Why do employers still interview people with PhDs not in math/econometrics?

[Xerium]

So I’ve studied a year of my MFE and wonder how people without doing the necessary math get interviews. My undergrad was in physics and I still keep in contact with many classmates who are doing their PhDs. They’d never touch or see any stochastic calculus, and haven’t even heard of the word martingale.

I couldn’t even imagine a work colleague briefly explaining change of measures to a physics PhD grad. I can’t see how I would be able to grasp the basics of the math without actually doing a few courses on it.

Why do they get interviews? Or do programs overemphasise the math and the measure theory that is actually required?

 

[finkv]

Are you taking about PhDs in physics or in not STEM fields?

 

[SD_]

Are you sure that their thesis didn't involve any PDE or other math related topic? I had a similar doubt when one of my interviewer's had a PhD in Chemical engineering. I found out his thesis somewhere on the internet which had extensive application of PDEs.

Additionally, are you referring to banks or hedge funds that are interviewing these non-math/econometrics PhD candidates?

 

[Qui-Gon]

PhDs have to teach themselves several topics over the course of composing their dissertation. To think that a capable PhD in Physics/engineering/CS could not self teach themselves stochastic calculus/probability in 2-3 weeks is ridiculous, especially stochastic calculus at the level MFEs learn the subject at. I would venture to say that a large majority of MFE students could not explain change of measure to someone if they were asked to do so, so I do not understand the point that MFEs are somehow more capable with the mathematics than a PhD in a technical but non-math centric field.

A PhD from a top institution checks the box that the individual is highly competent at independently learning new material. So long as it is in a sufficiently technical subject, I think it does not matter much whether someone has formally taken coursework in things like stochastic calculus.

 

[MMFInfoAcct]

also things like stochastic calculus, measure theory and PDEs are really not the focus of buy side quants (but more relevent to banks) - buyside firms care and value that you understand linear regression in depth more than if you understand girsanov's or change in numeraire

 

[Daniel Duffy]

linear regressio

OLS
ODR
?

 

[SD_]

The curriculum of an MFE program appears to be based on what sell-side wants in a potential candidate.

 

[LeFed]

OLS
ODR
?

ols