunity in OR positions than in Finance positions.

Thanks for your input. I agree that OR methodologies are time-resilient.
Any feedback on my profile for OR PhD Programs? What kind of schools should I target? Or should I try a Masters before?