Current senior in High School.
Is getting an engineering degree really a better investment than getting a finance undergrad degree?
With an engineering degree, you can always get an MBA later on...but if you start out in finance, you can't(usually) get an engineering degree.
Also, what do you guys think the stability of a job in finance is? How hard do you think it'll be from a semi-target like McCombs?
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I would probably recommend engineering in terms of education - u'll definitely learn a lot more technical skills than finance. The benefits of finance undergrad is that it helps demonstrate ur interest in the industry and the program usually offers you more time to understand finance and access to networkign with finance alumni - these benefits are not necessarily "tangible" but are the key to breaking into finance. However, I'm sure you'd be able to do the same with an engineering degree if you learn finance on ur own and network hard af - especially coming from a semi-target finance program doesn't really give you too much of an edge when it comes to access to finance opportunities and finance alumni (I don't know too much about McCombs though tbh). Jobs are pretty stable in finance but it depends on your specific function. Of course, if there's a financial crisis or something, u might lose ur job, but in that case the economy is probably crashing in general and others are losing theirs as well.
Heres a thought, why not double major in both engineering and finance?
Feasibility and GPA tradeoff. Double majoring in Engineering and finance at UT is almost unheard of. If I double major in engineering my GPA would become alot lower due to overload. If I decide to just drop engineering down the line, the damage done would be permanent.
If your gpa drop off is to 3.0-3.3 you still will make the cut because of your double major, with that being said I'd choose a double major student with 3.0 gpa than a student majoring in history with a 3.5 gpa. Reason why I suggested double majoring is because that will open up the field even more for you- you will have opportunity as a quant, engineer, investment banker, and/or investment professional
Have a BME/Bio undergrad and a Finance MBA.
Would recommend this route to finance undergrad. You'll diversify your skill set and have a huge quantitative leap on your finance-major colleagues post B School.
Also -- work for a year or two in engineering; will provide depth and add a vantage point when you hit Wall Street.
I studied engineering undergrad then MS finance. Honestly, it really doesn't matter what you study because what you do outside of classes makes a much bigger difference in your career.
However, I'll add, if I were to go back, I'd double major in comp. sci. and finance - the two most useful majors for any quant job. You could do IB, trading, work for a startup, F500 - you could do virtually anything with this combo. CS is the way of the future IMO, so many companies are looking for ways to automate everything now.
Otherwise, if the university won't let you double, do an undergrad in one then a master's in the other. A lot of large public universities like UT make it very difficult to double major in two high demand majors such as finance and engineering because of over-enrollment in the majors and they don't have enough seats.
It's perfectly fine to take 5 years versus 4 - this gives you another summer to intern somewhere, get more involved on campus, do case competitions, etc. Take your time in college and enjoy yourself.
If you have anymore questions, please feel free to PM me!
I'm actually planning on double majoring in computer science and finance at UT! If I don't make comp sci for my second major, I'll probably minor in MIS and get a computer science certificate(minor).
Why do People Major in Engineering when you Can Make more in Finance? (Originally Posted: 04/19/2015)
I mean, isn't it obvious that you will have an easier time with a finance major but you can make more money than engineering? Besides those who are actually passionate about it, it doesn't make sense why people would choose engineering.
This is a retarded question on so many levels
Why do so many Chinese people live up to the "all I care about is money" stereotype? Truly mind boggling.
Look, I'm sorry you have a sub 3.0 in electrical engineering, but that's your own fault. If you don't like it, then change majors. Not everyone does things with money as their primary motivator.
Because they like it. More intellectually challenging than a lot of finance jobs. You generally are solving technical problems and that appeals to some people more than running around doing deals. It's a pretty stable profession also. Finance, especially the IB/PE/HF route is highly competitive and unstable-don't perform or make it to the next level and you're out. When the market takes a dump like it did in 08 there can be mass layoffs and then you and thousands of your peers are all gunning for the same limited number of jobs. I've never heard of mass layoffs of electrical engineers across broad swaths of the economy. Finance is also a very interpersonal business once you rise above entry level stuff-not everyone wants to be interacting with people all the time. And engineering, generally, will be well paid with far less hours.
Surprisingly, most engineering jobs are NOT intellectually challenging. My friend graduated near the top of his class at a top 10 EE school, and he's stuck redesigning the same connector over and over and over again.
His company also culls the bottom 20% of engineers every year which, when combined with the often political process of stack ranking, can make things very cutthroat.
The profession isn't cyclical like banking, but when a large firm with lots of engineers blows up (Nortel, Enron) things become very dark very quickly. Besides, all of the talented bankers were employed almost immediately post-crisis - only the fat and stupid were banished forever.
FWIW all of the smart engineers I know moved to the business side.
Have you been to a start up? Culture wise vs a bulge bracket institution? I have plenty of CS friends that have made multiples of what I have in equity and I haven't been paid chump change ...
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Is it worth spending an extra two years getting an Engineering degree on top of my Finance degree? (Originally Posted: 12/04/2014)
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Unless you want to do engineering full-time (or unless you really enjoy it and money isn't an issue), then it's not worth it. You need transaction experience before moving to PE.
What about HF?
What about HF?
Risk/reward. The upside is that people think you are extra smart and you have a tiny edge in networking initially. The downside is that you get shit grades and PE/HF and banking are all off the table.
Basically, if you are able to get into a solid PE or HF right out of undergrad (unless the fund is running a strategy that is extremely relevant to your experience as an engineer), then you would still be able to do so without an engineering degree. From a strictly exit ops perspective, it isn't worth it. If however engineering means something more to you and, like Pirho said, you have the money and the time, then sure. But don't do it because you think it'll let you skip IB.
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ArcherVice, I'd like to get your opinion on this since you're in trading. I've heard that an engineering degree can be very useful in trading since trading is more math intensive. What if I choose to pursue commodities trading? or HF again? Any thoughts?
An engineering degree would be useful if you work for a group/fund that covers a sector that is applicable to your degree.
Unlikely you'll get PE or HF out of undergrad at all - but one potential bonus is having extra summers for more internships that may help get you where you want to go. If you're interested in the material and the cost isn't crippling, I'd consider the additional degree - but I like being in school.
why engineering?
Good question OP - I also like to to hear what others have to say about this. Is MBA crucial to getting into PE?
I was in a similar situation a few years ago when I finished up undergrad, except I had done physics. I wanted to leave and pursue finance then but I decided in the end to stick around some more because I figured doing a PhD in physics would up my 'stock'. I think the question you need to ask yourself is will you enjoy doing a degree in Engineering? If that answer is yes, then go for it. I am happy that I did. I learned a lot, gained a few more skills (ie programming and data analysis) and I think it will make me a better applicant to these jobs. The downside is of course time, and money but you don't need me to tell you that.
Computer Engineering or Finance Major (Originally Posted: 08/31/2012)
Hello WSO I am currently going to be a sophmore in college and am a Business major. If I would like to get into IB, PE, HF, etc. should I major in Fiance & Accounting or switch my major to Computer Engineering. I feel that the Engineering degree would be a bit more versatile in terms of career paths because there are many people who work in finance that I know of and they tell me you don't necessarily need a business degree for the financial industry. Thank You everybody!
P.S.: I am perfectly capable of doing well in either major, grades will not be an issue.
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