Thesis or internship

[d.koutsomito]

Hello,

I am a student of MSc in Financial Mathematics. I am currently researching for choosing a topic for my thesis. However, I got an offer for an internship in an asset management company. I talked with my supervisor and he told me that it is a good chance and if I want to take the offer, he will assign to me a topic whose mathematics is subordinate than of the ones proposed. I know that working on a specific topic will help you learn more, but I believe that work experience is invaluable especially when you are interviewed for other job offers. This is my dilemma. What would you advice?

Thank you.

 

[Ole Bueker]

Depends on what you want to do after graduation. Since you have internship offer, I assume you want to work after your thesis - if asset management is an interesting field for you, I would say go for it, many internships lead to full-time offers if you do well. If you want to work in another field, then I'm not sure either, maybe wait for more input from others.

 

[d.koutsomito]

My desire is to become a quant. However, after discussions I had with practioners, I concluded that work experience is needed to enter this kind of positions, no matter what is your mathematical background. Unfortunately, I do not have work experience in the field and that is what makes my decision even harder.

 

[ygmwy]

You can do research any time. Take the internship! It's a no brainer! Do research on the side.

Unfortunately, I do not have work experience in the field and that is what makes my decision even harder.

Doesn't it make the decision easier? Take the job.

 

[Fer Carranza]

Hi,

Personally, what I learned in school and what I applied (disclaimer: not quantitative finance) on the job where very different. Of course you need the knowlege, but I think it's very valuable to have that experience and learn how things are done in practice. In my opinion, take the job, meet new people, network, learn how things are done on the job, see how you handle the work environment, how you work with deadlines, with the time commitment.
Best of luck.