I was discussing the joys of Quants with a friend of mine, who was ranting and raving about how speculators on Wall Street don't really do any real work. He felt that they were responsible for getting us into this whole mess, and that none of them were really being held responsible for the trouble. After a few minutes of this, he took a breath and then thoughtfully remarked, "Although, they're probably doing more important work than the vendor pushing a cart down the street selling hot dogs."
I couldn't disagree with the latter statement more. The work of a Quant might be much more challenging than peddling hot dogs, and it certainly requires a higher education level. (Although if you took the hot dog vendor off the street and had him tackle the stock market, I think there's a good chance his performance would be comparable to that of your average speculator.)
But the hot dog vendor is building equity in a business. He's building a brand. And out there on the street, selling something to people, he has a real opportunity to bring joy to people who are hungrily walking the streets. He (or she) can connect with customers by being a friendly person and making people happy to buy a hot dog from him. He could work hard to become part of the community.
There's real, tangible value in that. Sure, at a few dollars per hot dog, perhaps he's not trying as hard as he could if he were selling furniture, but he does have the opportunity to give it his all and grow a real business.
Contrast that with the stock market speculator, who is doing little more than pushing people's money around between investments, and taking a commission for himself each time he does so. Speculation, as opposed to long-term investment, in stocks is a losing strategy for everyone except the broker.
I once heard someone say that a "professional" is someone who adds value to society, and not someone who extracts value from it. Given those terms, who would you say is a more respectable professional: the hot dog vendor or the speculator?
I couldn't disagree with the latter statement more. The work of a Quant might be much more challenging than peddling hot dogs, and it certainly requires a higher education level. (Although if you took the hot dog vendor off the street and had him tackle the stock market, I think there's a good chance his performance would be comparable to that of your average speculator.)
But the hot dog vendor is building equity in a business. He's building a brand. And out there on the street, selling something to people, he has a real opportunity to bring joy to people who are hungrily walking the streets. He (or she) can connect with customers by being a friendly person and making people happy to buy a hot dog from him. He could work hard to become part of the community.
There's real, tangible value in that. Sure, at a few dollars per hot dog, perhaps he's not trying as hard as he could if he were selling furniture, but he does have the opportunity to give it his all and grow a real business.
Contrast that with the stock market speculator, who is doing little more than pushing people's money around between investments, and taking a commission for himself each time he does so. Speculation, as opposed to long-term investment, in stocks is a losing strategy for everyone except the broker.
I once heard someone say that a "professional" is someone who adds value to society, and not someone who extracts value from it. Given those terms, who would you say is a more respectable professional: the hot dog vendor or the speculator?