My son is a Sophomore attending a NYC school and is majoring in Finance with a current second major of CIS. One of his professors told him that having a second major in Business Analytics would be much better for a career on Wall Street than a CIS major would. My son is also a D1 Baseball player so he doesn't have a lot of available school time to switch if he changes his mind after the fall.
So I'm turning to the experienced experts for help and advice.
Thanks
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The professor is probably out of touch. You’ll get the same “cool, you’re smart” impression from either, and there probably isn’t much incremental benefit from one over the other. So, it really boils down to ease (of scheduling/content/etc.), interest, and the appeal of the relevant job opportunities should finance fall out of favor for him. I think CIS might edge out optionality a little bit (plus that’s the status quo), but in reality there’s so much overlap between the two that he could easily pick up content from the path untaken if he ever wanted to.
Thank you for your help!
My son agreed with you that the professor is probably out of touch and was living in the past.
No employer cares about having a second major. It really is a huge waste of time. Have your son really focus on his first major, good grades in school, getting internships, kicking ass in baseball, and living the life of a college kid.
Many professors are out of touch with recruiting, so their mindset is to do as many majors as possible in the hopes it will increase your chances of getting hired. Also, in my school, CIS or BA was really watered down computer science. You didn't learn coding or any practical skills necessary to work in tech.
As someone in the field, this is how recruiting will work:
Look at resume for good gpa, extra-cirriculars, internships. Your son is D1 in baseball, which will pique the interest of most MD's in the industry that follow baseball or have any interest in sports. I think if your son prepares well for interviews (helps if he has a good gpa) and spends time applying and networking for jobs, he has a very good chance of breaking into the industry.
Agreed. I did a double major in Finance and Business Analytics, didn’t help at all for recruiting. Analytics is not that helpful if you’re going into banking tbh. Would’ve totally rather done more finance classes.
Thank you for your feedback and honesty!
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