Computer science vs Economics/Finance
Hey,
Since most of the things are heading towards automation now, i think this question was important…
I’m thinking about what to study in Uni between Computer science and Economics/Business (In UK if that matters)…
Path ahead would be getting into IB (1-2 years) then moving on to PE (2-3 years) then getting major HF experience (5-8 years) to get into starting my own fund or joining a Startup…
These are two paths which maybe many will be confused between:
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Study Comp sci, will be more respectable as well as future proof (Hard as hell and not heaven unless you absolutely love it) and then continue the path…
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Study Econ/Fin (I like it and will be more chill),more competitive since all of the people applying have this degree and take some CS classes, learn some languages like Python,JAVA etc on the side then continue the path….
which one do you think will be a better option?
thanks
Bump
My 2 cents: If you're dead set on doing IB -> PE I would pick Econ/finance over CS. While CS will open many doors for you, no one working in IB in London gives a crap if you know how to code or not (imho, some people may think otherwise). Yes, banks are in desperate lookout for CS grads, but you'll likely end up recruiting for one of their tech teams; while these teams offer good WLB (from what I've heard) they're nowhere near the prestige/salary/exit ops etc. of IB.
Is it possible to get it into IB with a CS degree? Of course. Are you better off studying Econ/Fin and having more time to prep for interviews/do internships etc.? I think so.
As a side note, the whole 2 years IB stint -> 2 years at a MF PE -> hedge fund is something that only truly applies to the US. In London, things are not as straightforward so maybe try to do some due diligence on that as well.
Thanks for your advice, well my end goal as i said would be starting my own hedge fund (L/S most prob)..
I’ve seen a couple of people start from from PE like Chris Hohn of TCI, started from Apax partners then perry capital for a couple of years then started his own fund, keeping in mind that was a while ago….
what do you think is the best path for this?
Can't really comment on this as there is no straight path to it (otherwise everyone in their right mind would do it I guess ahah). Obviously not everyone in this industry will make it that far, plus it's so further down the line and there are so many factors involved that make it impossible to forecast. My advice: just focus on things you can be in control of; try to get into the best uni possible, choose a course that you like (if you're so dead set on L/S investing, why pick CS in the first place?), join a student club, do spring weeks or whatever
How do you know what you wanna do like 9 years down the line before you even know how to build a dcf? Wanting to go work for a hedge fund before you know any of the realities of valuation, business exposure is pretty strange. Don't plan your life so far out, too many people blindly follow the IB-PE etc path and lose their 20s without really being interested in it.
Economics is ok but it will be hard to land a good IB role with it because of how saturated the market is with econ grads and y'all look the same on paper. Comp sci probs wouldn't be a great alternative in that regard but honestly, it's not a huge issue, study whichever u prefer. Neither will tangibly help you recruit and as for automation: learn to program in python at least, lack of a stem degree will limit you from macro shops (lack of s&t xp too) but macro is dying so not rly a huge loss.
Pick CS and don't look back. Firstly, it seems to be something you have more of a passion for vs. Finance or Economics. Secondly, as you rightly said, it is future proof and having that knowledge will make you very valuable both now and in 5 years. CS is also still fairly quantitative so isn't going to be snubbed by IBs as much as a heavily qualitative subject like History or Geography. Finally, the quantitative nature of CS will make you eligible for MiMs and MFins which can strongly help get into IB if UG recruitment fails. Additionally, you will have a bit more of a unique background compared to the classic UG Business/Finance/Economics -> MiM/MFin you see all the time.
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