Hi all! I’m at a crossroads in my career and could really use some advice and insights.
I’m 32M with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and over 6 years of experience in software engineering. I’ve had the opportunity to work as a software engineer at a hedge fund previously, and for the past year, I’ve been part of the tech team at a stock trading company. Recently, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to the finance sector and considering a shift in my career.
I’ve been doing some research and contemplating potential paths, such as Investment Banking, Private Equity, or Quantitative Finance. While I’m excited about the idea, I’m wondering if it’s realistic at my age and with my background.
I’m also planning to pursue a Master’s degree in Finance or Quantitative Finance starting in the fall of 24.
Is it worth changing into a Finance career at this age while having some experience in tech? How will my tech background contribute to my success in the field of finance?
5 comments
Do it. You’re never too old to pursue goals.
My best friend didn’t go to law school until he was 36. People would tell him he’d be 38 by the time he graduated. That was true, but when he graduated he was a 38 year old *lawyer*.
34M aerospace engineer here pondering the same thing after taking a financial management course in grad school. I’d advise exploring your network at the previous companies you worked at since they’re in the financial sector. Explain your situation and put out some feelers….then share with the class 🙂
software engineer of 5 years here, and i’ve thought about the same.
i’d advise networking with ppl of your current org that are in roles that you’re considering for your future, they’d probably be great assets for you to gain advice from.
Out of curiosity, are you interested in the field due to salary, or due to the works itself? I ask, considering the amount that we already make as SWE, especially with your experience.
I’ve been considering a similar switch, heading into the finance sector. Only thing keeping me from pursuing it is the “restarting” aspect, losing pay to become a junior analyst or something. Also an engineer here, different industry. Interested in seeing some responses to this post. Hard to explain why. Whenever there is some finance issue that comes up and controllers need something resolved, I’ve been tackling those and realizing I kind of like it.
Investment banking and private equity are very different careers than quantitative finance, which itself is an umbrella term covering a range of different roles. https://www.reddit.com/r/quant/wiki/faq
Investment banking would be doable via a good MBA program. Private equity (assuming you mean FO roles) is unlikely. Neither is particularly closely related to your experience, I think the most useful thing about your SWE experience is that it could improve your understanding (and credibility) on deals involving tech companies.
Quant roles in general are *somewhat* more aptitude-focused and less background-focused than IB and PE, so none are unachievable if you have the aptitude. You can probably get interviews for quant dev roles today (even if that’s not what you were doing at the HF), the hard part is passing the interviews. Similarly, QR/QT are plausible coming from a good MFE program, conditional on actually having the math/stats aptitude (in addition to CS) and being able to get past the interviews.
Whether it’s worth it is subjective, of course. QR/QT at the top hedge funds and prop shops pay substantially better than tech, so they’re probably worth pursuing if you think you have the aptitude, though the vast majority of SWEs don’t. Investment banking even post-MBA requires substantially longer hours than most SWE jobs (or quant jobs, for that matter) and starts off at lower pay than big tech, so I think it would be hard to justify unless you really think you’d like the work better.