CS or IB?
………………………………
………………………………
………………………………
………………………………………………………………
………………………………
………………………………
………………………………
Trending Content
| +96 | Are you “less ambitious” for having long term goals outside of NYC | 24 | 1d | |
| +45 | Interviews Are So Fake | 28 | 3h | |
| +33 | 2024 UK Election - Tories finished? | 21 | 7h | |
| +29 | Being Christian in investment banking | 14 | 1d | |
| +25 | Non-Competes Banned | 24 | 1h | |
| How do I become Sigma | 15 | 4s | ||
| +19 | ADHD ! | 4 | 4h | |
| +19 | Moelis has the cutest Analysts? | 4 | 1d | |
| +18 | Best NYC neighborhood for single 30M | 12 | 2d | |
| +16 | Underage intern, drinking? | 7 | 1d |
Career Resources
This should be point #1, and I just wanted to toss in a distant 2nd place to keep in mind. You'll wind up using some CS skills in IB (All those Excel models you build are ~90% structurally the same as SQL or Python models), but you won't wind up using IB skills in CS.
That’s pretty cool. Are you Siamese twins?
Whoops..
Agree with the above, pay is kind of irrelevant at your age. Both IB and CS will provide you solid enough long-term comp that your decision should be based more about what you actually want to do.
You don't need to start pursuing this right away, so use your first semester to take an intro CS and intro finance class. Do you like writing code and could you see yourself doing that? Would you rather work in Excel instead?
Get a freshman internship doing either and see if you like it. Having a CS internship and deciding you don't like that and want to do finance is fine, or vice versa. Sophomore 1st semester is kind of when you have to decide for IB, so you have some time.
I agree, but it is worth noting that intro classes absolutely suck a lot of times and don't really go into any detail on topics that may spark an interest.
Could probably just get a degree in both and get some internships before deciding what to do post-grad.
It doesn’t have to be strictly CS vs IB. There are other roles where you work lighter hours such as management consulting or corporate finance. Some roles in management consulting are heavy travel, but others are just occasional travel depending on the project.
….
I would do CS unless you really hate coding. Even a 60 hour week is four extra hours each work day. Assuming the average person works 8 hours, sleeps 8 hours, and has 8 hours off, that's half your free time gone.
I have heard from friends who work in FAANG that to get ahead more than 40 hours is required. Also some firms like AMZN, GOOGL, etc. don't have the best hours so it can be firm/group dependent.
I'm very surprised how often I see on WSO that SWE get like $300k with 25 hours a week or whatever numbers they're saying. These companies are the ones who pioneered the idea of an amenity-rich campus so you never have to leave work, I've always heard the hours are long.
Ok I keep seeing this pop up here… my brother works at Google, and he legitimately works 10 hours a week. Google is known to be one of the best work life balance spots. Amazon is on the other end of that reputation, but even then 40 hours is the norm (he also worked there a few years back)
My older brother's best friend earns 900k/year working 10 hours/week at Amazon. Seriously, no joke. Maybe he had to work a littttttle over 40 hours/week to get ahead in the start, but damn, getting ahead THAT much is absolutely worth it.
How much would you "get ahead" by working +80 hour weeks in IB? Not even close.
To get ahead you work > 40, to be normal you work around 40, and to slack you work < 40. That's how it should be.
These are two very different types of people with very different long-term career aspirations. You need to reexamine what you want. You're also a freshman and don't really know anything so at the moment, it doesn't totally matter. Focus on doing decently in school and talking to people on both sides of the fence to figure out what you want. That's how I eventually made the switch from pre-med STEM to finance.
What kind of doctor did you want to be?
Either a heart or brain surgeon, thought both were pretty fascinating. Then I learned how the medical system in the US was structured and wanted no part of that + the med school debt vs early finance earnings and career progression.
Not quite. If they’re at Cornell, they should be able to land a BB, which means that they’ll earn more in finance than in tech. But the question shouldn’t be about compensation as both options pay sufficiently, it should really be about what want to do for the next three to four decades of their life.
I know plenty of people at my target who studied CS and then chose to pursue finance roles if they thought the pay and opportunity merited the switch. The optionality a CS degree gives you—especially at an Ivy like Cornell—is truly incredible. Just know that it will be more work so make sure the rest of your schedule is easier classes so you can have some fun in college too.
I wholeheartedly regret not studying CS simply because it would have been nice to have those opportunities available.
I second this advice. Study CS, try to get internships in both, and then figure out what you want. Easier to go from CS degree -> finance job (in fact it's starting to be somewhat desired now I would say) than other way around.
I forgot to mention but my current major at Cornell is in a different school (ILR), and is much more geared towards Finance and IB as is. And switching majors from different colleges/schools in Cornell is a bit more convoluted. If I were planning a switch to a CS major in A&S I would really have to commit to taking as many pre-requisite courses in my freshman year and maybe during the summer so I don't fall behind the curve. The latest I can switch is at the end of my Freshman year and I assume I'd be out of luck finding CS related internships if my major, which is primarily humanities based, has no relevance.
Do want to point out though that that "optionality" only exists if you have a GPA decent enough for finance recruiting.
………………………………
This isn't exactly accurate. I'm a Cornell sophomore who got into Dyson, but after doing the courses, researching as many career paths as I could (joining a business frat and other clubs helped me with this), doing the intro CS course (CS 1110), and doing a finance internship freshman summer, I decided I wanted to switch majors to pursue quant finance. I switched into Engineering CS after filling out 2 brief applications (one for internal transfer and one for the CS major) last semester and I got accepted last week. Filling out the applications is the easy part, but you have to spend time to figure out how you're gonna fulfill the remaining requirements in the CS major and then set up an appointment with an advisor in the college you're transferring to (which is A&S for you). Despite the fact that only 2 of the classes I took during freshman year fulfilled the CS major requirements, my course plan for future semesters doesn't involve any summer classes. There's only 3 courses you have to take before you can affiliate with the CS major: MATH 1920 (multivariable calc), CS 2110 (OOP in Java), and CS 2800 (discrete math). I recommend spacing out the math ones instead of taking everything at once like I did. You'll want to fill out the applications during the semester that you complete these requirements. Here's a checklist with all the course requirements and more information about the major and the internal transfer process (A&S and Engineering). Also you could do a CS minor instead, depending on the career you're interested in.
Like other people have said, figure out what it is that you actually want to do. Try to take CS 1110 your freshman year (or skip to CS 2110 if you can use any AP credit since 1110 is super basic imo). Once you get here, you'll see that there's so many different ways that you can experiment to figure out what you wanna pursue. You don't need to box yourself into a specific major or career path so early since you have so much time during the first couple years (and you have until 1st semester sophomore year to decide on IB).
Thanks for the writeup. I wasn't really sure of how the whole process worked so I appreciate it.
I'm still exploring my options which is why I like ILR because it gives me that flexibility. However, I got into coding very recently and I found it pretty fun and captivating. I'm not 100% sure if I would transfer to A&S but I if I would, I have a couple of questions. Do you know what the transfer acceptance rate is to A&S? Also, would the major you're transferring into matter (CS)? I only got into cs very recently so I don't really have anything to show for it which is why I'm kinda worried. Thanks again.
I think you should find a way to talk with upperclassmen at Cornell in person. By talking with people who’ve done the work and started in your position you’ll get a better perspective on the industry. I know I wouldn’t have gotten my offer or even pursued IB if not for a guy two years above me who struck a great path into banking and PE. You’re at a great school. I know a few people who transferred from my school to Cornell and got into top banks. Good luck man
Thanks man! I'm definitely gonna find some upperclassmen to talk with since I'm pretty clueless. Hopefully it all works out
Et excepturi ea et. Consequatur repellat asperiores qui debitis voluptatibus sapiente. Dolorum aut inventore perspiciatis eius sit temporibus. Ea odit deleniti modi nihil aut qui enim. Quo dolor inventore ut optio blanditiis.
Magnam nam ut molestiae voluptatem deleniti. Natus est nihil tempore quaerat laborum itaque velit. Iusto placeat debitis eum. Molestiae dignissimos repellendus suscipit quae autem ut. Ad et in deserunt unde accusantium alias. Non sit eveniet id beatae esse.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Et quisquam qui dolores nesciunt sequi. Ut dolorem voluptate ut voluptatem optio eos ab. Architecto qui nihil qui voluptatem ut. Asperiores debitis necessitatibus consequuntur in qui.
Dolore expedita ex deleniti deserunt quos. Occaecati voluptatem sint magni inventore ex voluptatibus aut ut. Ullam nihil quia quia reprehenderit tenetur omnis voluptatibus consequuntur. Et a facere eaque quis quia accusantium autem. Qui iste deserunt molestias vel. Sequi sit odio voluptas atque ea eaque unde.