Hi there,
I’m about to send off my university application and I was wondering whether I could get some help. Would it be viable for me to break into IB with a Finance degree from Durham University. I know Durham is kind of a semi target but I see that recruiters look down on finance degrees.
Thank you (and apologies for any naivety)
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Not sure where you saw that recruiters look down on finance degrees... Maybe you're less distinguishing cause you'll be lumped in with the rest of the finance degrees (vs. having some interesting other major to talk about), but there's a reason a majority of people applying have a finance background.
I’ve seen it on here now and again. I’m a UK applicant so things could be different across the pond
Current student at Durham.
I'm going to be honest with you. I've seen students doing Law, history, philosophy, literature etc. break into IB just as much as the business oriented students do. In fact, I'll say you'd be at an advantage if you didn't take a business related course in terms of broadening your options when applying to spring weeks since there are entire programs dedicated to students who hadn't.
Long story short, fuck all about your course. No one cares, just make good grades and do other stuff outside of school to make a decent CV.
On an unrelated note; if you can, please change to Bsc Accounting in your first term. Bsc Finance and BA Accounting and Finance (this is what I do) aren't worth it. You get more exceptions off ACA exams doing Bsc Accounting than Bsc Finance.
At the end of the day, would you rather graduated with just a degree or graduate with a degree AND be a partial accountant.
Hey, how does placement in BB's or PE firms look like for undergraduate students from Durham? Do you have a lot of guest lecturers, IB's coming there? How is Durham viewed by those firms compared to other strong semi-targets? Would you say that it’s better than Leeds and Bayes?
Hello, whilst I can't answer for every firm. In terms of prestige, Durham is definitely above Leeds and Bayes. The only semi-target that I can think of that's comparable to Durham is Bristol. The finance society regularly hosts events with all the major BBs and occasionally the Uni's career fair will have some EB and consulting firms show up.
I think the placement is good, you obviously have to work your ass off but I generally see loads of alumni in the top AM, BB, EB, Consulting, and PE firms.
LSE Bsc Finance is good
Maybe I'm missing something, but I've never heard of having a finance degree being a negative for getting a job in finance. You're over thinking it. Also, if you don't get a finance degree you'll have the additional obstacle of having to convince recruiters that you are actually interested in finance, and that you didn't just send an application for the heck of it
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