How hard is it to break into PE with a computer science degree?
Hello, all. I'm going to Harvard this fall, and I've been debating whether to do Economics (because they don't have finance) or Computer Science rotary to get a job at Google. I figured a good option would be to take a computer science major with some economics classes, because it isn't unheard of for for investment banking firms to hire other majors,and so I can do either. But, I want to get into Private Equity right out of undergrad, which I know is rare, but I've heard Blackstone hires at Harvard. If I keep my GPA up, can I get an internship or job in private equity with a computer science major?
I really hate the font you used.
But yeah you can.
Oh, sorry, it's my first time here.
Also, if you don't mind, could you elaborate on the difficulty and the process involved? Obviously, I'll have to get an internship for them to even give me a glance, but is there anything else you would suggest doing? Besides networking and having a good GPA, of course.
Network hard for a good banking internship at the end freshman year. It is definitely possible at a top target with a perfect GPA. Then go to MS/GS after your sophomore year if you weren't already there last summer. Then do the internship recruiting for Blackstone/Silver Lake/Warburg/Vista Equity or whoever during your junior year. Keep a high GPA (3.8+) and network, network, network. What you are aiming for is the top result amongst your peers at a top school. You can manage it as there are at least 20+ spots among TPG, KKR, Blackstone, Leonard Green, etc. for an internship. Get the offer back or if you don't just go back into the recruiting process. You can substitute that first banking internship with a private equity internship at a MM firm.
This is how everyone I know did at Harvard/Stanford/Wharton got their PE internships straight out of undergrad at top MMs and MFs. It is very possible as an Econ major to pull this off. Much harder as a Computer Science major as it will depress your GPA. So if the PE life is really more important than building the CS skill-set (more valuable in my opinion), I'd stick to Econ.
Sorry if it's a stupid question, but is it possible to land an internship at a private equity firm as a freshman, or will I have to stick with investment banking boutiques and the like and work my way up?
It would have to be in a crappy role at a very small private equity firm that's willing to let you do odd jobs. You wouldn't receive the training or exposure you would hope for unless the firm is severely understaffed or they somehow trust an intern. You are better off getting the full banking experience somewhere else. I've seen middle market bank > MS/GS > Blackstone/TPG/Warburg or starting out at a BB. Harvard has a lot of opportunities, so maybe something decent comes up. I'm not sure. You'll have to play it by ear depending on who comes to campus and who you can get in front of and convince. If a GS SSG guy wants to take you on, do that for 2 summers, and then try to get that PE internship. But if you start out at Baird, try to get to MS or something similar afterwards and then Warburg et al.
Worry less about that first internship being perfect. As long as you can leverage that to end up somewhere well known for your second internship so you parlay that into a top internship your last summer, you are fine.
Might as well throw my 2 cents. If I was in your position I wouldn't think about PE, I'd do CS and find a way to get a job at Air BnB. My buddy that I competed with since day 1 just landed an entry role straight out of uni making 170k.
i'm going to call u out - https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-salary-for-an-entry-level-new-grad-So… I have a lot of friends who are entry-level engineers, and I've never heard above 150k
Aut natus inventore laudantium qui reiciendis quo. Architecto eaque nulla molestiae blanditiis. Dolor dignissimos nemo hic minus facilis id et repellendus.
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