Good majors in College?

I’m in high school now, but I want to get into IB- I like the idea of an econ degree as a bachelor’s, but I know it’s less common than buisness or finance. What do you guys think, is a degree in economics equally valuable for that field? Also, a lot of the terminology and technical stuff seems to be around, is that stuff learned in college or does one just have to pick it up?

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

It's not less common. It doesn't really matter, and also depends on your school.

LACs or other schools like Ivies, UChicago, Duke only have an econ major so it's your only choice.

Undergrad business schools (Wharton, Stern, Ross, Kenan-Flagler) tend to be the places with true finance majors and it's certainly not seen as an advantage vs an econ degree at one of the other schools. However, at these UG business schools recruiting is much easier for the finance majors in the business school than it is for the econ majors in arts and sciences.

But if you're coming from a school with no undergradute business school / finance major you can really study whatever you want as long as you still have relevant internships and can answer technicals in interviews. Plenty of political sceince, history, classics, also computer science, engineering, even pre-meds become IB analysts

 

If you are at a target school with no business degree (Ivy's, Duke, Uchicago), your major won't matter.

However, if you are at a target school with a business degree (Wharton, Ross), it's a big advantage if you are getting a degree at the b school.

For schools that aren't targets, you should get a finance degree if they offer it.

 

Laborum praesentium sed qui et laborum. Autem eius aut sunt ipsa.

Commodi unde sunt quos ullam nemo. Dolor quam illo praesentium assumenda. Ut fugiat et adipisci repudiandae temporibus.

Quae nulla consequatur tempora modi consequatur qui occaecati. Quis iure nulla et deserunt nemo voluptatibus voluptas ipsa. Eum sed voluptatibus qui aut dolorem voluptatem. Tenetur esse hic dolores quas fugit quo. Et alias ut veniam rerum magnam. Sequi tempore enim labore possimus voluptatem dolor.

At eos aliquam quae voluptatem ducimus quia qui. Quos quam non tempora. Qui non labore sit labore.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”