Chemical Engineering going to IB~ Should I transfer?
Hi, guys:
I've been on WSO for a while and I am now pretty interested in investment banking.
Currently I am a Chemical Engineering major, I like this major and I am pretty gifted at Math and Chemistry. I am a freshman but I am taking advanced classes and getting As if not A+.
However, I am not sure if I can get a job in IB from where I am now. The first problem is the major since Chem E really has a tight schedule and we don't have room to pick that much finance or econ classes. Should I switch into the B-School
and secondly is the school. UIUC produce excellent engineers. But I don't see that much opportunity for IB. The business school's career center or career fair closed their door to other majors. and the banks are mostly gathered in the East coast I guess. So should I transfer? (Like Cornell Engineering or Columbia Engineering) I am transferring not just because of this reason (it's a complicated thing and I haven't made up my mind. )
Thank you all :)
If you like your major and are "gifted" at Math and Chemistry, don't even worry about IB. Would you not be better off crushing your engineering program, getting internships at whatever firms you please, and working your way up through the management or executive positions later on in your career/getting involved with a successful start-up?
In my opinion, if you think youv'e got the skills to succeed at IB, then you'll have no trouble moving your way up through management/executive positions later on in your engineering career.
Do what you love to do buddy, and that's what you'll be most successful at. If I were you, I'd be more focused on making contacts in Silicon Valley than Wall Street. I do math and econ, and have done a a bit of accounting/business in the past. Trust me, math >>>>> econ > business courses in almost every possible aspect. Business and economics sounds fun, but the reality is pretty grim.
You say you're taking advanced classes, so I'm assuming that these courses are along the lines of engineering mechanics, chemical engineering fundamentals, programming for chemical engineers, etc., or classes that would normally be taken by a sophomore? If so, maybe see if you could squeeze in a minor in finance/econ if you're already advanced enough in your chemical engineering degree path.
I would strongly suggest not switching to the business school; the transferring to Cornell/Columbia is really up to you. UIUC>Cornell>Columbia for engineering, but like you've probably figured out, more engineers at a Columbia/Cornell go into finance than a UIUC engineer. However, I'm sure there is a way for engineers at UIUC to at least attempt to do OCR for Chicago/East Coast finance positions, despite the business career fair being closed to non-majors. At the end of the day, chemical engineering is a much more useful degree than finance/economics/business. Chemical engineers can go work on wall street, but econ/finance guys can't go design a refinery or a chemical plant.
There are a lot of proprietary trading firms in Chicago, many if not all like to hire engineers. Investment banking specifically is not made for engineering majors though. Investment banking is downs syndrome labor and banks don't care about major if that is what you want to do. I know people who have liberal arts majors from UF who are now doing it. It is not glamorous though I can assure you. It seems like you haven't done any research yourself and you do not want to go down a career path that does not interest you. See how you feel in 2-3 months at least after researching before making any drastic decisions and I don't think transferring schools will be any major benefit UIUC is a very good name in engineering.
Thank you so much.
I will do the research and check back One thing I forgot to mention. I am an international student and it's really hard for me to even get intern at Chemical Engineering companies. For a lot of international bio/chem/chemE majors we have major restrictions and usually companies won't provide sponsorship.
However, most finance/IB do provide sponsorship and the payoff is decent that the money I made in the IB is well enough to pay for my tuition.
So what do you guys think?
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