Should I Abandon an Economics Degree?

Hi all,  I am currently a rising junior at UC Berkeley pursuing a degree in Econ and I'm lost. Since sophomore year of high school I thought a career in high finance would be ideal for me. I think I'm an apt critical thinker and a hard worker, but after working in a sell side shop this past summer (in S&T) where I focused mostly on credit analysis I've decided this path is not ideal. I was the hardest worker, knew the most about finance going in, but was still overwhelmed by the lifelessness of it all. I love money and the cool shit I could potentially do with it, but judging from the conversations I've had with juniors in IB/PE, the grind will not necessarily pay off until I'm 30. Recently I've been turned on by potentially working for a startup somewhere in the industry where I can be more engaged in what I am working on and hopefully feel passion in building something bigger. I do not know how to code. I do not know the first thing about recruiting for these types of jobs. However, I feel like jumping ship from my current path at this point in time may be more worth it than entering the industry and then leaving after a few years in the event that I can't take the heat of a 100hr week. Any advice would be much appreciated.

8 Comments
 

.........................................................................................................

 

You can always go into consulting. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Econ is a pretty good degree, you can do more than IB with it. Keep it. In fact if you suddenly wanted to become a doctor, you could do so with an econ undergrad. Learning to code has 0 correlation to econ, learning to code is literally free now and you can take certifications if you really wanted to. Startup life can be raggy and has a lot of uncertainty btw (although huge upside potential) so know what you might get yourself into. 

 

Id impedit vel sit rerum aut. Vero quae voluptatum sequi voluptas et consequatur.

Dicta voluptates ut corporis praesentium ea ex. Praesentium autem dolores ut tenetur aspernatur repellendus fuga explicabo. Non vel blanditiis est eos.

Velit vitae atque mollitia qui provident perspiciatis. Ducimus aliquid sed qui amet ea magnam dignissimos. Nemo quis non ea minus a.

No pain no game.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”