Alright, so I've been doing a bunch of finance related lessons online related to Excel and financial principle type videos on Khan Academy and Edspira. Also have Udemy courses in Python for data science and Excel. I've noticed that there is some overlap between Calculus and finance, so my question really is what classes should I focus on as a high school sophomore to best be prepared for a career in finance. My grades overall are good, but that's a reflection of effort, not expertise. The classes I'm currently taking are listed as follows:
- AP Seminar
- AP Computer Science A
- Spanish
- AP Environmental Science
- Chemistry
- AP Modern World History
- AP Calculus BC
- AP Physics 1
(I go to a magnet school hence the numerous APs)
pls pls pls pls pls pls pls tell me this is fake
I know it's April Fool's, but no. Why do you think that?
This is a joke right
Nah sorry got any real advice?
I applaud you for starting so early but the classes I took in high school had little to no relevance to my experience in IB.
my tips to you are to make sure banking is really what you want to do, know excel like the back of your hand, and do well in school to hopefully get to a target school
shouldn't you be doing like high school kid stuff....... go enjoy your years of freedom
Men's Team Sports - I remember that being my funniest/most fun class sophomore year
I do play basketball too lmao
To be honest, you sound super boring. If I extrapolated what you said to an undergrad recruiting for banking, I would put my money that you’re in the bucket of 3.9 gpa Econ+stem major double that was socially inept and not in the strongest clubs on campus which usually require some level of social aptitude.
The truth is that being a finance hardo (even in high school Jesus Christ) can only get you so far. I see you didn’t list sports. Joining a sports team was one of the most rewarding experiences for me and the people I’ve met in these teams have been valuable professional contacts throughout my life. You should go out, have fun and talk to as many people as you can instead of taking another class; the ability to network will help you join business or social fraternities or clubs which are infinitely more valuable in your recruiting process than an extra STEM class.
So to answer your question, there is no class you can take that will prepare you for investment banking recruiting in college. But what you can do is build the aspects of your personality and network that will drive you to be a compelling candidate for any position later down the line. This is done by having fun, meeting people, and getting hammered. Now get off this forum gdi
LMAO no I get what you're saying trust me, I just wanna have some insight. I play basketball and hit the gym wayyy more than I learn Excel and other finance stuff. On top of that I do Debate and Model UN. Gonna do stuco as well. While I may not be socially inept, I don't look forward to getting hammered bc that's the ib experience from what I've heard. Thanks for the tip though! I'm also learning that finance hardos aren't as professional and serious as expected to be
lol fuck me you sound socially weird. I’m sure you hit the gym and play basketball wayyyyy harder than you study.
Anything related to Visual Arts or Design. IB is basically just a formatting and design job.
Thanks for the unique advice!
Take accounting if your high school offers it. Mine had it. If you hate accounting you probably should consider ruling out finance/banking. Accounting class was when I discovered I really liked business and especially the high attention to detail and problem solving with finance.
Great to take initiative so early tho. The earlier you know what you want to do the better set up for success you’ll be. I was a junior in high school when I decided on banking and I was extremely social/involved in sports. Make sure to have fun too and enjoy your HS years. That should be a high up priority. As previous commenters noted being in social fraternity or clubs on campus is very helpful for recruiting and life in general. Network is everything.
definitely gonna look at accounting. Thanks for the honest advice.
Sorry the app is glitchy asf so my replies are weird
My dude/dudette... spend high school making lifelong memories with amazing friends. Do well in class, sure, but the most valuable thing you'll get from HS are relationships and memories. Go to parties, get into some trouble, create good stories that will last a lifetime.
I had many friends in HS that I never would have guessed would get into banking but did. We had the time of our lives as youngins and I can reach out to them any day and know they'll answer my calls and help me if I needed it and vice versa.
That's what you should be doing. You'll have plenty of time in college to master excel trust me.
Yeah I’m mot against social interaction or anything, but the work culture in my school pretty much equates all social interaction to learning stuff with a friend. It’s a STEM based magnet school with mostly a male population. I still recognize the importance of hacing a social life though.
Thomas Jefferson/ Exeter/PEARL?
If you're incapable of spending your time socializing and making friends and are not intent on remedying that, then I'd recommend you hit the library and start reading. Find a reading list or just grab whatever catches your eye... read broadly and find out what interests you.. It'll help you much more over time compared to another AP class.
Honestly, there's nothing wrong with starting to have an interest this early. And who says that making memories/having fun/enjoying life are mutually exclusive to learning more about IB early on? Let the kid ask his questions and answer if you have some advice.
As per the original question, I would say that numerial/quantitative subjects help. Having some languages under your belt (1 at fluency besides English and maybe another at good conversational level) aren't bad. By the time you hit the workforce you'll have to stand out whichever way possible and languages are a big one. Also, doing Spanish may interest you in LatAm markets which are always interest and dynamic.
Thank you for actual advice and not ridiculing me for trying to have some direction in my life. Only the finance community is like this to newbies. Do you think Econ Courses help? Glad to find someone helpful btw.
They can help gain a macro view of things but won't be essential for the day-to-day if you end up in things like M&A. Can't hurt to take them if you don't have too much on your plate already
you just finished watching wolf of Wall Street haven’t you?
Close, The Big Short. Watched the Wolf Of Wall Street a while back lol.
hate how this forum shits on people for wanting to get a head start in a competitive industry. Good for you, kid. As someone mentioned before, accounting is the most applicable course you could take in high school. Beyond that, just purchase a financial modeling course and learn from that.
Thanks for helping. All of the other forums like GitHub are really receptive to young learners. Didn't expect people to be so toxic.
I was interested in business at your age too. It is challenging to know what you want to do but still be 6+ years away.
People are more toxic on finance forums than GitHub because there's a stigma against being a "hardo" about finance. Being social is 10000x more important in a business career than engineering, and the hardo kids often don't do well in recruiting - keep that in mind when joining clubs freshman year, demonstrate interests outside of finance.
I second all of the advice on being social, especially your freshman year in college. Don't show up the first week dying to get into a finance class. Make friends on other parts of campus and be involved in things other than finance too.
If any of your family or friends' parents works in a finance job, ask if you could shadow them for a day (would probably be next fall) Even if their job is not relevant to you it's helpful to understand what they do. Anyone in real estate, trading, finance department of a big company, IB, consulting, etc.
Yeah I know that being one dimensional isn't great for this career path, which is why being a finance major isn't even a prerequisite to cracking into the finance industry. I just want more exposure, the whole reason I got into finance is because I shadowed my uncle who owns a PE firm.
I think that getting your feet wet to the world of Econ may help. Try AP Macro and AP Micro.
That's most definitely the plan for electives next year.
basic math and finance cold and fast. take a communications class and any class that helps with making you manage the workplace environment or even negotiation if you can. you will be negotiating formatting with your associate day 1
Makes sense. I'll see what core classes relate to communications the most.
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