History Major... screwed?
*As a forward, I already posted in a similar topic but no one was answering my question.
Hi,
I'm entering my freshmen year at Cal/UCLA/Michigan (one of those schools) working towards a history major. I'm majoring in history because I find it more interesting than other fields, but I'm concerned that I won't have good job opportunities in business (finance especially). I can fairly painlessly go for an econ or business major and I have done pretty well in my math classes as well as standardized tests. Should I, or can I still major in History?
Why don't you double major then? Take some summer classes freshman yr summer or something.
You can major just in history and really focus on networking, joining finance/banking clubs, and taking a few accounting courses to show an underlying interest in the field (possibly a minor).
You can double major in history, and economics or another business discipline.
Finally, you can change majors to a business major or more quantitative major and minor in history. Based on your interest in history, however, I would not strongly recommend this option.
I think either option 1 or 2 is a solid path for you to take. Regardless of option, you should definitely join some clubs and try to take on a leadership/officer role in the club so that your experience is more than just "sat in on a meeting." I would also use your network to the fullest (as the schools you've listed are very good schools and should have a far-reaching network), but that is not a priority at the moment.
What you have to realize is that you are absolutely not screwed for majoring in history as MANY bankers majored in everything BUT a business discipline in U Grad. I know bankers who majored in history, math, a science, psychology, etc - the important thing is to know why you chose your major and to have a genuine interest in it - both in terms of selling your rationale, and to ensure that your interest is held long enough to hold down a strong GPA.
Coming from the school tier that you are coming from, you should definitely have some opportunities, but it is never too early to start learning about the field, the position, etc. You will have to be prepared to answer why the field and position, considering you major, how you know that you can handle the analytical aspects of the job, and how your major, or the work you've done in your major can help to be a banker (thorough research skills, attention to detail, excellent communication skills, etc).
What, may I ask, draws you to finance (I'm just curious), and please don't say the money as the sole reason.
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This sounds way better in person, but
I'm interested in finance (and econ, although not as much as history) since I like analyzing and working with complex systems. I like researching/interpreting complex interactions, such as a major merger/acquisition or a companies stock.
Also, I really love strategy/ argumentation with research. This stems more from my involvement in debate, but I really like the actual process of making a strategic move based on solidly backed research. A lot of financial sectors seem to have this underlining theme i.e. banks trying to raise capital with pitch books or equity research, etc.
you're not screwed at all, you found WSO as an entering freshman :)
Double history and economics/finance/accounting should be easy.
P.S.: I'd kill for finding and staying on WSO since freshman year. I found it too late
you can make it as a history major with as much chance as anybody in finance or economics. go for it but prepare early. double major is a great start if possible as it shows you can handle the workload! start getting into finance NOW. however you do not need to be actually studying the subject in a class to become an expert. do you follow the market, read stock annual reports, understand a balance sheet, trade anything yourslef? competition is brutal so do all you can to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack...
Research some financial companies coming to your career fair, make contact this fall, & get their perspective they would be the people to ask. The recruiters will probably be pretty impressed with a freshman taking that kind of initiative. Your fine.
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As a former history major currently in an MBA, my advice is to double major in econ, hard science, or something else quantitative. Doesn't have to be econ or finance but any science will train your brain in calculations. You will be better prepared to study for the GMAT, and the math courses of an MBA. As eveyone said, graduate with a high GPA.
Something not mentioned, publish something in an academic journal as an UG. Take a summer and further develop one of your research papers with the help a professor. Expand your work and try to get it published. If you can put a published article on your resume, it will stand out and grab HR's attention. Even though history isn't necessarily related to business, publishing something demonstrates you really cared about your UG work and did it well. Your professor will love you and write a great recommendation. I wish I had taken my own advice.
History Major? (Originally Posted: 03/11/2010)
I'm a freshman at Duke University and I'm deciding on a major. I'm really interested in history and would love to major in it. I'm also thinking of getting an Econ minor. I'm interested in economics, but don't want to major in it because it's heavily focused on math at Duke, and I have no interest in taking a lot of calculus. I know I'm interested in breaking into finance, particularly investment banking. Do you think I can still get a job on Wall Street as a History Major/Econ Minor coming from Duke? Thanks a lot!
Pros:
You are starting early, so plenty of time to take the right courses, keep a good GPA, and NETWORK.
Cons: You go to Duke and are picking a career before a major, which increases your toolishness.
But seriously, relax, plenty of Dukies get Wall Street jobs and other desireable post-grad positions.
Even this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Hurley
In my experience, GPA matters a lot more than major (assuming you're not something that is generally considered a soft major like communications, sociology etc.) Economics and finance majors will probably get grilled more on finance questions - and some firms or groups might prefer taking those types of majors - but a lot of my friends and people I know in banking are not economics majors. There are definitely no major cutoffs, just GPA cutoffs. This is coming from a target school that does not really have a finance or accounting major.
And completely agreed with the above poster - dude, relax. You're a freshman.
Dude, you're at a target school. Major in whatever the fuck you want.
I have a different input than Otter --all of my friends who are doing banking/consulting/finance internships are Econ majors, or at LEAST they have a minor, prior to which they networked like crazy and held leadership positions in business clubs. And since banks don't want cookie-cutter people, everyone I know (including myself) who is an Econ major also has another major/minor that really interests them (Gov, History, Middle Eastern studies, Art history, English, French, etc.). This isn't the bull market of '06 where people with nothing but "Comparative Literature major" (no finance/econ classes) can just get into Wall Street if they seemingly show some interest in banking ...though by the time you're a junior, things might be looking up. But if I were you, I'd definitely get an Econ minor, if not a major, or at least take a bunch of Econ courses (but you might as well get a minor in the meantime, no?) in addition to your History Major. (This is assuming you're REALLY hungry to get an Ibanking job and Econ actually interests you --if it's neither, go get a PhD in history or something..)
GL and enjoy your freshman year (seriously)
Major in whatever you want. You will be fine as long as your GPA is high and that you have shown an interest in finance. I know of plenty of people from Duke who have majored in something else other than Economics and now work on Wall Street.
History Majors in Ibanking...is this even a real thing? (Originally Posted: 02/21/2012)
Specifically history majors at Northwestern, that doesn't really happen right? What about double history/ economics majors, does that happen, hell they probably just disregard the double major and only look at the econ major, right? Someone back me up on this...
happens all the time, classics majors get GS offers at my school so why not
What school? HYP?
yes and other top schools.
MD's love talking history in my experience. Just make sure you have relevant experience and your GPA is >3.8
Wow, that's surprising.
Seems like this would hinder you at least in getting internships.
OP:
"Liberal Arts / “Creative” Majors – Easy Economics / Finance / Some Sciences – Medium Engineering / Physics / Math – Hard Before you reply or leave an angry comment, remember that these are not my own personal views – this is simply how bankers in a rush for time view the relative difficulty of majors. Bankers expect you to have a lower GPA if you did a “hard” major and a higher GPA if you didn’t." -- Mergers and Inquisitions
Yes, you can be a history major. Being an econ major is a better bet for IBD, if your GPAs are the same. If your GPA would be slightly lower as an econ major than a history major, econ > history. Then again, if you're comparing a 3.5 econ vs a 3.8 in history, then we have a different issue.
Econ is between medium and hard. Finance is dumb easy.
I'm in Econ and 90% of my classes are mathematics.
I would tend to agree that a finance major (except at, say, a top UG B-school) is joke, but M&I is an authority on the matter. I'm econ as well, and my classes are largely math, as well.
Your momma is dumb easy.
Econ and Finance are both relatively easy when compared to the more quantitative majors like Physics, Engineering, and Math.
I disagree Econ is Medium/Hard vs. Finance is Dumb Easy. Personally, unless you suck at math, I think Finance is definitely harder than Econ, although both are fairly easy.
Econometrics is really the only difficult class, and in my experience, most of the professors have spent their life in academia. You learn mostly macroeconomic theory, and while this is definitely sufficient to obtain and excel in an entry level finance job, it is definitely more worthwhile to major in finance (which includes learning macroeconomic theory) and learn actual skills that you will be able to apply in the real world.
But, you are an Econ major, so . . .
This is absurd. Those math classes are nothing like the upper-level math classes a mathematics major would take. They are fairly simple applications of statistics. One of the easiest electives I took was econometrics. Also, I doubt 90% of your classes were even mathematics. I'd bet at least half were economic theory.
Yeah, I've seen it as well across the banks. Definitely have at least a 3.8 though.
I'm not a history or humanities major, but I've taken some history classes. From what I can tell, history is actually a very good education. It develops writing skills and qualitative analytical skills which are quite relevant to entry level banking, assuming you're not clueless about the financial aspect.
the guy who crushed corporate recruiting in my class (2 megafund offers) was a history major. and he did it without family connects.
I really don't think banks cared that much about majors. I had a 3.4 in pure math and econometrics heavy econ, and pretty much got shot down in favor of 3.6 business majors (from our school). Pretty annoying.
A friend of mine with a 3.8 in pure math and econometrics heavy econ also got shot down similarly.
That sucks, but I guess it depends on what type of jobs you are applying for. I think that your 3.4 in "pure math and econometrics" is far more impressive than a 3.6 business major, but for IBD, does it really matter? - probably not
You should be doing more quanty stuff anyway. Go work for the Department of Defense and make some ill shit for the US Military.
Fuck those Iranian bastards.
We were both looking at trading. The BB's still liked their B-school kids more. What's funnier is even guys like DRW opted to give the business kids an interview while shooting down my friend. Anyway, I ended up with something, but he still seems rather screwed. Funny you mention the DoD, a couple of my research friends actually ended up there this past summer.
So, it's not necessary to have something quantitative on your resume?
???
It happens...I come from a non-target with a double major in liberal arts, sub 3.5 GPA, and no banking experience and was able to get a FT MM IBD offer. PM me, happy to help
IBD/ Finance isn't rocket science. if you go to a top school, its irrelevant what you major in. Know tons of history majors at top banks
If I had the option of studying Finance, I would not waste my time with a major in Econ -- minor at max.
It's totally fine to be a history or english major at ANY ivy league school or stanford, Amherst, williams... no problem whatsoever as long as you're at above a 3.5
only if you come from an Ivy League or Ivy-calibur school. ONLY, and I'll stress that because I learned this the hard way.
To those that say you can major in whatever you want, as long as you attend Ivies, you are partially correct.
For banking recruiting, what you majored in matters very little. I was an econ major at HYP, and I got crushed in banking recruiting, while I saw that English, Poli Sci, or history majors with 3.5+ GPA did fine.
Also, for those who say Econ is a 'hard' major, are you serious? The highest level of math I ever got to use as an Econ major was Calculus II, which I took back in high school. Econ is a joke of a major compared to math/ engineering/ physics/ computer science/ statistics.
I found Econ to be not very challenging conceptually, but it was hard getting A's in Econ courses due to strict curves. For whatever reason, at my school, Econ was the major with the toughest grading curve. This is what makes Econ a tough major to excel in, not its conceptual rigor.
Let's say you attend HYP or Stanford, and major in humanities, what if you miss out on banking or consulting? In that scenario, you are really fucked. And, getting a banking/consulting gig is pretty difficult nowadays, even at top Ivies. I still remember my senior year, when I talked to the BCG recruiter on campus. When I asked how many analysts they were hiring, he replied "About 350 students at your school submitted their resumes to interview with us. We are looking to hire 4 to 5 analysts from each of our targeted colleges, this year."
What area of finance do History students typically go into? (Originally Posted: 04/18/2017)
I know Bill Ackman and Lloyd Blankfein studied History at Harvard, and the likes of Peter Lynch, Larry Fink, Seth Klarman and David Einhorn all studied Politics or History of some sort. Just wondering what areas of finance History students typically enter? Any History/Liberal Arts graduates feel free to comment!
Time value of money.
Real Estate
Majors like History and government (Originally Posted: 01/05/2007)
Can I enter ibanking if I have a major in history and government but took a few economics/finance courses on the side because from what I seem to understand it doesnt really matter what you major in as long as you have a basic understanding of finance related things.
From what I hear if you go to an ivy or another target school then you can pretty much major in whatever you want and still get into banking.
Yeah, Just make sure your GPA is extremely good though.
A 3.8 in hard sciences is better than 4.0 in Arts subjects.
well im in stern right now, but i want to try and transfer to an ivy or other target school to get more of a liberal arts major.
I got an offer, IR undergrad and politics masters degree. I focus on political economy so it was relevant, and I also went to 2 target schools.
Majoring in History? (Originally Posted: 05/09/2014)
I'm really interested in a career of investment banking. The trouble is that I am terrible at math, I'm however very good at mental arithmetic but when it comes to calculus I'm awful. I would like to major in finance because it does help when it comes to recruiting but it seems like I will have to major in something in the liberal arts to get a high gpa. How detrimental will majoring in History be? Im aiming on attending a semi-target for what its worth.
I do find it irritating though how investment banking only requires simple math but the best majors to choose require challenging math classes. Do you think recruiters somewhat understand this when it comes to hiring liberal art majors?
>still in high school >worrying about IBD math skills
please gtfo
smh
It is important to find a major that fits you. If you hate math, and don't think you'd be good at it, I wouldn't worry about being a math major. Let someone else worry about that. You should focus on being the best liberal arts major you can be.
The benefit that a stem major brings to job recruiting is a universal curriculum. Even at a lowly ranked state school, an engineering major can still learn the same skills that an engineer at a highly ranked school will have. If the top talent is going stem right now, I wouldn't worry too much about being a top performer in a LA major.
Semi-target is a weird thing. Because nobody really knows what it means or which schools are semi-targets? But with a history major unless you go to an Ivy you would have difficulty breaking into business related jobs nevertheless IB. Go with Econ.
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