Economics or Finance? To be an Investment Banker

Sorry, let me rephrase the beginning as it may have not made sense.

I am going to apply to Uni's soon and I will be applying to Uni's that are in the top 10. I was just wondering...(now you can read previous post 😄)


Posted from TSR Mobile

The degree is largely irrelevant.

I'd focus on the targets (where 80% of the UK-contingent of the front office come from): Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick, and Imperial

Or even the semi-targets (where the rest come from): Durham, Bristol, Nottingham, Bath, KCL are the main ones. With the likes of: Birmingham, Loughborough, Edinburgh, St Andrews, rounding off the list.

If you can make it into the first group of universities, your life will be a lot easier but the upper end of the second group will suffice too. After that point, you'll struggle to get in but it is still possible.

I want to re-iterate: your degree subject will not mean anything for most IB or S&T roles (granted there is a bias for more quantitative degrees like Maths, Econ, Computer Science, Engineering on the desks that trade more complex financial products - most vanilla desks don't really mind), a recruiter will just glance over it to get to the rest of your CV - including GCSEs, A-level grades, uni grades, extracurricular activities, leadership roles etc.

My £0.02 is Finance will prepare you well for IB (M&A) interviews, as you'll have been exposed to the concepts already but it's best to choose whichever you'll enjoy more.

Looking at the courses, Finance seems better but is it "traditional" also does Imperial provide economics or finance? I couldn't find that course? Can someone link it please


Posted from TSR Mobile

No, they don't at the undergrad level. I'm just saying, those, are in general the universities that all IBs target.

What do you mean by 'traditional'? It's a course, like any other. You learn stuff that can help you when it comes to technical questions in interviews (specifically IBD/M&A), but beyond that, it's just a course.

As in, what is regarded more highly by employers, this time irrelevant of IB. In general economics or finance?


Posted from TSR Mobile

As in, what is regarded more highly by employers, this time irrelevant of IB. In general economics or finance?


Posted from TSR Mobile

First Class in Finance > 2:1 in Economics
First Class in Economics > 2:1 in Finance

Notice how the course title has no influence on how well regarded the degree is?

PYRAMIND OF INFLUENCE:

- UNIVERSITY (TARGET UNI / SEMI-TARGET)
- DEGREE GRADE (NOT SUBJECT)
- NETWORKING ABILITY
- PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE OF IB


The only time degree subject matters is when someone is doing a very pointless or non traditional degree like David Beckham studies. But you'll be hard pressed to find those types of courses in any target universities.

Hi,
I will be applying for University courses soon at Universities that are in the top 10.
I was just wondering, which would be better to do for a degree in order to become an Investment Banker? I am planning to go to a Russell Group Uni that is in the top 10. The Uni's that I am looking at are LSE, Cambridge, Oxford, Durham and Warwick.

Many Thanks


Posted from TSR Mobile

So work experience is last? From employer reviews looks like work experience is no1 and then follows the degree grade...

If you're starting off as a grad at university you'll be quite unlikely to have much 'relevant' experience unless you've gone on a few of those Year 12 / 13 schemes.

If you're starting off as a grad at university you'll be quite unlikely to have much 'relevant' experience unless you've gone on a few of those Year 12 / 13 schemes.