College Major Predicament
I just finished my freshman year at berkeley and I'm having trouble about what I should major in. I'm positive that I can get into the Haas business school if I apply next year, but I'd rather major in Computer Science. Don't get me wrong, I actually like finance, but the business major requires that I take so many useless classes and I think if I major in CS, which is also something that I like, I could just take 2-3 econ/finance courses that I want.
How would not going go Haas and majoring in CS play into recruiting. I want to get into trading, but if I can't, I won't mind working in IB.
Right now, I have a PWM internship at a BB Bank and next year I'm going to try to land either an internship at a prop shop or a MM Bank.
I don't think having a specific major is relevant in recruiting. It's far more important to network with the right people and have them like you. Knowing this, study what you like. There are numerous people who work in S&T without finance degrees. Again, networking will get you the job.
I also think it is better to have "leadership" positions in an IBD/S&T type club than having a finance major - many investment banking clubs do not require their officers to hold finance degrees. If you hold a leadership positions in one of these clubs, you might get emailed by a recruiter at a BB to host an information session sponsored by your club etc...That's not a bad way to stand out, if you are cool about it. An MD may even come speak to your group, and might even hold a special session for officers only as well.
I think it depends on what you want to do in trading. They're both great major, although each one will be good for getting different roles. So it would help to know what you want to do more exactly.
The things is, I go to a school with a well known b-program and I'm afraid that if I don't go to that program then I'll be at a disadvantage. However, I really don't want to deprive myself of an education by going to the business school.
It's not like UCB CS is some joke either. My from experience, a LOT of the S&T analysts are STEM majors; there might even be more of them than business majors. Just network, and show recruiters that you're interested in trading (ie join clubs, get leadership positions,...etc). CS is no joke, and is highly valuable in the world of trading.
CS is just fine, stop over-thinking this.
My cousin graduated from Berkeley Haas back in 2006. For BB S&T, you will be at no disadvantage by majoring in CS (or any other engineering majors for that matter). However if you want IBD or any other business areas, then being at Haas will be advantageous since Haas has its own specialized career office.
To be honest, I highly doubt that a Berkeley CS degree will be looked down upon, regardless of the career path you choose. However keep in mind that CS at Berkeley is no joke, and will be a lot more difficult that any of the joke business courses at Haas.
If you want to get into automated trading def. do computer engineering or CS. If you ask me Chicago is the hub for that and they heavily recruit from the west coast.
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