What majors/minors could I combine with finance to increase my chances at getting a job in finance

I'm going to be a freshman at a non target school (university of Maryland college park) and I wanted to major in finance. after browsing reddit( financial career subreddit) and WSO I saw discussions stating that getting a degree in finance from a non major is useless and is only valued at Targets/semi targets. Is this true? If so, what majors/minors should I combine with finance to increase my chances at getting a good/decent job in corporate finance (corporate career)? I don't really want to work on Wall Street but would still would love to possibly have a job that can provide a upper middle class life

 

Double majoring in a STEM field would help you stand out. Additionally, if you decide against pursuing a career in finance you'll have something else to fall back to. It's definitely not necessary, and I would suggest that your focus should be GPA-oriented.

 
Best Response

Whichever major you can get the highest GPA in. That is what gets you knocked out of a resume drop. You can study anything, just show an intense interest in it, crush the GPA and tell the employer that during your junior year you realized you wanted to take you career more toward the business side though you were very interested in psychology coming into college and by the time you realized you wanted to study finance it was too late to switch. Then just take a couple really hard accounting or finance classes your junior or senior year and get As in them and take some classes on BIWS and you'll have a competitive shot assuming a decent network.

 

I'm actually trying to major in finance or Econ from the get go, I'm just wondering if a Econ (BS) major from a non target would be able to land a finance job the same as a finance major? What I'm basically saying is Econ (BS or BA) good in job prospects straight out of undergrad? I don't want to get a masters or Phd just to get my first Job

 

Yes, you are doing a second degree. The quickest options in terms of graduating with a second degree would be accounting or economics. If not doing a tech based second degree I would then do accounting as well. As others have posted one degree with a high GPA is about ideal. If you have two with a high GPA it does open more opportunities assuming they have some separate skills (is Finance and CS).

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 

Agree. Having a great GPA combined with a relevant degree (STEM/finance/econ/business) makes it much easier to get into any firm than without one. It does not guarantee a job, but makes the job search that much easier on you.

Best option: major in finance, minor in CS.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

Would majoring in economics(BS) be bad in terms of trying to get a job in finance right after undergrad? If I were to major in Econ would it be wise to double major in statistics or minor in it?

 

A double major sounds good, but usually doesn't work out that well for your GPA. If you're going for IBD, I would recommend against it, since the value-add for the effort isn't going to be that great. S&T? Works well.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

Pros of Finance Major: Easy to get over 3.8+ GPA

Cons of Finance Major: You will NOT stimulate your mind You will NOT learn anything truly useful (USEFUL ALTERNATIVES: Humanities like english or philosophy will foster logical thinking, understanding of the human condition, reading, and writing; Quantitative majors like CompSci, Math, Statistics, Engineering will foster logical thinking and are more transferable to performing in operational roles in business; Accounting(The one useful business major) will teach you how to read financial statements, understand businesses from a "numbers" perspective, and in general spot the bullshit in financial models or investment theses produced by Finance majors

Side Note: Regardless of your major in college, you should always seek other ways to "expand your horizons" and "learn practical skills". If you need your hand held through an organized curriculum in order to accomplish those 2 things, then you probably suck in general. But the aforementioned fields of study undoubtedly facilitate those 2 goals more so than does Finance. Whether or not it will be easier to get a high GPA is a different story.

Neutral: Employers will see Bachelor's in Finance on your resume and be like "meh"

 

I never understand why people try to game the system with their major. Interested in working in finance? Major in finance. Econ works too, and has a slightly more esoteric curriculum (more big picture / theoretical than vocational).

Employers who are seeking a finance candidate will see a finance major on your resume and be like, "ok cool seems qualified". Also, after you get your first job no one will ask you about what you majored in every again (unless you apply to b-school). You should minor in something you're interested in, and potentially lines up with the corp fin job you're targetting. Example, want to work in pharma? Minor in chemistry, so that way when your interviewer says "Why don't you want to do financial planning at BigPharma, Inc." You can say, "well, I've always been interested in it, hence my chem minor". Hint: This only works if you're actually interested in the thing.

UMD-College Park is fine for corporate finance rotational programs. No need to transfer if you don't have a lofty goal (IB, MBB, etc.). You'll probably do the best regionally (mid-alantic and new england), so think of a few big companies in the area you want to live in and search for alumni on linkedin.

 

Well, I was an econ major and went into IBD following undergrad. It's perceived extremely similarly, especially since a lot of top universities (LACs, a handful of ivies) don't have finance majors, they have econ majors. I paired it with math, which hurt my GPA a lot (hurt me in recruiting) but was intellectually very fulfilling and definitely shows that I'm smart. I second my recommendation of letting the minor choose you - i.e. something you're really interested in, so that can guide you in recruiting, especially in corporate finance. You could minor in CS and tell a good story about why you want to work in tech, or chem for pharma, etc. A lot of the advice on this thread is very specific to IB, which I don't think is what you're looking for. Having an EXACT pedigree matters a lot less in corporate finance.

 

I graduated from UMD.

I'd advise AGAINST taking a second major if it's going to be outside of the Smith School. (Unless you are genuinely interested and/or talented)

UMD sends a handful of kids to Front Office roles at BBs every year. They get the jobs because they are very bright kids who are good at networking, not because they triple majored in Finance/Engineering/Physics.

NOBODY does a CS + Business Major at UMD. Single Major CS students at UMD typically don't graduate in 4 years. The coursework is not similar at all. If you're going to try to do that AND Finance, you're more than likely going to fuck your GPA and not have a shot at a good career in either field.

Economics at UMD is really weak. It's not a Limited Enrollment Program like Smith, and the caliber of your professors and classmates really shows. You also will not have access to Smith Career Resources, which can easily get you hired at some kind of role at a major company. Compare it to an even more drastic version of NYU Stern vs NYU CAS.

Your best bet is to take two majors inside the Smith School. There's so much overlap in the prerequisites that unless you're planning to graduate in 3 years, it'd almost be a bad idea not to double major.

I particularly recommend:

Finance/Accounting Finance/Supply Chain Marketing/Supply Chain

If you've got a decent GPA, hiresmith pretty much guarantees you a job.

 

I'd personally pair a finance major with accounting. I think that having a strong grasp of accounting is often overlooked - it's super useful for M&A / PE based roles as well as corpfin gigs - basically, anything that requires you to model or understand what a financial statement is saying. The finance major will help for public markets-stuff. I would also maximise the GPA, and consequently pick subjects that would enable you to do that - I think both finance and accounting are doable but that's pretty subjective. I think finance wth econ also works, the econ bit will give you a macro understanding of how everything works. Whilst CS is a useful area to study given how hot fintech etc is, I'd only take it if you are confident that it won't hinder your GPA (it's possible to study things like programming outside of university as a side interest after all).

 

Just take something you're going to enjoy and that you're genuinely interested in, no employer is going to give you a job solely based off of your minor.

I took international relations as a minor and I found it to be amazingly interesting. My most favorite professor was in the poli-sci school and I took three of his classes because every day I came away with a new perspective and I apply what I learned in his classes to almost every news story I read. IR was great as a minor to teach critical thinking, something that I don't know if finance necessarily stresses.

Find something that your passionate about and do good in the classes, you've got nothing to worry about.

 

If you're considering minor in accounting, might as well double major.

If you're against double major, minor in math of CS to stand out. A minor in accounting will go you no good. It won't help get in in a bank and it won't help you get an accounting job.

I'll do what I can to help ya'll. But, the game's out there, and it's play or get played.
 

in my opinion I would say dont assume you need something like econ. I did something totally out of left field, people found it interesting. I know people with non-finance majors that perform just as well as the rest of us if not better. be aware of generalizations and weigh your options carefully.

I also say, in my opinion, that I personally dont necessarily agree that a 4.0/4.0 means jobs will be handed to you on a silver platter. that isnt the case from what I know from friends / classmates. I can also tell you first-hand that some interviewees look beyond GPA and look at your character - volunteering, your background, etc. not everything is binary, people aren't binary. GPA is very, very important but it is a single factor among a lot. those are my two cents, dont have to agree with me.

 

You don't need a minor to fill up your credits - you can just take random classes usually.

To OP, minors don't really matter unless they're interesting. If you're a finance major, minoring in economics isn't very interesting - no one cares. However, if you're a finance major and your minor is something off the beaten path like ecology, then that's interesting and might set you apart a bit. If nothing interests you, then I wouldn't go out of my way to do it though.

 

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