<p>Quant jocks and financial engineering are the geeks of IB, in the nicest way. They have our respect. You could work for trading or research. Their hours are generally better, but not if you work for some crazy person in research. It's a lot of fun if you are into that sort of thing. Many finance professors do it part time.</p>
<p>Oldfort and the analyst,
Your posts are very informative. I was wondering if you could say more about financial consulting?</p>
<p>Oldfort,
I hope you Ithica trip is successful, and I don't expect a reply soon</p>
<p>bookworm - I don't know all that much about consulting, but I can venture what I know until someone with more knowledge responds. What I do know:</p>
<p>It can involve a lot a traveling. Not surprising, considering to consult sometimes you'll need to inspect in person, observe corporate culture and see which jobs are unnecessary, etc. I'm not sure about the hours, but I'd guess that they're roughly the same as working for a fund, so 40-60 a week, varying depending on travel.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I have heard it's much more flexible time-wise and less stressful than most other fields in finance. You won't be sleeping in your office. The pay is comparable, though not entirely on par with IBanking, though you'll definitely lead a more balanced life with the possibility of friends outside work (if that's what you want).</p>
<p>Here is a great article on WSJ on description of the differences in personality required for different parts of ibanking, private equity, hedge fund. Fit one's personality to the job will bring greater success and happiness.</p>
<p>Must</a> I Bank? - WSJ.com</p>
<p>If the link doesn't work, go to WSJ.com, and search for "Must I Bank"</p>
<p>Thanks, Oldfort. I can see where consulting fits my S. He doesn't want to sit at a computer all day, he's not a salesman, he's already spent time with start-ups, he wants to travel. I believe he'll be consulting with tech/academic firms, rather than corporate. I think he will like the problem solving and analytic side.</p>