Weird Majors->IB ?

does the same thing apply for UK? I'm in a similar position here doing a major not related to finance but wanting to break in.

I go LSE but its def not the same level as the ivy's in US and not on the level of Oxbridge.

I disagree with the comments above. You don’t have to be “rich or powerful” that’s bs. Lots of ordinary but very smart ppl at targets make it all the time.

When they “don’t have have prior clubs or experience” that’s because they remove those once they make it. This is common knowledge?

also recruiting isn’t ever “insanely easy” from these schools? Have you even tried recruiting from one of those schools? 

other commenters are full of crap and likely are still in high school 

The history major with hobbies is typically more enjoyable to work with. Sure, the first 6 months are typically harder as you have to teach them literally everything but they are typically 1) very humble, 2) hard working, 3) can actually think, speak and write articulately, 4) aren’t hardos

This job honestly isn’t hard and if you go to HYPSM or another school of that caliber, you can 100% exceed in banking if you’re not a total moran. Yes, the other 1st years will think you’re dumb and the second year hardo is annoyed they have to set up your keyboard shortcuts to align logos quickly, but that’s more of a reflection of them then you. 

I was a pretty terrible 1st year analyst but always had a positive attitude, eager to learn, and hard working and once it clicked I became incredibly good and I became exponentially better once the job transitioned from pure technical output (which I’m still not the best at) to incorporating more speaking roles & client management.

Apologies in advance for the long post, this is a topic I have many thoughts about…

When you are in college, what you decide to major in feels like the biggest decision of your life. Professors tell you finance major = job in finance, history major = career as a historian / academia with 0 other options, etc. In the real world, however, it turns out nobody really cares what you majored in as long as you have a GPA that clears the HR hurdle. What is much more important is how strategic and personalized you are in your networking outreach, how you present yourself in coffee chats and interviews, and showing that you are humble, smart enough, curious enough and easy enough to get along with.

I was a liberal arts major with a focus in a very niche time period / geography and had no issue lining up multiple freshman / sophomore summer finance internships and ultimately a junior summer IB internship into a full time role. Over my freshman Xmas break I took a 3 statement modeling and accounting course, one of those you pay like $400 for, there’s a bunch of different options. That gave me the basics to pass technical interviews, but honestly, technicals are a check the box in the process and people care way more about you being an interesting person, humble, eager to learn, fun to be around etc. it took 120+ networking calls, 2 in semester part-time internships to demonstrate I was interested in finance and more interviews than I can count, but all that is par for the course these days no matter what you major in given how competitive the environment is. I’ve rarely felt finance majors know more than me because I’ve had the curiosity to go learn on my own and paid my own money for various online courses and spent much more time than I really needed to reading about random finance stuff (shoutout Parri Passu and restructuring instagram accounts).

Now that I’ve been working a couple of years, I’ve seen both sides of the coin. Finance majors who are great at their jobs and easy to work with, but also finance majors who are actually mentally disabled and lack any sense of critical thinking capability or ability to act independently but think they are geniuses because they learned how deferred tax liabilities work in college. Have also seen liberal arts majors who are great at their jobs, able to learn and adapt quickly, great to work with etc. but, have also seen liberal arts majors who just can’t for the life of them figure out how to build a simple model or do basic math. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that It’s impossible to generalize which is better. This job isn’t very hard (except for the people in the job who make the experience miserable) and there is more to life than work. Choose to major in what is most interesting and fulfilling to you, and what hopefully sets the foundation for a lifetime of learning and making you an interesting person who can contribute to conversations and society.

I have a bias toward liberal arts majors because I was one, and I think the ability to think critically, write eloquently, and be curious about niche subjects tends to lead to success in finance. I try to take every networking call I’m able to from liberal arts majors who reach out. However, majoring in finance definitely teaches you what you need to know technically and checks the box off that you’re interested in the field. It also tends to be an easier major that can allow you to have free time and actually develop a personality outside of what you’re studying. There is no real right answer. Many paths lead to the same door.

Major in what is the most interesting to you and will allow you to have a 3.90+ GPA while still enjoying your life. It’s not as important as you think it is nor is life as rigid as you think it is. All the technical knowledge you need is easily accessible online for minimal cost, regardless of major. What matters most is how you position your story and leverage your background to get people on the phone and get them to like you enough to back you when it comes down to it.

isn't more than 95% of this industry just making PowerPoints with regurgitated data?

It’s pretty common even from my semi target to break into BB/EB as a non business major.

I think banks acknowledge that everything needed for interviews and success on the job can be taught relatively quickly, and majors are somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme.