Need help picking a college major
I'm a current international freshman at an Ivy, and I plan on working in IB in the future. That being said, I'm not sure what exactly to major in yet.
I applied as an engineering major and that's what I'm currently majoring in. My HS subjects were mainly sciences, so I'm good at it too. However, I feel like I should change my major to econ. I'd like to work in the US after I graduate and I feel like if I major in econ, I'd be taking a risk and putting all my eggs in one (IB) basket, so I feel engineering is a "safer" degree in that aspect, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
Alternatively, I also have the option of modifying my engineering major with econ (however, this is essentially identical to a minor in econ from what I understand, which I doubt is enough).
Could anyone please give me some advice on what to do? Thanks.
Are you interested in engineering as a career or ruling that out?
Assuming your Ivy doesn't offer a Finance degree, econ is a good choice, and there are plenty of jobs you can get with that if IB doesn't work out - econ/ivy is a strong combo for pretty much all finance roles. Your GPA will probably be much higher in econ than engineering, and if you are planning on IB GPA matters most.
I feel like engineering is more of a back-up option for me at the moment, and I'm more interested in IB/finance right now. Thanks for your advice.
Honestly, don't ask us - ask your career services adviser. They're aware if any companies are putting "only interested in x majors" on their job listings.
Make sure you think twice about whether you want to ditch engineering for IB. However, like eloquence said if you want to commit to IB, then econ is the way to go (considering the easier GPA). Also an econ major is not going to force you to go into IB. But if you don't want the risk (or if you're still partially undecided) pick engineering. But then, if you're at HYP with an econ major, you're essentially set for IB if you want to break in.
If I could go back and do it all over again, I would've double majored in Econ + Stats/Math or something along the lines. I think you'd get the safety you mentioned earlier while still having a useful, relevant major for banking. More important than anything is networking for IB early though - you're at an Ivy so you shouldn't have any issues getting a boutique/MM or even BB Sophomore internship, so I'd start looking into that now
Alright, will do, thanks. But do you really recommend doing a major in math? I feel like I'm enjoy and am pretty good at math (got a 780 on the SAT math section, and an A* in my math a-level subject), but surely there'd be a bit of a GPA drop-off, right? Would the major still be worth it? Or would you recommend going the math minor route instead? (That way, I'll have more time to spend on networking, ECs, etc.)
That all depends on you and what you consider your best skillset. If you want to sell your analytical skillset then having a major or minor in a quantitative field might help make it a little more tangible. If you think your people skills are good enough to break into banking then I wouldn't see a reason to pick up those extra classes. If you plan on staying in IB for the long run then once you have some experience it won't really matter. But if you're a true international student requiring sponsorship after you graduate you probably want everything in your favor that you can get... Since most firms are hesitant to sponsor.
For reference, I'm a Senior at a semi-target and major in Finance, and have held internships in banking, trading and two hedge funds all without any "safety plan" built into my degree. But I did a lot of what you're doing now and asked questions about how it can be done, what steps I need to be taking early. You're ahead of the curve now, but my key point is here is you've gotta figure out your strengths and how you want to sell yourself in the Finance world, then back into a major choice from there.
Natus culpa molestiae est. Id quis est nemo ea voluptatem ducimus. Et corporis esse dolorem assumenda. Vel et est saepe delectus minus deserunt non. Consectetur facere consectetur magni occaecati ad eum. Commodi est sit ratione error nobis nemo hic.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...