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PPE at Oxford vs economics/maths at Cambridge

If I wanted to go into investment banking, which of these courses would be best for me? I am really interested in all of them, and am really not looking forward to having to make this decision if I apply to Oxbridge :frown:

I've heard the reputation for PPE at Oxford is extremely high, but then again, the reputation for maths and economics is also extremely high at Cambridge :eek:

Any help?
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 1
Choose the course you'd do best at. The reputation won't matter if you come out with a 2.2 or a 3rd. All three courses are excellent and other factors will be much more important than choosing between those courses.
Original post by BBeyond
If I wanted to go into investment banking, which of these courses would be best for me? I am really interested in all of them, and am really not looking forward to having to make this decision if I apply to Oxbridge :frown:

I've heard the reputation for PPE at Oxford is extremely high, but then again, the reputation for maths and economics is also extremely high at Cambridge :eek:

Any help?


They are all totally different courses, covering very different content and with different proficiencies necessary to perform well on them. Those should be the first and main considerations to take into account when making your decision.

With regards to jobs: all 3 will give you a good chance to become an 'investment banker'; within that broad classification, however, it depends on what area of banking you want to go into. If you want to work in M&A, for example, PPE or Economics will likely stand you in slightly better stead than Maths (though it is absolutely possible to work in M&A with a maths degree). If you want to be a trader, Maths or Economics are the better choices; not many traders I've met are PPE grads - those from Oxford tend to come either from Maths/Physics backgrounds or have done Economics & Management rather than PPE. If you want to be a quant or an exotic derivatives trader, Maths is the only realistic option.
Reply 3
Original post by ClickItBack
They are all totally different courses, covering very different content and with different proficiencies necessary to perform well on them. Those should be the first and main considerations to take into account when making your decision.

With regards to jobs: all 3 will give you a good chance to become an 'investment banker'; within that broad classification, however, it depends on what area of banking you want to go into. If you want to work in M&A, for example, PPE or Economics will likely stand you in slightly better stead than Maths (though it is absolutely possible to work in M&A with a maths degree). If you want to be a trader, Maths or Economics are the better choices; not many traders I've met are PPE grads - those from Oxford tend to come either from Maths/Physics backgrounds or have done Economics & Management rather than PPE. If you want to be a quant or an exotic derivatives trader, Maths is the only realistic option.


Thank you for the detailed answer! Looks like I'm probably going to do either maths or economics now. I did a bit of research on quants and the job seemed very interesting, but apparently they are undervalued/appreciated? Is this true or is this just nonsense I've read? I couldn't find very much information on exotic derivatives traders... Would you mind going into a bit of detail as to what this job involves?

Thanks again.
Reply 4
Original post by BBeyond
If I wanted to go into investment banking, which of these courses would be best for me? I am really interested in all of them, and am really not looking forward to having to make this decision if I apply to Oxbridge :frown:

I've heard the reputation for PPE at Oxford is extremely high, but then again, the reputation for maths and economics is also extremely high at Cambridge :eek:

Any help?


As someone who is doing PPE and trying to get into IB, I advise taking Economics & Management to maximize your chances :P

PPE is more interesting, but doing Economics & Management shows you're more serious about a career in Finance, and actually teaches you relevant stuff like valuation etc. Economics & Management is actually Economics, Finance & Management, not sure why they leave off the Finance.

PPE, Maths, and Economics are all totally unrelated to IB, so do what you're interested in. Regardless of what degree you do (Classics, Philosophy, whatever), if you're at Oxbridge you will get interviews for IB. It will still be very competitive from that point on though.

(IB = M&A, capital markets, restructuring etc. and not Sales & Trading)
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by pahoeho
As someone who is doing PPE and trying to get into IB, I advise taking Economics & Management to maximize your chances :P

PPE is more interesting, but doing Economics & Management shows you're more serious about a career in Finance, and actually teaches you relevant stuff like valuation etc. Economics & Management is actually Economics, Finance & Management, not sure why they leave off the Finance.

PPE, Maths, and Economics are all totally unrelated to IB, so do what you're interested in. Regardless of what degree you do (Classics, Philosophy, whatever), if you're at Oxbridge you will get interviews for IB. It will still be very competitive from that point on though.

(IB = M&A, capital markets, restructuring etc. and not Sales & Trading)


Maths and Economics are 'totally unrelated' to IB? Um... what?
Reply 6
Original post by anonwinner
Maths and Economics are 'totally unrelated' to IB? Um... what?

Knowledge-wise yes, completely unrelated.. Related in that it proves you have numerical abilities.
Original post by BBeyond
Thank you for the detailed answer! Looks like I'm probably going to do either maths or economics now. I did a bit of research on quants and the job seemed very interesting, but apparently they are undervalued/appreciated? Is this true or is this just nonsense I've read? I couldn't find very much information on exotic derivatives traders... Would you mind going into a bit of detail as to what this job involves?

Thanks again.


It depends on what you mean by 'undervalued/appreciated'. The only sensible way to measure that is in how much they earn. By that measure, FO quants will typically outearn traders at the beginning of their careers and will take home healthy paychecks throughout - however, unless they are in a role which directly generates revenue, they won't be paid as much as the top traders/salespeople on the floor. Note that 'quant' is a broad term that varies from bank to bank and within bank as well, and that also has a bearing on pay prospects.

For a more subjective outlook, I've chatted to some senior quants who have said that they feel trading is a better place to be for myriad reasons (in brief: quants typically 'work for' traders, they usually have less internal power than senior traders, the work you do is slightly less self-directed), but there's always an element of the grass being greener imo - and they weren't hugely dissatisfied with their own careers.

'Exotic derivatives traders' is just a way of referring to people who trade highly complex, sometimes structured, products. Because they're complicated to price and model, a Maths/Physics/Engineering background is usually a prerequisite to handling those products. The typical such product will have exposure to more than a single underlying, or will have that exposure in a highly non-linear relationship, so a solid grasp of multivariable calculus is the absolute minimum requirement. Typically, you can get onto these desks with a Masters - sometimes even a Bachelors - whereas to be a quant, you will generally - though not always - require a PhD.
Original post by pahoeho
Knowledge-wise yes, completely unrelated.. Related in that it proves you have numerical abilities.


So then you could say maths is 'completely unrelated' to everything, unless you want to be a maths professor... Your logic is ridiculous.
Reply 9
Original post by anonwinner
So then you could say maths is 'completely unrelated' to everything, unless you want to be a maths professor... Your logic is ridiculous.


There are definitely careers where maths is directly relevant (perhaps sectors in banks where you do quantitative analysis or advanced modeling), but IB (specifically referring to M&A, debt/equity markets, leveraged finance) is not one of them.

Obviously doing maths and economics marks you out as someone who potentially has the ability to do the job (because maths is difficult and they are looking for intelligent people). I don't think its that ridiculous to say its completely unrelated referring to the day to day job. There's also a misconception that economics will help you when nothing you learn in economics helps you either.

If you get an interview for IB and do maths or economics you will have to attain all your knowledge of technicals - valuation and accounting, either online or in a separate textbook.

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