Best degree for a sydney investment baking hopeful at UNSW
Are there any people from Sydney on this forum? I am a UNSW student and am tossing up what degree is best for working in finance. Currently I am studying engineering but a lot of people in finance (according to linkedin) have commerce and law degrees (in australia law is offered as an undergraduate degree and you have to combine it with something, most combine it with commerce).
My questions basically what would be the better combination for earning money in the CBD:
Engineering + Commerce
Engineering + Law
Commerce + Law
Thank You!
comm + law is a pretty solid degree. So would engg + commerce. If you're already doing engg, I reckon adding commerce onto it would be a pretty smart move.. and the course load will be more manageable than adding a Law degree to engg, which would pretty much kill you.
Also, commerce gives you industry knowledge.
ive done one year of engg. Would the cost be worth it to essential forfeit the year of engineering and start in 2016 as a comm/law student as if I were fresh out of highschool. Or does eng/comm have a better reputation than comm/law amongst major sydney banks (UBS, Macquarie for example). My engineering degree is mechanical so not advanced enough to be a quant, im guessing electrical leaning into computer science would be looked upon for basic quant positions (even then you would need at least a masters). The mechanical degree is there pretty much to look pretty as I believe australias engineering industry is going down the drain (aside from high tech like software), even then low tech engineering like mechanical, civil, chemical seems boring to work in in industry as some of my senior mentors have told me.
Trying to juggle an Eng courseload with Law or Comm will likely leave you doing mediocre at both. Particularly in law, where reading large volumes of pre readings is necessary to get value from the tutorials.
In my day (a long time ago) the combined Comm and Law load was 16 - 18 hours a week.
Which left plenty of time to enjoy campus life.
I was back in Sydney in November and walked around the UNSW before catching up with a friend nearby. So many memories, many now concreted over.
the straight engineering course load is 26 hours per week, with comm/engo it will become ~20, same with engo/law. But im assuming the lower contact hours will mean more self study, especially in law. What are your opinions on the engineering/commerce combination. Is it more highly regarded over commerce/law considering the increasing number of law grads
You sound like you aren't interested in engineering and are only interested in finance/banking for the money, which will lead to you being absolutely miserable if you don't actually enjoy the work. As above, you could get into IB etc. with any of the degree combinations you have mentioned, but I would seriously think about what you're actually interested in, rather than what the best combination is for "earning money in the CBD."
I am interested in engineering as far as the stuff taught in classes go, this is why I chose it for my undergrad. I find physics extremely fascinating and I love the idea of people solving problems using math and learning more about the world around us. In my first year of uni i got really involved with engineering societies because I loved the classes so much and networked with older students and people in the workforce, turns out the industry isnt all too interesting. An engineering job hardly uses any math and isnt really about problem solving or creating anything too groundbreaking for the most part, it mostly involves minor modifications to blueprints which are years old using CAD, doesnt sound very interesting anymore. I have learned that academia != industry. This is why im leaning towards IB, of course money will play a role in any job, but I want a job that is exciting, fluid and leaves room to aim high, which engineering doesnt seem to cater for.
Keep in mind that in IB, after the initial learning curve, things flatten out pretty quickly. So, you've got to be genuinely keen on the markets , deals etc.. to keep going in the long run.
For your degree conundrum, continue with your Engg as you actually like it at an academic level. Don't worry too much about how it'll actually fit into any specific role. Just because your studying something technical, doesn't mean banks will only consider you for a 'quant' role. You can pretty much apply to any role you like and be considered on par with someone else. Once you get an interview, banks only care about whether you can demonstrate interest / knowledge about the field in an interview.
If you want, adding a Commerce or finance degree will obviously help with understanding the subject matter better.
Don't waste your time dropping out & starting over for a comm/law. Not worth it if you don't have a genuine interest in law.
I still don't see the rationale behind the pivot from engineering to IB. As above, make sure you actually enjoy the IB work.
How will I know if I enjoy IB work. I have one month to change degrees, what real experience can I get in between then to see if il get a thrill out of it (genuinely asking)
If you're interested in IB, this is a no-brainer. Over here, everyone in IB is either commerce only (usually older bankers), or Commerce + Law (newer generation of bankers). It is absolutely senseless to do engineering for your purposes.
There are plenty of people who switch degrees after one year. There's nothing wrong with switching to Comm + Law. Just do it ASAP.
The lack of engineering in sydney banks seems to be backed by linkedin, all of which are comm/law. I havent found one engineering kid. Why do the uni's trumpet engineering can get you into IB so much?
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