What are they majoring in? It's mostly targets getting these jobs, and most of these schools don't have a dedicated business program. So are they all majoring in economics?
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I'd say most of them are econ. Second place would probably be history (at least at my school), and then there's a few random ones
Applied Math, Electrical Engineering, Operations Research
Don't you yanks have straight finance and accounting degrees?
Only if your school has a business school, and most good schools don't, Wharton and some of the better state schools being the notable exception
I've come to realize your major doesn't really matter. Your work history needs to show your interest in finance though. If you are a history major and worked at a law firm, its going to be harder to sell your self than if you a psychology major that worked 3 summers in finance and can explain your interest in behavioral economics, for example
very true. I know a psych major at JP. A sociology major at Goldman. Public policy... econ... the list goes on.
I sat with a few BB traders and most of them were history, econ, public policy majors...
The default choices are usually Econ and Finance (if you have an u-grad b-school). I am really going to have to disagree with your statement. I think that plenty of kids from schools with u-grad business programs are doing well, especially in SA recruiting. When a firm is thin after lots of layoffs, they look for people that can come in right away and work during the summer.
I agree with above. Ugrad bschools like Wharton, Stern, Haas, Ross, McIntire, McDonough (Georgetown), UNC's, Emory, UT austin are all doing well.
Meanwhile the econ kids even from northwestern and vandy are not represented as much.
I agree...especially with the struggling economy it seems as though firms are looking for someone who can step in with minimal training. I go to a school with no undergrad business and would have loved more exposure to finance related courses prior to my interviews...
There seems to be an increasing level of engineers entering the field...I find this to be more and more true in the realm of consulting.
Well, the fact of the matter is, at GS/MS, the majority of the kids are from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford. Many of them majored in pretty quantitative subjects at those universities. I think, in general, Corporate Finance is a relatively easy subject to pick up, especially when compared to Stochastic Calculus or Partial Differential Equations. It seems reasonable to assume (and I believe the top banks do indeed assume this) that kids who could get 3.8+ in highly quantitative subjects like EE or Math at elite universities can easily grasp the "technical" aspects of banking. That being said, being great with numbers is necessary but not sufficient for success in Investment Banking. The ability to communicate effectively also plays a pivotal role, which is why not every smart kid with a high GPA from the aforementioned schools will land a job at a BB.
Majority of people coming from HYP are humanities majors - English, history, government. Math at those schools is a joke at the undergrad level - NO ONE is doing stochastic calc or PDEs, trust me. If you want the real quantitative kids, go to MIT, CMU, or Cal Tech.
You're wrong Jon. If you attend any single one of those schools you would know that there are plenty of kids there who study those subjects.
Most people at my ivy target with jobs at top wall street firms are econ majors - it's also a very common major though which could partially explain it. Government/history are seem to be the next common majors.
Plenty of students from HY head into quantitative finance. e.g., DE Shaw, Jane Street, etc. recruit heavily for students from quant majors.
And math at HYP is not a joke. Plenty of IMO medalists here taking extremely difficult classes, and Harvard and Princeton have both beat MIT in the Putnam for 4 years running.
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