What type of undergrad engineering degree is best for trading?

Which engineering degree is considered best for entering trading?
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Software Engineering

Also, how do these degrees compare to getting a maths or computer science degree?

 

This is a pretty silly question. All of those degrees have little to nothing in common besides the word "engineering".

All are excellent degrees. If youre actually wondering what degree to choose then I think you need to take a good hard look at what you want to do with the rest of your life before you attempt to guess what degree is going to give an HR person a boner.

 

being an engineer and moving to S&T i can tell you that:

-Electrical engineering is most mathmatically intense, lots of imaginary numbers and partial differential equations. I think it's beyond the requirement for a trading. - Chemical is joke, you only need to balance the chemical equation so if you can add, that's it. Or show that you can memorize that 100 odds chemicals... - Civil is not THAT math intense, but you need to be really creative and have emphasis on problem solving skills. - Computer/software gives you programming skill, and logical thinking. - Mechanical/aerospace seems like lots of aerodynamic, which is just as math intense as electrical.

If you really want "wow" factor, I think Nuclear Engineering, Photovoltanic(spell?) engineering, Nano-technology engineering sounds cool and makes you stand out.

I did Civil engineering by the way.

 
Best Response

Wrong wrong wrong question.

May I ask you why you want to enter trading? You are using the assumption you WILL enter trading to work backwards to get a degree which you cannot discard later on!

Your question itself shows that you have no clue about trading or what it is all about. May be you have heard about the money and thats all. Had you known even a little you wouldnt have asked this question in the first place and known that any quantitative major is good enough. Being an electrical engineer as opposed to a civil engineer gives you no special leverage in terms of structuring a pool of bonds from mortgage collateral.

Decide what you like first. And then go ahead and do it. All of these are very interesting subjects and hold their own value. And all can lead to trading in due course of time. But if you enter into something that you dont like / are not cut out for - you will have a miserable time doing that and then probably not make it into trading either.

Oh and for the record, for those who have it in them even a philosophy degree is enough.

Discard the first reply, that person knows very little. Also I dont know where the person who posted above me did his engineering from but at my school ALL engineering grads did least 3 math courses and even the even first was beyond anything ever done on the floor. Remember I am talking the standard trading floor - not quant desks or quant trading desks in select HFs - those guys require more than a simple undergrad engineering degree. So the level of redundancy in terms of math skill introduced by most engineering programs is sufficiently high for a trading desk.

I am surprised that someone thinks chemical engineering is a joke! I have taken common classes in fluid dynamics with chemical and mechanical engineering people and it involves intense usage of partial differential equation which go back to math skills desired by most graduate quant programs, leave aside trading desks. They also do tons of chemical process optimization, plant optimization etc. I am not one (I am an industrial engineer) but dismissing 'chemical engineering' as remembering formulae and balancing equations is utterly ridiculous.

 
Chemical is joke, you only need to balance the chemical equation so if you can add, that's it. Or show that you can memorize that 100 odds chemicals...

One of the dumbest things I've read on this site.

 

Chemical Engineering is fucking ridiculous. That balance the equation comment just makes you look like a retard.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

I agree with the comments above. Lol I'm in Mech Eng, and Chem Eng people have no life compared to me... All in all Engineering is interesting because it teaches you how life around you works.

All engineering degrees are different yet quite similar at the same time. (There are only 3 laws of thermodynamics, etc) Its just how you use your equations that differ. So go ahead and chose one you can relate to. I chose Mechanical because it teaches me about everything basically (except chem eng stuff, but i see chem eng as somewhat unrelated.,,,) Cheers

 

You also need to consider the differences between a typical prop shop and BB trading. If you want to get an engineering degree and want the most options, you should definitely do electrical engineering/computer science. The computer software/hardware knowledge and logical skills you develop will (presumably) be in high demand by prop shops if you're a good trading candidate.

However, if you're exclusively interested in BB trading (which you shouldn't/realistically can't be at this point), any engineering degree will essentially be the same. You might as well pick whichever program is best at your school if you aren't legitimately interested in a certain subfield.

 

Did you all notice the OP posted this in 07, so its a little late for advice since he prob all ready graduated.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

I'd avoid choosing a major until you are done with freshman year, because what you think a major is like in HS and what it is is often very different. Take as many classes in different areas as you can and keep an open mind. I narrowed my focus too early and I had to do catchup when I realized I hated my first choice. That was my biggest mistake in UG.

 
ivoteforthatguy:
I'd avoid choosing a major until you are done with freshman year, because what you think a major is like in HS and what it is is often very different. Take as many classes in different areas as you can and keep an open mind. I narrowed my focus too early and I had to do catchup when I realized I hated my first choice. That was my biggest mistake in UG.

I agree wait at least 2 semesters before you settle down. I know too many people who made the mistake of going in as a particular major then a few majors later they settled down. Most importantly get a 4.0 your freshman year.

 

Most of the prop firms recruit from the top engineering programs around the country so you definitely can't go wrong.

I 2nd everything the guys above have mentioned about waiting a few semesters before deciding.

 

I have done this (or close to it) and I can only say that you should probably not study engineering unless you actually like engineering. It's a tough major, and it will be tough to get through hundreds of hours of thermodynamics/fluids problem sets if you are just doing it to get into finance.

If you could actually see yourself doing CompEng professionally, go for it. Otherwise, I might look for something more in line with your interests, like FinEng, Computational Finance, or Actuarial Science. Maybe a school with a very quanty business major (MIT?).

But, chubbybunny is 100% right: school name matters. The B- Harvard CS major will beat the A+ Georgia Tech engineer every time, even though harvard's engineering department is weak.

 

If you guys could do it again what would you do?

Georgia Tech is most likely the school I'll be at. Trading or something related to investments is definitely what I want to do. I'm hoping that getting an engineering degree might even the field when I'm trying to compete against some ivy league grads. How about this question. Would I be better off with an economics degree or engineering degree at GT? GT does not offer finance. I believe they do offer quantitative finance as a masters though.

I guess that gives me another option. Engineering or econ with a quantitative finance masters.

I could definitely see myself going into computer engineering though. Thanks for the help so far guys. I appreciate it.

 

I went to Tech for undergrad and can offer you a little insight. DRW, Wolverine, and Belvedere recruit from Tech. You then get the other Chicago prop firms that don't conduct on-campus recruiting but will post positions on Tech's career services site. Citadel, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank also recruit on-campus but mainly for technology positions.

GT doesn't offer a finance degree but it does have a Management degree where you can get a finance certificate. Management is considered the easiest major at Tech but the first couple years will be a grind. Since all the degrees at Tech are a Bachelor of Science, you'll have to take all the required calculus, sciences, and programming courses.

If you go into Tech Computer Science program and do well, you'll have no problem getting interviews with prop firms. During your studies you lose interest in finance, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft hire a ton of programmers from Tech every year. It will be very competitive either way.

Tech does have an Econ school but its very small.

If you really want to attend Tech, a computer science or computer engineering degree with an econ minor/certificate would be a nice combination.

BTW, Tech only has around 30% girls and it seems like most of those girls are in the Management program.

Feel free to PM me if you have more GT related questions.

 

I want to mention one more thing. I talk about economics and investments with the two economics teachers at my high school. Well one of them knows a person at an Asset Management firm. He was able to set up a date for me to go meet him at his office and to have lunch with him. I guess hes going to talk about his job and what we are discussing in this thread. I feel like this could be a huge opportunity to network. Any advice on how I should act or what I should ask? Thanks guys.

 

Had no idea you would be going to GT. It's a great engineering school; it just suffers because of its lack of Wall St. prestige and location away from major financial centers.

Like anybody at a non/semi-target (and even targets), networking is your best bet to get into finance. And if you are at GT, management will not have any exclusive recruiting opportunities (I didn't even know they had a mgt major).

Major in your favorite type of engineering, do well, and that will be enough to check the "is he smart?" box on any recruiter's mental checklist.

As for your networking opportunity, never turn down lunch. Ask him how he got into finance, but avoid sounding awkward/like a finance nerd. Be yourself. At best, you find a mentor. At worst, you learn a bit more about AM. There is no downside.

 

You could be a fucking philosophy major and become a trader. Do a God damn mother fucking search......................disclaimer: alcohol may or may not have been used when writing this post

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Well, there are different types of traders. Some are high frequency traders, while some others are more macro oriented.

CAN SLIM is a process by "fundamentalist" use. There are many traders who are not quant, and many are still very successful (Zweig).

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/issues/should_you_be_a_fund…

^Fundamentalist etc.

I wish I could tell you firms, but I mostly gather my research from internet and this forum, because I too, am an aspiring trader.

 

Finance is a relatively broad term. Do you mean finance as in finance at a business school, mathematical finance, what? Also, are there some math courses that you all would recommend I study on my own so that I can compete with some of the math majors and all? I've heard linear algebra is good to learn, but is there anything else I should learn? Also, any good books on trading/hedge funds that are worth looking at?

 

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