Undergrad majors for Investment Banking
Hey guys, I got accepted into NYU Stern in December and i am not sure what i should major in once i go to university. I know it might be too soon to think about majors but i like to plan ahead and work towards it. I will be majoring in Finance but i dont know if i should double major or not. Here are my doubts -
Does double majoring give me an edge when it comes to getting a top job?
Are recruiters aware that maintaining a high GPA will be hard if i double major?
If i do double major, what should i do it in? I was thinking of Math although i am not that great i still manage to get the highest grade in IB Math HL, I know i cant compare high school math to college level math, but i guess i should be able to handle math in college to some extent. Will majoring in Math help me get a great job? Other options i am considering are Law and Accounting. But since i haven't done anything in these fields in school i cant really say anything about them.
What do you guys think i should do? What majors will help me become more competitive to get the top jobs and to be a competent banker?
Don't major in math if you aren't really good at math/really interested in math (coming from someone who made that mistake).
Don't double major if you think it will significantly hurt your GPA.
Don't do a second major/minor in something you won't genuinely enjoy.
Double majoring is such a waste. I was a Math/Econ double major, and switched to just Econ when I realized that I want to be in IBD, not S&T.
I'm in charge of recruiting SA and Analysts, and the only thing I care about is your GPA/SAT. Ceteris paribus, if it comes down to a Finance major with a 3.9, and a STEM quadruple major with a 3.1, I would pick the former.
Although, once you get a few internships under your belt, I would pick whichever candidate has the most relevant experience, and by then GPA/SAT takes a back-seat.
I can't speak for Accounting, but you don't need to do anything special for Law School. Just keep a 3.9-4.0 GPA, ace the LSAT, have a good "why I want to be a lawyer" story, and you'll be golden.
Conclusion: If you want IBD, forget about Math, and just major in Finance. More importantly, enjoy yourself in college. You live but once.
One sentence summary: Major in econ or finance and stay above a 3.5.
Best major at UW (Washington) for I-banking? (Originally Posted: 05/29/2012)
What would be the best major (or double major) at University of Washington? People have told me that it would be best to major in CS with a double in finance or economics. What are your thoughts? Thanks!
transfer
CS and finance is definitely the best. However, the CS program is one of the best in the nation and near impossible to get into without perfect grades. But if you do get in, CS+Finance is a very potent mix.
CS at UDub is internationally known, you will be fine if you can graduate from that program.
Transfer
Try to get into any sort of investing club they may have. This can help pave roads to networking opportunities or internships. Plus you will meet like-minded students and alumni who can help you.
What should I major in besides Economics to get a job in investment banking? (Originally Posted: 11/27/2012)
I aspire to be a proprietary trader some day. I need some advice on how to get their from you guys
Maybe add a math or computer science major? Being able to program would be very useful.
Learn the difference between investment banking, S&T and prop trading and then we can talk.
Good point.
For trading, add math, CS, or statistics.
math, stats, engineering, and maybe some CS.
Ditto with all of the above, it's getting harder and harder to find a job in prop trading without some type of quant background.
Math and/or CS.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/business/new-technology-and-tougher-r…-trading.html
Agree with all of the above. Are you thinking HF trader (on one extreme) or HFT on the other? If you want to go into HFT, focus on stats, CS, and game theory. I'm assuming a trader at a hedge-fund would benefit more from macro-econ, finance, and stats. CS competency might be useful, but less important.
I-Banking and college major (Originally Posted: 05/10/2010)
Hi
I will be a freshman at Cornell next fall 2010. currently, I'm thinking about double majoring in econ (for I-banking obviously) and math (just in case the economy is still shitty).
For I-banking or any jobs in the finance sector, does the major at the college matter that much as long as it is econ-related? Right now I'm thinking of switching out to AEM and double major AEM with math. Is it worth the effort to try to transfer to AEM? Does AEM give a sizable advantage over majoring in econ?
Thanks!!
T
wtf is AEM? Obviously it helps to have finance or econ as a major for IBD, and a double major with good GPA shows that you're a hard worker. If you can double major it's obviously preferable to a single major.
A Finance degree is better than an Econ degree for banking. Did you get this from Liar's Poker? That book was written several decades ago.
Applied Econ and Management, a buddy of mine graduated from that program in 2005. I'd say its a good choice for a prospective investment banker.
Edit: I don't think that Cornell offers a finance major at undergrad, in that case take the closest thing to it. quite a few Ivy's don't do undergrad business e.g (Harvard, Princeton..)
AEM = cheapened business degree i hear. If you have any pride in yourself as a non-tool intellectual i would do some good old A&S. Dont personally know firsthand just what i hear.
Econ and Math is great way to go. You'll have great career flexibility moving forward with that. In retrospect, I wish I had done that. Just make sure you learn basic Financial jargon when you prepare for ib interviews.
Thanks you guys for your response!
I don't think there is really a business/finance major at Cornell so Econ's hitting it pretty close. Besides, I can go to grad school and major in something finance-y.
Major isn't very important. GPA is what matters most.
Also econ is not very relevant at all to banking. If you don't find the subject interesting, you shouldn't do it.
If you crush your math major, you will be in excellent shape; demonstrated quant strength is always a strong plus.
First, LOL at the economy being shitty. What a joke.
Second, the only reason adding an econ or math to your existing major would make a difference (for banking recruiting) is if your existing major is Comparative Lit or something stupid like that. Even then... there are plenty of kids from good schools, high GPAs and bullshit majors that get interviews.
The better major of these two for investment banking... (Originally Posted: 12/07/2012)
So currently on the business school and still not sure which major should i pursue(finance or accounting) for a career in investment banking, the thing is i'll probably be doing a masters in finance after i get my undergraduate degree so is it better that i major with a concentration on accounting now and the finance masters will teach me all i need to know about the finance world/field so i would have both accounting/finance knowledge or should i major with a concentration in finance because i wouldn't need the accounting knowledge
will it lhelp having that advanced accounting knowledge for investment banking or it won't really matter?
thanks for any input.
Why would you get an MSF if you have an opportunity to do an undergrad degree in finance and save the $? Do you need a better brand or something? Why not double major in accounting and finance?
To answer your question, advanced accounting knowledge is helpful, but it doesn't really matter.
The thing is i'm thinking that having accounting knowledge might be helpful practically and on the resume as it might open more doors for me having that extra accounting skills, so getting an undergraduate in accounting then a masters in finance might be a good thing, the reason about not doing a double major is i'm unsure if my university allows this or not, i haven't asked yet about it so if thats possible i will probably do a double major but i thought i should get some insight about the situation from here first. but just in case i can't double major i just wanna make sure that an accounting major won't hurt me instead of helping to get into this field. thanks.
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