How useful is an undergrad Econ degree?
Is attending Notre Dame worth it if I cannot internal transfer into Mendoza, and be forced to major in Econ? (the new business policy restrict Mendoza entrance to those who apply to it directly from the beginning of the process, with a slight chance of internal transfer soph. year).
I really really want to attend ND, but I do not know if an econ degree from ND (worst case scenario) will amount to much in the future had I instead attended USC Marshall, UCLA, or Stern.
Is it better to just attend an undergrad bus. school where I am already accepted to such as USC Marshall or NYU Stern, and not take the transfer risk of ND Mendoza? Or is an econ degree still fine at Notre Dame in employability terms?
*As for NYU Stern, I am not that appealed to its non-traditional college experience, lowly sports teams. But I would be willing to attend there for 4 years if it is that more beneficial to my future.
Thank you!
I would go for USC, but what about UCLA? don't they have a undergrad bschool as well?
UCLA does not have an undergrad bus. school. Anderson is graduate level.
Business at NYU > Economics at ND
Having said that, I don't think there's a big difference. You still will have excellent prospects even if you don't get into Mendoza and end up with an economics degree. Go which place you like best and/or is the cheapest.
At a school with a similar system, and In my experience GPA matters far more than business vs. Ecom
I would go to Stern (due to location and proximity to all firms), then USC as it has a solid undergrad business program and lastly UCLA no undergrad business program.
I would say keep the GPA above 3.5 and network like crazy, most firms do not care about major as long as it is "related."
How about Notre Dame? (with econ or with Mendoza)
Personally, I feel you would be at a slight disadvantage coming from Notre Dame econ when compared to Mendoza (undergrad business degree). Recruiters know usually the undergrad business school is more competitive to get in. Another problem you will have is taking econ classes are not related to finance need to study more from resources like the vault guide.
can you do something in addition to econ? Econ is often meaning the same to me as math + finance; thus if you do an addition with Math/Stats/CS or Political Science / law, you'd be as strong as any business grad.
After all, I think this is my 2nd time saying it at WSO--many nonBusiness ug are taking a job at bb/MBB. don't you worry if you don't have business UG--you can always get it from MBA. However, it's harder to get to STEM or Policy/Law with business UG
forgot to tag you in the above comment
Since I hear econ is really math heavy, it doesn't really appeal to me as much to the point I would be happy studying this for 4 years. I really want to attend ND, but doing a major like poli sci, I feel like it's a risk as it has no correlation with business; whereas, at USC or Stern, I could just stick w an undergrad bus degree
Econ really isn't that math heavy, at most you'll be doing simple calculus and statistics.
Econ CAN be math-heavy. It doesn't HAVE to be: if you go towards Econometrics, Asset Pricing (which is between econ/finance), it's definitely more mathy. However, if you have policy economics, I really doubt it's mathy--but it works well with people in polsci / law.
Again, if you are a mathy person,, taking mathy econ vs. finance has not much difference. or some people do econ & Finance together (in my nontarget b-school). I did Finance & math.
If you want some Finance, can you take Mendoza classes as a minor / certificate but w/o major?
Also I can't shake this idea--- UCLA is a very good school. despite not having Undergrad Business, it places many BB internships and analysts. It's kinda like Wharton, right? everyone get a BSc in Economics + concentration. I think Wharton UG places just fine like UCLA right?
Is an economics degree worthwhile? (Originally Posted: 03/18/2014)
I was wondering if getting a degree in economics is worthwhile for investment banking.
People with history degrees get into investment banking, it matters a lot more on what university you attend. If you're asking does the theory of economics and what you will learn be worthwhile? For me the econ classes I took have changed my life and I really enjoyed them.
From what I gather, an economics degree is one of the more common degrees for banking, but the caliber of the school will ultimately be a deciding factor as well as your major.
Thanks a ton for the answers
Undergraduate economics .. need help! (Originally Posted: 03/21/2015)
I have been admitted into Edinburgh University ( Econ&Phil) and Bocconi, which do you reckon is best? I like Edinburgh better but I don't know how many investment banking opportunities it will give me :/ Opinions?
I'm in a similar situation, but instead of Edinburgh I have Emory in the US....
Economics major - Double majoring? (Originally Posted: 09/16/2013)
What types of jobs are available for economics majors? Mainly I am interested in IBanking to later on PE or hedge funds, commercial real estate, or maybe even law. Should I double major in econ and finance to boost chances?
Considering analyst classes are full of Econ majors. I would imagine that a 3.8 from an Econ major would open more doors that a 3.2 CGPA from a Econ & Fin double major.
cmxxi good point. What kind of school do you go to jackblack254? Is it a LAC or a state school with a Bschool?
LAC they do not have a Bschool
It is super non target though but maybe in Texas it will be favored. I know BBs dont recruit there though
economics degree (Originally Posted: 01/11/2007)
How does an economics or financial economics degree fare in i-banking?
are you serious? prob 80%+ of people in this biz majored in one or the other.
i meant vs an undergrad degree such as BCom.
Fares very well. Financial econ degrees tend to be heavier on the quant side and you come with solid business grounding. Note that a lot of ST and FT hires from targets such as Harvard / Princeton / Yale have majored in history/psychology/english. Training will teach it all.
It boils down to raw brain power and a comfortability with numbers. If your classes/gpa reflect that, and you can interview well, you're in a very strong position. Strictly from a degree perspective, your odds are just as good as a B.Comm's. Just don't act like a madarchod in your interview.
Anyone know of any notable economist who are in the field of investment banking?
Economics Major - How are they viewed on the street? (Originally Posted: 12/26/2012)
How are econ majors viewed on wall street. Say econ majors at the topic publics (UT Econ, UVA Econ, UCB Econ) and privates (Emory Econ) with business schools? My brother is trying to transfer from a super non target (think a third tier state school in the state, central connecticut state university, etc) into a semi target and he has been caught up with all of the excitement surrounding my own college apps (freshman admissions). Top publics are easier to transfer into than privates and Gtown Cas and NYU cas are also easy. I wanted to get your take on whether these schools are worth it for an econ major or whether even transferring to a "respectable" business school i.e. syracuse/bu is better and more realistic. Thanks!
As far as Econ on the street there are plenty. I'd say from the analysts resumes I've seen recently it's a pretty equal mix of Econ/Finance/All others.
UVA Econ is decent, but you should try for McIntire. Last year I know of one person who went to a BB, three who went to Rothschild, and a few others. Definitely not as good as McIntire, but you get great exposure to OCR.
If you go to a school that has a good business school I'd major in business or finance. I have an Econ degree from UChicago, and while it is a great degree, and I got to meet several Nobel Prize winners and take a class with one of them, I still wish I would have learned more actual finance in undergrad.
Merits of a Major in Economics (Originally Posted: 07/10/2011)
Here's the situation: I'm in the school of business at my college and am currently majoring in economics. I've just about finished all of the basic business requirements and am heading towards graduating with both a business admin degree and masters in finance.
There is some overlap in the finance concentration and masters in finance degree, but no overlap in the economics concentration.
I've intended on completing an economics concentration thus far because of interest in economics, having a broader background (instead of just finance), and hoping that it could provide some benefit to me in understanding modern economies both nationally and worldwide in order to speculate on the markets one day. I've taken introductory micro and introductory macro thus far. They had their highs and lows as far as being interesting goes. Dry theory isn't that great and I'm guessing this economics I'm learning doesn't apply all that well to the real world?
Alternatively, the pros to just focusing on finance are the open slots that it would open up which I could choose to either not fill or fill with whatever my heart desires.
So I'm wondering what your opinions on undergraduate economics are in this regard and whether it would be worth my time continuing to pursue it or not.
since you mention the masters in finance i'm guessing you have a more quant bias in your studies ie you've taken higher calc, linear algebra, and maybe some comp sci? if so i suggest you avoid the qualitative classes (which i find useless and a waste of time) and focus on the more quant path.
bc you mention speculating, i don't suggest you delve into developmental econ unless you have a change of heart. first, do some due diligence on who the good professors ie the ones that give a shit about teaching. but you should take econometrics, game theory if you havent already, and some kind of behavioral finance or class that blends psych and economics. your economics department should also offer some kind of international trade econ and you could consider higher level macro.
i think doing research for a prof could be considered if you have the time; find a prof with research on macro economy or something along the lines of your interests.
some schools offer classes along the lines of political economies or whatever... just read the economist and use google reader to plug yourself into econ/finance blogs.
Will an Econ. Degree impact my chances on I-B? (Originally Posted: 02/22/2011)
I'll make this easy to understand. Will having a Bachelors of Arts in Economics deter me from getting into I-Banking? Do I need to get a pure Finance degree?
I just wanted to know my options. Even if somehow, I graduate with a BA in Econ instead, will that hurt me in terms of getting into I-B? I'm currently looking for internships & it seems that firms give preference to B-school kids, even though my grades were good.
.
I'm incredibly biased, but I think econ is the "just right" degree... it's related enough to business, is analytical, and involves some math and stats...
I appreciate the feedback. I just noticed from the research that I've done, that firms seem to look down on Econ majors, favoring B-School kids instead, especially if the college of the applicant had a good B-School (i.e. Wharton vs Penn-Econ, Ross vs Michigan-Econ, Marshall vs USC-Econ). Maybe I'm wrong. Just considering my academic trajectory, I won't be able to transfer over to the School of B until the middle of my Junior year. All of the Internship experience (this summer & next) I receive will pretty much be riding off of an Econ. degree instead of Finance. Hence the thread topic....
If i was you i would major in Finance. I am an econ major and when i submitted applications for MM's and Boutiques, you MUST know finance and accounting like the back of your hand. At BB's, they dont care to much, however if you dont land at a BB, you will have a tougher time. Howard has good brand recognition (I was going to go), but i would highly recommend Finance. or you can get a MSF
Keep in mind many of the top schools in the country are liberal arts and don't even have a finance major, only econ. You'll be fine.
You should be OK since many people in investment banking have econ degrees, however, if I were you, I'd do whatever to get into the business school to major in Finance as it is more related to what you'll be doing in IB.
Congrats on transferring to Howard by the way.
@ Dongeiss
I go to Howard, I dont think I have the same luxuries. It's not in the same class as Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Stanford. A student at Columbia could major in Sociology & most likely get an interview at GS. A student at Morehouse, not so much.
I hear you but having an econ degree certainly won't hurt you but having a finance concentration may be better in your shoes. Point is, if you can't get a finance major going don't stress about having an econ major because you'll be fine. Can always take more finance centric classes and brush up on what you may miss on the side etc. Just don't do something stupid and swap into an english major.
@ Trader Daily
I'll keep on trying. At the school I went to my freshman year, I missed out on some prerequisites. Howard didn't care & let me in with full scholarship. The School of B is a bit more anal & said I couldn't come over until I fulfilled them, which I found out last month when I had the balls to go ask why I was denied. I won't be able to get in until the Fall '11 or Spring "12 which made me ask this question; if I could make it with just the Econ degree instead.
Network, network, network. Your econ degree doesn't hurt, your 4.0 GPA will help, but the name of the school is probably the worst thing going against you. Get your foot in the door as soon as you can.
Howard gets Ibanking recruiters. I saw that JPMorgan recruits at Howard for their LA office and a few other firms...If you stick with econ, teach yourself finance
I know of kids studying Anthropology and Social Psychology who got into IBD at top BBs, degrees don't matter.
Is Econ actually a legit degree? (Originally Posted: 10/31/2012)
Is a BA in Economics a useful degree for getting a finance or other business related job? I used to think so. But I am not sure anymore.
Background:
Graduated from a top target, class of 2010, BA in Econ. GPA was real crap, though. (too much drinking and socializing..)
Upon graduation, I took a job in a non-finance department at a decent company, since I missed boat on finance recruiting. However, I always had interest in finance, including banking, research, sales, trading, investment, and valuations.
I've been networking and was very lucky to land few interviews despite no prior finance experience. Over the course of this past month, I had an interview at a hedge fund, a real estate PE firm, and also at boutique investment management firm.
I still haven't heard back from two of those employers, but today I got a rejection call from the hedge fund. The person I interviewed with mentioned that while he liked my enthusiasm and personality, he thought that I did not have strong enough of quantitative background for the position.
Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed. I heard from some of my friends who are working in finance tell me that a BA in Econ is pretty useless unless it is combined with something more quantitative like stats or math. I am now having second thoughts about my major..
Where do you think Econ ranks in terms of marketability in front of employers' eyes? (not just finance employers, but include F500, corp dev, etc) Is it still more marketable than humanities degrees, or is it viewed about the same thing as a political science or history degree.
IMO a B.A. in Econ should not be holding you back at all, possibly if they said the role required a quantitative background then they really needed someone with a training in math/statistics or programming. Econ is fine for banking, consulting, most trading (non-algo stuff), asset management, etc...
Anyways, you can't change was you graduated in, so make the best of it. If you find that things are really impossible, maybe look into doing an MFin?
TL;DR: if you want to do a quant job in finance, then yes, an econ background won't be ideal, but for most things you should be fine.
Thx for the feedback. At this point, it seems that I will need an MBA if I want to make a jump into high finance. Although Econ may be sufficient for banking or consulting, I am finding it is almost impossible to break in as an analyst at this stage of the game, since I am outside of the standard SA OCR hiring model that banks practice. I've been 'networking' with many finance professionals for last 6-7 months, but nothing to show for until now, except 3 interviews that I landed and a bunch of random business cards..
Btw, not sure if I can get into a top 10 MBA program due to my crap GPA. It is barely over 3.0.. FML
With the exception of very quantitative jobs, an econ BA from a top target is fine.
You should have spent more time studying rather than f*cking around in your final club or eating club (i'm assuming you went to HYP based on your screen name). College gpa is the best predictor of future success, in my opinion.
Yes, if I could go back in time and meet 19 yr old version of myself, I would slap the shit out of that kid. I honestly don't know what the fuck I was doing when was 18-21. I just didn't have my shit together. I was more interested in getting wasted 5 nights a week and chasing after girls, more than worrying about my GPA and future career ahead of me.
I had a ton of fun in college and formed amazing friendships with great guys and gals, but I am paying for it very dearly now. In fact, given what I did in college, I feel very fortunate to just have a job now.
Btw, I am assuming you know a thing or two about MBA admissions given your screen name. Can you give me some advice about how to best position myself for MBA application, 3-4 years down the road.
Background:
Do I have any chance at a top 10 MBA? Or am I fucked because of my GPA. Would getting promoted at my work a couple of times help much? I really think top 10 MBA is necessary for my career ambitions, as I look to erase that fucking undergrad GPA stain off my resume and get a new fresh shot at OCR for I-banks and top consulting firms. Any help appreciated.
Even if college gpa were the best predictor for future success it would still be a very shitty one, in my opinion. The fact that this dude decided to go out drinking instead of studying really doesn't make/break him as successful in the business world. Maybe I'm just biased because I didn't have a great GPA...
In my opinion accounting and finance is more memorization of formulas and rules whereas Economics teaches more of a way of thinking and problem solving.
I might be biased (BS in econ) but I believe the econ courses I took prepared me more for my career in finance than the accounting and finance classes I took.
Although I agree that Econ was an interesting major in and out of itself, I don't think it has given me any recruiting advantages over humanities majors for employment.
Back in college, consulting firms and I-banking firms recruited all sorts of majors on campus. In fact, I know a number of history, government, or biology majors who are working as banking analysts at BB or consultants at MBB, out of my college. If my memory serves correct, these firms didn't seem to give any advantage for being an econ major over any other major. (they only seemed to care about GPA) And now, I'm finding out that my Econ degree doesn't cut it with some more quant focused finance shops due to it not being quantitative enough.. damn it.
I think you answered your own question; the crap GPA is probably more of a hindrance than your Econ degree. I wouldn't ever say a humanities degree is more coveted, although a finance degree, if available, is preferred to Econ due to it being more quantitative.
While undergrad finance graduates typically are exposed to more quantitative topics than many (but by no means all) econ graduates, they are typically very applied. My personal opinion (heavily biased due to going ABD in econ), is similar to Nefarious. Econ teaches you how to think and understand the assumptions behind a model, whereas finance will introduce and explain how to apply a model. This is a really broad characterization... in finance, concepts are explained, but not necessarily as deep as economics classes.
I came out of undergrad with a strong quantitative background because I sought such a background from my economics and mathematics department...
Not all economics degrees are created equally - I did well and was at a fairly strong school, and am more natural at the more quantitative aspects of my job. But I'd probably get the same feedback as you - quant for me is building Excel models, figuring out what analyses to run, what data I need, getting to insight quickly, etc. If I was interviewing at a hedge fund, I'd expect to be fucked since I didn't do more advanced econometrics, math classes, etc.
If it makes you feel any better, I majored in math (at a non-target) and felt that 99% of what I learned was absolutely useless because I don't plan to be a quant. If it weren't for the fact that employers value quant skills, I think I would've been just as well off, if not better off, learning something more relevant to reality (outside the narrow niche of quantitative finance) like econ or history.
Give me a fucking break. Good GPA = you're really good at doing what you're told.
I find it insane that GPA actually matters for B-School admissions when you're 26 and have been out of school for 4 years. Not to mention the courses you take in B-School are about as rigorous and demanding as a middle school art class. But that's a topic for another thread...
Whether you like it or not, top firms and grad school rely heavily on college gpa as an initial screen. Of course, some firms and schools care less than others, but it's definitely important and will have a meaningful impact on your professional career post-college.
No idea why you think it's insane that b-school adcom cares about college gpa. A high gpa, especially from a top college, indicates intelligence, work ethic, and discipline, all important attributes for success. Also you overstate how easy b-school curriculum is. It may not be as hard as STEM, but it's a lot of work, and being able to handle your coursework along with the slew of networking events, clubs, social events, interviews, requires great time management. So in that sense, a strong college gpa indicates that the applicant will be able to effectively manage his time in b-school.
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