Do you regret studying finance and not doing CS?

About to graduate and have job lined up in IB but can't help but think that I should have done CS and become a SWE especially looking at my friends who are making similar money if not more with half the hours.  

32 Comments
 

I was talking to a friend and even some non-popular firms pay like 200k with some equity - the top fucking banks you have to grind your teeth for basically almost get there in IB and you have to work 100 hour weeks.

Why did I hate coding? Fuck.

 

Think of the long term picture - at the senior levels, you make much more money in Finance unless you're a Founder or such (Which is quite rare).

 
Controversial

Nah, this is pretty much not true, just a form of copium that people in banking tell themselves.

Is pay much higher in finance if you’re able to take the typical Top BB/EB -> MF -> H/S/W -> VP at UMM or MF route? Yes. But only a handful of people actually make it on this route without getting cut by up or out.

Earnings potential in tech definitely has a lower ceiling as an “employee” but most people who are able to make it to a somewhat senior engineering role (much more dime a dozen than the above path) are clearing in the mid to high ends of the six figures easily.

There are plenty of reasons why going into finance may be more favorable but I think with the amount of money you can make at relatively junior levels in tech these days, money these days is no longer a reasonable factor to choose to go into finance over tech.

 
Most Helpful

This was something I was told when I was between going into SWE and Finance (CS/History double major at a target), "the older and more experience you gain, the more valuable you are in finance and the easier it gets while the older you get in CS, the harder it gets and you become more of a liability". CS definately has the edge coming out of college in terms of hours/work/pay. But you need to really be on the learning curve and unless you become the founder of a tech startup, join the csuite, your options really get more limited and hte more work you need to put in to keep up with the tech. On the other hand, in finance the older and more experience you get, the better your job gets. 

 

I never went to college with the intention to study business/finance. I wanted to work in AM but wanted to study something else that has more value than taking higher levels of accounting/corporate finance classes. CS helped me get better at problem solving, technical skills etc.  History was great at helping me get better at reading, comprehending large amounts of info quickly, and being able to form thoughts. You don't go to college for the content unless you are a hard STEM major, you go for the skills the major teaches you. 

 

One of my biggest regrets of all time lol

Can't say I've been posed at my computer in banking but the gravy train ends at some point for me because I don't find the lifestyle sustainable. Whereas my friends in CS are making a little less but can probably do it forever

*pissed at my compensation in banking

JFC autocorrect, sorry guys

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Definitely at times. But then I remember how miserable and exhausted I felt in my CS classes. I got good grades, but really just didn’t enjoy coding. I’m a math major, so if I hate my ER internship this summer, I at least have the bandwidth to pivot to SWE. I don’t think I want to, though. 

 

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