<p>Which is the best major for a job in finance/on Wall Street?</p>
<p>Economics</p>
<p>Economics and Mathematics</p>
<p>Ethics, Politics, and Economics</p>
<p>Another major?</p>
<p>I’d like everybody’s thoughts, but preferably current Yalies.</p>
<p>Any one of the above will prepare you well. There’s no ‘one major’ for finance, just as there isn’t one for medicine, law, or business. Any major with ‘economics’ in its name is most likely well suited to prepare you for your lucrative career at a prestigious Wall Street firm. It’s your hard work and perserverance that will determine whether or not you shall achieve the end you desire through the means you employ. :)</p>
<p>^ Totally correct. You can major in Biology and still go to Wall Street. You just need to be smart and know finance and how markets work, etc.</p>
<p>I just wanted to know which major is generally studied by those who get recruited by firms at Yale. Esp with something like banking, I hear you need more quantitative skills nowadays? The Blue Book is pretty broad on the types of things a student typically goes into from each field. I just wanted the general consensus on campus.</p>
<p>Hmm, not too sure. I’ve heard of Econ (obviously), Math, Econ & Math, and History.</p>
<p>I was also wondering (if you could answer this for me seeing as you are a current student), what the perception of EP&E is currently? what types of students usually pursue this major? I know that there are applications, but is it that selective?</p>
<p>BUMP. Thanks.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the application is like and how many people are accepted. I think it’s not as competitive as you’d think, but still somewhat competitive. 60%?</p>
<p>Perceptions - I don’t think many people “look down” upon it. It’s just like any other major. Clearly, people who pursue it are oriented towards a particular field and you can usually tell by what that person is interested in. But I don’t think that this in anyway causes people to look down upon the major.</p>
<p>If you want to work for D.E. Shaw or Renaissance Technologies or the like, you will need to be strongly quantitative. Consider a pure math major with a few side econ classes or like Econ+Comp Sci</p>
<p>EP&E good for management consulting?</p>
<p>Wow, history? Interesting. My dad was just saying to me tonight how he knows that even though I adoreeee history, I shouldn’t major in it because it’s hard to go to business school/Wall Street/whatever with that major…</p>
<p>Ok it seems no one has given you any substantial answers to your question, so I will attempt to. First off, if you want to go to Wall Street you have got to understand business and the global economy. To cut straight to the chase I would highly recommend you major in either finance/accounting/economics. Personally, my major is in finance with an investment concentration; I’m also double majoring in international studies with a concentration in global economy. When and if you make it to Wall Street you will learn very fast that the U.S. economy is not contained within our shores. We are all living in an increasingly globalized world. The U.S. economy is influenced by events occurring in the Eurozone, Japanese, Chinese markets, etc.
…and yes you can go to Wall Street with pretty much any degree (even under water basket weaving…jk), but lets be real here, finance/accounting/economics will be your surest bet for getting you there</p>
<p>The only major of the ones hokieman listed that is even offered at Yale is economics. We do not have finance/accounting majors for undergraduates. </p>
<p>Also, I hate to say it but it’s true: the whole “you must major in econ to get recruited” thing applies at a lot of schools, but not at Yale (or Princeton or Harvard). Wall Street firms recruit like crazy at Yale, and I have several friends who were history or philosophy or cognitive science majors who are now working at ibanks, hedge funds, and management consulting firms. Hell, I’m a humanities person who’s only taken one econ class during my time here (I’m now a senior) and even I’m getting contacted by business consulting firms and hedge funds.</p>
<p>The reason the recruiting process is so exhaustive at Wall Street firms is that they know no undergraduate econ/finance program is going to teach you what you need to be a good ibanker. They’ll teach you everything you need to know during your first few months; the interview process is set up so as to select those with the best critical thinking skills and quickest learning curves. </p>
<p>Conclusion: Major in whatever you want to.</p>
<p>Major in whatever you want, well whatever will yield you the highest GPA. Also be competent when it comes to math (some calculus), economics, business economics, and how markets work.</p>