Question to all the monkeys working in Toronto’s IB scene
If you were supposed to enter the recruiting process around 2030, with the goal of working in high finance (and considering the constant threat of AI replacement in junior roles) would you choose Ivey/Queens/Rotman or Waterloo/UofT engineering as a major?
Ill try to be as straightforward as possible and not yap that much:
-I’ve always wanted to waste my prime years making power points for a fat paycheck(is It though?) and a steady career progression, so IB has always been the goal.
-I also DO NOT want to be unemployed, so AI scares me. A lot. Considering that I would be joining the recruiting process around 2030, god only knows how advanced this thing will be and if junior roles will still be sufficiently available (already scarce in Canada???) then.
-I would absolutely hate studying engineering. I know doing what you love is important, but making money is essential. Please don’t tell me that its impossible to graduate in engineering if you don’t love it, i’ve heard it so many times already, but I truly believe that if there’s a will there’s a way, it’ll probably just be harder I guess.
-For this reason, I was thinking about majoring in engineering (despite hating it) so If, god forbid, AI comes and decimates the analyst position in 5 years time, I would be kind of protected from unemployment??? And could just pivot to some other engineering job, before AI ends up taking it too???
-How hard is it to break into IB coming from UofT/UW engineering when compared to Ivey/Queens/Rotman/AFM?? Will I be annihilating my chances at Toronto IB by doing so?
-Am I overreacting/dumb for thinking this way? Dont get me wrong, I would much prefer going to one of these targets above, working hard for 4 years (which would probably be a joke if compared to what engineering students have to put up with) and then land in Bay Street. I just don’t know if some clanker will be there to take my spot.
Extremely eager to hear from all of you. US/NY/Canadians working in the US, feel free to also share your thoughts.
Turned down Waterloo Eng, now at Western for Eng/Ivey, also was thinking about this.
Offers haven't rolled out yet, so I think you should wait on school decisions first before making this choice.
If you're deadset on finance, or at least have a very strong interest, just go for it. I was in the same position and felt that having a tech-based degree would at least give me some degree of optionality if I wanted to pivot away from finance in the future (maybe think about applying to Western Eng if you haven't already). Might be worth taking a look at programs like WLU/UW CS+BBA (only consider Waterloo side).
It's true that automation will change the employment landscape, but you also have to consider that if AGI gets sufficiently advanced, engineering roles will also be affected (LLMs are already aiding researchers in cutting-edge STEM fields). Truth is, nobody knows what the future will look like, so go all-in on something you truly love (and hopefully are sufficiently good at). I hate Eng too but the fact of the matter is you're going to have to go through things you don't like at some point int your life, so you might as well grind it out for a few years in your life to obtain far more optionality and problem-solving skills.
DMs are open if you have any questions.
Thanks a lot for this reply, really. Since you also do not enjoy studying engineering in the slightest, how hard is it being for you to maintain the necessary average for the Ivey 3rd year intake?
Im definitely going to hold you to those DMs later. Thanks again.
I’d say Eng isn’t rocket science… but in some cases it really is haha. Despite how hard engineering kids try to make it out to be, if you FOCUS you will be fine. Engineers love to complain about how busy they are; we’re a lot like bankers in that regard.
Grades-wise, you’ll be fine. Western isn’t a hard school by any means. Not to say you won’t have to grind (because you will miss some parties and you will piss of your GF) but I know plenty of engineers who do really well and still make time to go out.
First year is definitely the worst. You will, like me, probably hate 80% of the content they force onto you and it’ll make it harder because it’s simply just trickier to work hard at something you despise. But it gets a lot better in second year because (ideally) you’ve ITR’d into an Eng discipline that you are at least somewhat interested in.
Focus and work hard and you’ll be fine (at least in the context of Western Eng). Can’t speak to Waterloo if you end up going down that path but I have many friends that are attending as well as some family members and they’ve all said the same thing (it’s hard). Crazy tech scene and undeniable brand strength to get VC funding but if you want to recruit for finance Ivey is realistically your best shot.
Completely forgot about this post and just stumbled upon it when revisiting this forum, sorry. I'm now holding [CS + Ivey] and [BMOS + Ivey] offers, I know it's not Eng but can we chat? Would love to shoot you some questions about Western/Ivey.
Sent DM
I feel like its pretty simple no? Do what you find interesting instead of trying to predict the future. I get the whole trying to best position yourself stuff but you are at the most malleable point in your life. No need to force yourself down a path you dont like.
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