[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/biz/ - Business & Finance

View post   
File: 31 KB, 821x467, sm-lagrangian1.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
368887 No.368887[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Physics undergrad, 4th year staying on an extra year, 3.2 GPA (yeah yeah shitty. I have pretty severe OCD, am great at math, and have changed my life dramatically over the last year so I'm not doomed). I'll be doing work this summer + thesis/research until I graduate with the help of a researcher who's well respected in high energy theory, and has taken an interest in my career due to my circumstances - forever grateful.

I'm 21k in debt, and I figure after another year of loans I'll be ~30k down. I love physics, love love love physics and if I could do it forever I would.

Realistically, can I pay off my loans during graduate school? TA positions pay 18-23k/year (dunno if summer is included). Is it smart to pay loans off ASAP, or should I invest an equal amount (or more) of what I'm paying off. I'm great with numbers, but the economy is totally strange to me.

Do econ guys do a ton of variational calculus?
What the fuck should I do with money?

>> No.368891

I always wanted to be able to read stuff like in OP's gif.

>> No.368892

>Is it smart to pay loans off ASAP, or should I invest an equal amount (or more) of what I'm paying off.

It's pretty basic math. What is the interest rate on your loans? If you can get a higher rate of return investing, then you can invest. If you can't (which is probably more likely), then you're better off putting any money you can towards paying off the loans.

>> No.368897

>>368891
Quantum Field Theory is the most beautiful thing any human mind has come up with.

Took me 7 years of doing math 24/7 (dreams) to be able to understand it, and I'm bottom of the barrel.

>> No.368899

>>368892
I guess I was asking about those odds. From the second half of your post I'm guessing that my loans aren't going to be the fun kind.

>> No.368907

>>368899
Well you said you were in debt already, so presumably you already know what your rates are.

>> No.368912

>>368907
No idea - basically went into college in the middle of a 7 year period of non stop math and forgot what my life was.

And I have a question regarding your previous post. You said "basic math" - what tools would you use? I can think of a way to make a system with high dynamical variance.

>> No.368924

>>368912
>no idea
You should probably find out. It's pretty important.

>what tools would you use?
You don't really need any tools for what we're talking about. Your loans have some interest rate (x) and different investments have different typical rates of return (y).
If x >= y, pay off the loan.
If x < y, then you can start to consider investing.

>> No.368927

>>368924
Yeah I just looked it up. Trust me I feel like a child for not knowing this stuff, but OCD has taken me for a fucking ride.

So I have several loans, with interest rates from 3.4-6.8. What range do these fall in?

With math you can always make something more complicated...and sometimes you find something great.

>> No.368934

>>368927
6.8% is pretty bad. You need to pay that off ASAP. 3.4% is manageable.

>> No.368940

>>368934
Thx for the advice anon

>> No.368948

>>368927
>6.8
Shit

>> No.368949

>>368948
It's only 2 of my loans, the rest are low. One hasn't accrued any interest yet, the other was taken out my freshman year and went from ~2k to ~2.5k. Tackle that one first and it won't be too scary yeah?

>> No.369270

>>368949
>>368927
You know Khan Academy has basic finance+econ courses that you could probably do in less than a day. They cover a lot of ground.
And if you're doing physics, the math in economics will seem like mandatory education level.

>> No.369297

Glashow model lagrangian, nice.

I did 4 years of undergrad theoretical physics, left to work in the city for a year. Just reapplied for MSc courses in particle theory. Money doesn't matter, I've lost 2 years in effect, one for working and one for doing an MSc when I already have an Msci but it's worth it.

Make it happen

>> No.371091

>>368887

Didn'y read, skimmed but I wanted to bump from tne 'cause I went in-patient for OCD.

Godspeed. Brother.

>> No.371128

>>368887
you seem like you would be good at doing quantitative economics or econometrics. Business pay shittones for econometric modelers.

>> No.371138

>>368887
OP just don't pay it back. Bug out to somewhere like Chile and figure out Unification or some shit.

>> No.371888

>>368897
>can't into basic budgeting
Faggot.

>> No.372306

>>368887
Startup company doing something APPLICABLE, work with someone who respects you can can keep an IP lawyer on a leash.

Sit in a course pertaining to law, patents, incorporation and or contracts... It's free if you are a student. You will be bored, but pay attention you don't want to be like Tesla.

>> No.372336

>>368887
Listen, the finance isn't for guys who are in the whole. You are in debt, plus gambling anything you get will severely cut your losses. Eliminate your debt first. Then you may start investing. Most of finance is differential equations and linear algebra applied. I did electrical engineering, and I do finance on the side. The tougher of the two is of course electrical engineers. The riskiest is finance. For a newbie into economics, I suggest you invest in something your bank can offer you. Now for someone who some sense, you can buy high risk stocks or invest into medium risk securities.