Math majors vs finance/econ majors vs other
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(Orangutan, 334
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on 3/9/07 at 9:12pm
Just out of curiosity, what percentage of people would you say come from each background?
I'm just looking for a rough estimate from those in the business, for curiositys sake.





I am both
I am double majoring in Applied Math and Economics, does that add anything to my resume?
I am a math major with a
I am a math major with a 3.8+ and a 1500+ SAT. This past (fulltime) recruiting seasons I interviewed with almost all of the BB firms for either IBD or S&T. I have no finance experience, and my summer job last year was a research position in the sciences.
When I went into the IBD interviews the standard line was "clearly you are smart enough to learn the finance side and do the work, BUT why ibanking?" If you have a really solid answer why you studied math and still want to do ibanking, something that requires very little real math, then go ahead.
The interview process made me realize I wanted to do something more quantitative. I had interviews with GS and Citi's quant trading, but learned that there would *most likely* be a ceiling on how high I could rise (in the quant deps) only having a BS in math. Also, the prospect of doing hardcore math the rest of my life didn't sound particularly appealing.
I was lucky to find a good compromise in CDO structuring and (in the same group) correlation trading. It's much more quantitative than M&A or something, I get to work closely with math/phys PhDs who develop our models, but I'm also closely connected with the markets.
Moral is, if you really want to go into IB, the opportunities are definitely available as a math major. You get big respect from the BB for the major, and it's kinda unique and it sets you apart from the rest of the applicants. Personally I found that there were other roles that I had no idea existed before my job search, but that I would enjoy more.
structure: what bank?
structure: what bank?
Re: structure: what bank?
structure: what bank?
PMed
listen to structure. i have
listen to structure. i have nothing to add here.
They all want math backgrounds...
They all want math backgrounds... they don't give a shit about finance. The only questions I get are: How good are you at math? How good are you at excel?
Re: They all want math backgrounds...
They all want math backgrounds... they don't give a shit about finance. The only questions I get are: How good are you at math? How good are you at excel?
Some banks prefer a decent accounting/finance background. For example, Blackstone, because of its size, does not have as comprehensive of a training program - I believe the summer analysts got one week over the summer. As a result, when interviewing for their summer positions they were looking for people that had an accounting+finance background.
JPM
I talked to an alum who was at JPM, he was a MD on several committes and he said that there were several MDs who were pushing to only accept engineering and math majors. This was about two years ago. It didn't happen, but that is the mentality.
Um, because you need to do
Um, because you need to do algebra in excel (at the most)? Even psych majors can do that. Having a math major adds no value to IBD. Econ doesn't add that much value either. Don't listen to the hype. Any major is fine, with acct. / fin. > everything else since you can get a faster start out of the blocks.
nsmith, which program shows
nsmith, which program shows more aptitude, math or accounting?
Furthermore, what can an accouting major do that a math major can't with a small amount of study? You can talk about relevance all you want, but realistically an accountant doesn't have any advantage over a mathematics heavy discipline in IB, because one can learn tax structures and balance sheets much faster than any applied math concept.
I'm a triple major currently
I'm a triple major currently in finance, accounting and management science and when I interviewed my interviewers were most interested in the mgt science because it was different and showed a way of problem solving and out of the box thinking that finance/accounting don't have. I recommend if you can do it a mix of math/mgt science/stat type of degree with a finance/accounting type of degree. The first shoes your intellectual horsepower and the second, esp finance sort of explains away a specified interest. Mgt science is a more practical version of operations research so think lots of statistical analysis, modeling etc. for business solutions and strategy.
I would hire a Math/Engineering major
over a psychology/history because the former requires analytical and logical reasoning skills. Sure, it might not put you at a significant advnatage in IBD, but the skills you develop will be very helpful in the future. If you can do Finance/Math degree and maintain solid GPA, that would be ideal.
Re: nsmith, which program shows
nsmith, which program shows more aptitude, math or accounting?
Furthermore, what can an accouting major do that a math major can't with a small amount of study? You can talk about relevance all you want, but realistically an accountant doesn't have any advantage over a mathematics heavy discipline in IB, because one can learn tax structures and balance sheets much faster than any applied math concept.
You missed the point and in doing so demonstrated a low aptitude yourself. Math is nearly irrelevant in IB. Third graders could do that math necessary to put together a comprehensive model. Your ability to do advanced math gives you no advantage whatsoever, nor does it demonstrate any measure of aptitude over a super smart candidate that decided to major in anything else, including accounting.
Futher, it's not that the accounting is that hard - it isn't. What's difficult is pulling together a huge amount of qualitative (read: NOT quantitative) information and making sense of industry trends, growth rates, company specifics, etc. So, in that sense, an English or History major would probably have an edge of a math major in IB since they typically have highly developed critical reasoning skills and are comfortable developing arguments about information which is hard to quantify and then communicating that information convincingly to their superiors and clients. Most quant types have a hard time communicating anyway :/ Good luck in IB if you fit into that group.
In case you still missed it: IB IS MATH LITE.
ib is math
ib is math lite...sales/trading is math medium at least. not much room here if numbers scare you but the average guy on the floor isn't doing calculus at work either. but some are.
Not very many entry level
Not very many entry level (not all, but not very many) jobs require that much specfic knowledge of whatever particular industry. Other than maybe law and medicine. It all comes down to having a decent enough resume to get an interview, and then the rest is presenting yourself.
nsmith, i think you missed
Re: nsmith, which program shows
I think it's a bad idea to
Math useful for showing you can bust your ass
i'm guessing you didn't get
Look it's quite simple. Math
Re: Look it's quite simple.
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Yeah I know it's broad, but
In this discussion, it's
If you go to a target, it