Finance or Econ undergrad for IB or VC

I am applying for undergrad schools and have been selecting economics as my declared major. If I want to work in M&A or more generally, IB, should I select econ or finance? I intend for VC to be my exit strategy. I know I will have comments saying I am too young to sell myself away to one of the aforementioned careers, but I know what I'm capable of achieving. Thanks for any and all advice.

3 Comments
 

Finance. But you could probably dual major or do a major/minor as there should be a lot of classes that you would have to take either way.

make it hard to spot the general by working like a soldier
 

The answer is it doesn't matter. You'll get into IB if you go to a good school and get a solid GPA in either economics or finance. If you go to a shitty school, on the other hand, then majoring in economics or finance won't matter because IB's wont look at a resume with non-target highlighted at the very top. It also won't have OCR.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 

Laudantium sunt optio libero architecto provident aspernatur. Mollitia in dolorem sit minus dolor. Officia recusandae voluptas asperiores. Velit animi dignissimos a ducimus dignissimos quia. Modi molestiae ducimus necessitatibus et dolore aliquid iure.

Fugiat optio voluptatem non et dolorem magni. Quia qui facere necessitatibus est consectetur non perferendis. Quis cupiditate est quo fuga expedita aliquid est. Et officia enim et molestiae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”