Physics undergrad admitted to top b-school
Hi guys,
I've been reading this forum for a while and I need your help now. I am currently at the first year of a physics BSc in Italy at Sapienza University (which is ranked 23th worldwide by QS rankings and is definitely the best physics school in Italy). When I enrolled to this undergrad course, last year, i didn't know anything about the investment banking world and I had never thought about entering the field. Anyway a few months ago I came across this forum, I read a lot and I learnt a lot about this field and I've come up to the conclusion that I want to work in investment banking/consulting/business: I like a challenging and stimulating environment, I am genuinely interested in economics, my goal is to work as much as possible, earn as much as possible, retire as soon as possible. Intrigued by the opportunities it seems to offer I decided to apply to a few b-schools in europe (Bocconi in italy and king's/warwick/LSE in the UK) and I was admitted to bocconi CLEF(bachelor in economics and finance) and king's econ (still waiting for warwick's maths and econ response) . Now I have to make a tough choice: should I continue and hopefully finish my physics bsc and THEN try to apply to some msc's in finance/managment/financial mathematics or should I go to Bocconi right now? I mean, I legitimately enjoy what I am studying here and I truly love physics but I wouldn't like to work in the field at all and I have no idea if my gpa (27/30, which actually puts me in the top 15% of the class) will fall/raise/remain the same. While if I go to Bocconi I am confident I will take top grades so it will probably allow me to apply with good chances to all top b-schools for an msc. Here are my thoughts:
Physics: PROS: -already enrolled, wouldn't waste an year -i really like it -it's giving me a solid prep in maths/programming too
CONS: -really hard and demanding -almost no job market, at least in italy, would probably end with no job if I am not admitted to an msc in business/finance in europe -I would hate working in academia/teaching, I find much more interesting the world of banking/consulting/business
Economics and Finance: PROS: -higher probability to get top grades -good chances to get into top b-schools(even bocconi itself) for an msc and later an mba -almost granted job(Bocconi places extremely well, at least in Italy, even if my goal would be to go to London/Paris/ecc.) -much higher probability to get into investment banking
CONS: -wouldn't develop any kind of mathematical/programming skills which I feel will be extremely useful in the future -could end up with a poor job anyway
So, what do you suggest? How many physics guys have you seen during your MSc/at your bank? Is it a so hard path to move to finance/consulting after a physics bsc? And what if do not end up with perfect grades/very high in physics? What do you think of bocconi? Would it be hard/easy to be admitted (assuming I get top grades) to LBS, HEC, INSEAD, ecc for an msc and later an MBA? If i decide to stay in physics, would it be possible to be admitted to a decent MBA a few years later to make a conversion to business?
Thanks in advance to all of you
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I also did physics in undergrad. Think it sets you up pretty well for a career in finance. The main skillset that is becoming increasingly critical (at least on the investing side) is a good command of statistics. I think whether you get this from a hard science, engineering, math, or a rigorous econ program is less important but it is really important that you get it somewhere.
I do sometimes feel like I wasted a lot of effort on the physics major given I never used it after I graduated. That said, I think you will be given a lot of credit for having done it since interviewers can see that you are a "serious candidate". Guessing double majoring is not an option at Sapienza? Like you, I realized I wanted to work in finance about halfway through the program and so added the econ major, which i think was a pretty solid double from a recruiting perspective. If that's an option for you I'd def consider it. Econ major was about 1/5th as difficult as finishing the physics degree.
Upper division physics was def pretty tough (at least for me). I remember my first quarter taking upper div physics I got my first legit 'F' on a thermodynamics midterm. I think i got something like 32/100, and the class average was like a 48... fucking brutal. Eventually i recalibrated and realized those classes were going to take a lot more effort, and ended up finishing with a GPA pretty similar to what I had my first two years. Frankly the econ classes felt pretty easy by comparison, so I think i was close to a 4.0 average on that and it was enough to offset some lower scores in upper div quantum, themo, E&M and lab classes.
If I were you I'd probably finish out the physics degree. You seem interested in it and I think it will be an asset for you long-term. Just also try to stay in-tune with markets. Read the FT (or Italian equivalent?), see if you can get access to a Bloomberg terminal somewhere, keep up with major deals that are interesting to you, try to spend some time thinking about business models, etc. so that you will be ready to have intelligent conversations when the time comes to interview. I don't think any interviewer will hold a physics major against you... good luck & have fun!