Crisis: Finance or CS??!

whatever you want to buddy... no one on this board can give you the best reply for YOUR life... also this is a finance board so what do you think you will be hearing?

If you're talking straight IT, screw that - every person I know who did IT in ugrad eventually went into finance because they got tired of fixing bankers/traders' computers.

If you have a tech idea that you're working on, or want to work at google - you have to make that decision on your own. What do you want to do?

The thing is, i don't know what I want to do. I like programming, but my true passion is the market. I think it would be a waste of time to just turn programming into a hobby.

The other thing is this: it's a lot easier to go from finance to IT than it is to move from IT into finance......

no everyone and there mama in our IT groups wants to trade... not one trader wants to work in IT

IT isn't CS...

You can easily pick up the finance skill set and switch from CS to finance but it's much harder to go from finance to CS

If you like programming then definitely stick with it

Ehh, don't 100% agree with Monty right now. Most people would kill to be CIO and most banks have a number of algorithmic traders. If you're in the top 2-5% of developers at a top ten CS school, there is no harm in staying in programming. You'll land in the middle or front office, carry the Google/IBM/Microsoft put as a developer/architect, and do what you enjoy. Make sure you take a graduate level algorithms course, calculus-based probability, and differential equations. (I am assuming linear algebra and numerical methods are required.) This will open a few more doors with architecture and financial engineering, two places where insight is really valuable.

I'm puzzled. Why not do both? They're certainly not mutually-exclusive majors; some schools even offer Computational Finance degrees focused on developing computer models based upon mathematical equations for financial companies.....

A double-major in Finance and Computer Engineering from a target (with a high GPA) will open the doors to most, if not all of the major trading firms and hedge funds that recruit undergrads. If you later decide that trading isn't your thing, then that comp engg degree still opens doors to the startup tech companies that may interest you later...

I am all for taking some accy/finance courses as electives, but if it costs OP an extra $20K in tuition for an extra semester at a private school, it is probably not worth it. Get a single CS major, have a basic knowledge of finance- and ideally a course in dervatives pricing, and get on with your life.

OP is a freshman. This is a good situation: get some internship / part time experience in both and see what sticks. Do well in school and the world is your oyster.....

Tacking $20K onto your student debt and spending an extra six months out of the work force is not worth it, though. And if you try to take too many courses as a CS major, your grades will suffer.

Ill-Pro raises two good points. If the Finance courses are equity- and bond-math, derivatives valuation and no-arb equations, for the love of all things sacred, take the courses; however, if it's investment banking (yawn) m&a (spreadsheets) and/or real-estate (yawn more spreadsheets), skip it, and save your hard-earned (borrowed?) money....

...also, if you're on a budget (times are tight, and tuition don't pay itself!) do the internships to see if you like the work - trading firms (at least all the big ones in Chicago) are marketing themselves as more Silicon-Valley-start-up-y, but they are not the same - the only way to tell what you like is to experience it first-hand; if, after a summer or two, you like the vibe and the classes are highly-relevant, go for the double-barrel...

Sorry to hi-jack, but this is the first time I've seen someone mention a real-estate class. That's the only technical finance course my school offers and I plan to take it in the fall (assuming my SA stint goes well and I still want to do banking). Would that be something good to get under my belt, or will I pretty much pick up the relevant modeling skills this summer? I ask because evidently the class is a ball-buster, something like 20 hours a week of homework and for some reason it's in the engineering department so it won't even count towards my major.

if you like CS be a developer..their lives are sweet compared to a banker's in terms of pay, time off, and exit ops.