| Besides the moot point that quants are physics PhDs and all of that, the main reason they were hired directly resulted from a choice bunch of skills now compactified into the modern quantitative finance masters programs.
Many of the people going into these physics programs didn't have any intention of become quants, but with some of the more esoteric fields where vaunted academic positions are still the only alternative, the decent stable pay quants receive isn't such a raw deal. |