Technology Banking (SF/West Coast)

Thanks so much man! This was a great rundown. How would you 'rank' Citi, CS, Barcap, UBS, DB, and BAML's tech groups as of right now? Also, would you say there's any MM bank with a stronger tech practice than a BB? (thinking Jefferies vs UBS or Stifel/Blair/RJ vs UBS/DB)

Other than MS/GS, the other BB's are doing mostly financing/offering deals or bridge loans, so you're not going to have real M&A experience there

economics degree is almost useless. Get a degree in CPA accounting/finance/information systems.

Finance above the other two.

At a place like NYU stern, finance is likely more useful. But coming from Columbia (and any other ivy league except Penn), economics is a great option and will put you in a great position.

well, I was more referring to economics in the working world rather than Ivy league connections...

Wow. The 1st response to your question was pretty horrible. Yes, having an engineering degree makes you more relevant for tech banking -- the econ degree might even be superfluous. When I was in school I knew a few guys who were double majors in EE & Business who did banking and did VC after banking. That being said, they were engineers first who picked up the business degree on the side and the classes were much more easy for them. Most business majors would have been killed if they tried getting an extra engineering degree.

Thanks for the responses. It just seems like Columbia isn't exactly renowned for its engineering programs, but I guess getting a bachelors in EE and a bachelors in econ, followed by a masters in EE from a school like MIT or Stanford, would make me pretty marketable. And for the record, I do eventually intend to jump ship from ibanking and go into VC, PE, or maybe management consulting for high tech firms in the bay area.

all offers from a BB in the bay area for tech banking during OCR at penn went to dual degree students in Wharton and Engineering.

it helps, and certainly indicates that you have an interest in the sector so far to major in engineering.

I just realized that getting a masters degree in engineering + an MBA would take a ton of time and money, so I guess just going for an MBA would be fine for me. Seriously, some VC tech firms have art history majors working there, I'm sure I'll be fine.

A degree in EE and one or two in CPA accounting/finance/information systems isn't bad.

Well, many VC tech people are MBA/EE majors.

I think you need the engineering part though....at least. I interviewed a few years ago for a VC internship and the guy I interviewed with was a MIT EE master's combined with an MBA...

Sternfox, Did the dude get an MBA along the EE degree through some joint program? It just seems crazy to stay in school for something like 9 years @ 45k a year (if not more).

Am I wrong? 5 years to get an econ + EE bachelors degree from columbia 2 years to get a masters in EE 2 years for MBA

Looking at Bessmer Venture partners, http://www.bvp.com/about/team.asp, I see about a 70/30 spread of people with BA's, and people with BS's. Only one out of the five managing partners has an engineering degree.

The industry expertise was probably acquired during their stint as some sort of research analyst.

I'm doing an masters in mechanical engineering at the moment (graduate 2008). I've got two summers experience in m&a within a large utility company, and I'm now going to work for an Ibank in London. How relevant is my engineering degree towards tech banking and then (in the future) VC?

I'd assumed that my degree will be worthless without actual industry experience.

I have a friend from Penn who only majored in Econ and isn't very "techy" that got into tech banking on the west coast

Studying economics at an Ivy League university is always looked upon well in my opinion. Sternfox's comment, "economics degree is almost useless" is absolutely wrong. While you won't learn the financial and accounting knowledge you will need with such a degree, many analysts in ib study econ especially at the more prestigious universities such as Columbia where a degree in "finance" or business does not exist. Honestly, "Get a degree in CPA accounting/finance/information systems." Get a degree in info sys from Columbia over Econ? Are you kidding me? I know the kid wants to go into the technology sector, but nobody studies a bs major like that at somewhere like Columbia

One guy in my SA class is a history major. If you can get a bank to believe you're good enough and you have skills they want, it shouldn't really matter. Obviously, some majors might give you a few more chances, but it's about YOU (and not your major) at the end of the day.

I'm a junior at a small liberal arts college majoring in economics (minor in math) and I have a summer internship @ a bulge bracket out in the West Coast. The interns I'm working with aren't particularly "techy-y" either.

Stick to your strengths- If you're good at engineering, then by all means do it! But otherwise, be good at what you do and you can get the necessary tech experience on the job.

PS - My bf is a tech lawyer and has a degree in EE and has said that it hasn't helped him at all.

Do Finance since it's a lot easier than Engineering, but then again, I went to PENN and even a History major with a good GPA has a shot.

Related to the West Coast thing, they tend to look at a bit more experience (definitely helps if you put in your 2 years at a BB). Then again, a good degree from Columbia and relevant internships negate staying an extra year. Hope this helps.

Listen... Economics is very respectable from an Ivy League school. First off, anyone who means anything in this business likely went to a good school, and will respect the thought process a degree like Economics offers. Studying Finance/Business/Accounting in college is really a joke, and is reserved for people who went to Berkeley.

I studied Economics at Harvard with a very average GPA, and now am banking in the tech group of top 3 bank in San Francisco. Anyone who tells you otherwise has nothing on me. Study Economics...get a decent GPA and enjoy college.

*truth

eh...

Not everyone goes to the Ivy league. Studying econ at a non-ivy school is mostly a waste.

Very few NYU econ majors, for instance, get banking positions.

I would disagree, for someone who's completed half an econ major (like every other business school student), economics is easier and far less relevant than finance and accountancy.

NYU is not much of a role model. It's only redeeming fact is that it is actually in New York; sorry sternfox.

By and large, studying econ at a top school is a signalling factor (especially b/c a lot of these schools don't have specific undergrad finance majors). Also econ is a great degree for those who plan on getting an MBA, so don't want to study business as an undergrad but want to get into business (if that makes sense).

There are definitely some econ classes that are not easy at all; in quite a few schools, economics is definitely harder than finance (when finance is offered). B-school econ is a total joke (supply and demand for 4 semesters) but the higher levels definitely require some thought.

Most of the people that visit this site are not from a top five ivy league school.

There are literally tons of jobless econ majors from tier 1 schools all across the country, let alone in banking.

Economics is difficult from the master's to phd level. But so is finance.

But from the elementary undergrad level it's an easy joke major. Intermediate macroecon, econometrics... not exactly a challenge, is it? Not very relevant, either.

and considering that there are courses in finance called "Investment banking", "Futures and Options", "Risk management", etc............

Who wants to do tech banking anyways? You will not get the modeling experience (on average) necessary for a top PE/HF exit, and don't kid yourself, as an analyst/associate you will have absolutely no hand in the development of new technology. I-bankers are transaction-based, no time to learn company specific technology. Lord knows you don't need an EE degree to do tech banking, because some of the biggest shitheads I know do tech banking with bullshit degrees. Unless you are in an elite tech group, aim for something where you will have more heavy lifting with the financial analysis.

The EE degree comment is referring to Venture Capital.

Ok. VC is a hard nut to crack. After your analyst stint you can go model IRR on VC deals and track monthly financials on portfolio companies all day, but it will get old quick. If you want to do substantive analysis on the value proposition, an advanced degree and/or a prior executive role with a relevant and successful venture-backed firm is almost enough to get your foot in the door.

My $.02 - screw the economics degree. Econ classes are pieces of cake compared to EE classes. Take some electives in economics and finance, point that out on your resume. Don't pay an extra $45k to get a second bachelors degree (assuming a BA in econ and a BS in EE). EE undergrad + MBA will be plenty for what you want to do.