PE Q&A For beginners

Hi, I am currently a sophomore in one of the Big 10 business schools. I currently have multiple questions actually, 1) i know a lot of people either get finance &/or accounting degrees, but i was wondering if doing a finance & economics degree would help me stand out in any way. 2) Would getting a CFA or MBA later on be more beneficial. (I know it's rare to go into PE out of college, so i plan on doing some investment banking first then the CFA or MBA)

I was also wondering if I am able to break into IB or PE coming out of undergrad, would it be easier to in a larger more established firm?

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1) The only way your major will "stick out" is if it isn't finance and/or economics. Aside from that, no one will care.

2) Yes, but it depends on your experience out of undergrad, If you recruit straight to IB, there would be little/no reason to get an MBA since PE firms heavily recruit from IB. But, if you only get Big 4 or a Corp Dev/FP&A position out of undergrad, then CFA and/or MBA may be your only chance to get to PE eventually. It's all very situation-specific though. This isn't an iron-clad rule.

 

So what degree/courses do you think would be more helpful for banking/investing? (aside from finance since I'm already planning on that)

-thanks for the advice by the way.

 

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