<p>What is the best combo of double major/minors you can have as a business major. By best combo I mean best able to get a job and have learned the most about business overall.</p>
<p>I am thinking to do Finance & Accounting double major with a Computer Science minor. </p>
<p>What do you guys think is the best combo?</p>
<p>major in CS and minor in Finance
focus your energy on writing high-frequency trading algorythms</p>
<p>but if u want to study business
i dont think finance and accounting is a good combination
u already get ur fundamental accounting courses covered
by the time u start learning finance
some people might argue that a further study in accouting helps a lot
the answer is yes and no
yes because it does help looking at the details when u have in-depth knowledge in accounting
no because you have some basic skills and the reports “usually” should be clear for everyone to read.
The question is not double in accounting or not,
the question is would there be a better oprion than accounting.
Some people might do a second concentration in economics
(if econ is not part of business school, they’d get a minor in it)
these are good combinations and economics is pretty quantitative.
Three things you have to check before you make ur decision.
First, do you like acct more or econ more.
Second, which one has a better program at your school.
Third, how many students are doing the combos.
If a lot of students are doing finance/acct,
obviously finance/econ would be a good way to differentiate yourself</p>
<p>^What centerclaus said about a CS major is only applicable if you want to do quantitative stock trading, which is a dying field anyway (and you’d need a PhD). I’d not listen to that advice. Also, introductory accounting and finance, as he or she said, are good starters but not the catch-all. This is bad advice.</p>
<p>It depends on your career goals. If you want to get into marketing or human resources, I recommend marketing, management, or some "softer’ business majors. Otherwise, you chose well.</p>
<p>An accounting and finance double major would be a pretty rigorous combination, but yes, you’d learn a lot. With that combination, you’d be very qualified for any financial-related job. Another equally good combination could be economics and accounting. However, I recommend accounting as a fundamental part of financial training. If you end up not liking accounting, then don’t worry and just do an economics and finance double.</p>
<p>If you aren’t already required, I recommend taking a few introductory economics courses.</p>
<p>Also, for minor, I’d take information systems or related coursework over computer science. By information systems, I mean classes in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and some IT classes. Information systems often includes programming anyway. However, if no minor such as information systems exists at your school, computer science would be a good second choice. Basically, what I am trying to say is, a command of technology, Microsoft products, and computer systems will prove very helpful in addition to mastery of finance and accounting.</p>
<p>What do you plan to actually do for a career, or at least a career field? I could give better advice if you knew more specifically the kind of business job you plan to gain.</p>
<p>I do NOT want to do Computer Science as a major. I only suggested it as a minor because I thought having basic programming skills would be useful. Also, thanks for the input Engineerjw, I do not want to do quantitative stock trading.</p>
<p>I want to really focus in business/finance that kind of stuff. I like the accounting double major because in case I can’t find a good job in finance, if I do well in accounting, I can possibly go work for the big four --which is a nice security blanket to have. I want to first focus on finance/accounting, then possible get an MBA which would take care of the management stuff --which is why I do not want to double in finance and management. I want to start off with the technical and move towards management after a couple years and getting an MBA should fulfill that. I do not really like marketing.</p>
<p>The thing about finance and econ that I don’t like is the theoretical part of economics and how it seems more like an art than a math. Is this perception true? Like I said before, I am more numbers/math oriented which is why I think finance and accounting should work best for me, correct?</p>
<p>“Basically, what I am trying to say is, a command of technology, Microsoft products, and computer systems will prove very helpful in addition to mastery of finance and accounting.” EXACTLY. That is spot on the reason why I want to minor or take courses in something computer related. to hopefully have a CS or IS background seems very useful.</p>
<p>As for your last question, I want to become an financial analyst/consultant for the first part of my career then hopefully dive into something less life-consuming if I can muster up an MBA. Again, thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Just a note, you wouldn’t really be qualified to work for the Big Four unless you got a Masters in Accounting as well (and became a CPA). Just a bachelors in accounting is just an alternative to a finance degree with a bit more backbone.</p>
<p>About economics, well, so far I have only taken intro to micro and macro. I do agree that economics is a bit of an art, but economics is really just very analytical and “critical thinking-ey”. Economics is also highly quantitative (technically a social science, so a bit of both math and logic). There are many equations and functions of graphs. Finance and economics are both math heavy.</p>
<p>If you want to be a financial analyst, I’d recommend a major in finance or accounting with a minor in something tech related. A key to being competitive is to have accounting skills. So maybe a finance major with an accounting minor and a few computer classes or certifications thrown in. Or any combination of the three types of classes. Economics is also very valid, just not a directly related. The reason economics works is because it’s related to finance and proves you have critical thinking and learning abilities. (Not necessarily a minor in multiple things, but at least a class or two in each topic). Basically, there’s no catch-all answer. Obviously a finance major is most related to a financial analyst job, but any of the degrees you mentioned will work just fine.</p>
<p>You won’t really know what’s ideal for you until you take the intro level of each type of course. I encourage you to take a finance, accounting, and economics course early in your college career in order to asses your interest level. From there, you can excel in a chosen subject and earn the highest grades.</p>
<p>Do most accounting majors take 5 years to graduate since 150 credits are needed for the CPA?</p>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p>10 characters</p>
<p>Sorry for the late reaction, I registered here just to reply to this thread. I hope I am not to late and could help the topicstarter with my advice. </p>
<p>The thing is, I was in the same situation as TS when I had to choose what courses I would study. I really wanted to get a good job in finance, and I also considered studying accounting.
After much of talking with people in the finance field, I however decided not to study accounting at all. Instead I choose to go for a double degree in CS and Mathematics. This was the best choice I made in my life, and if you are interested in exact science and want to work in Finance I still think this is one of the best, if not the best major combo. </p>
<p>If you want to get a good job in finance (like financial analyst) I advice you not to focus on accounting at all. Almost all of my college’s studied very exact subjects. (I work for JP morgan in a quant position). Most of them have degrees in; Math, Econometrics, CS, Physics / statistics.</p>
<p>The great thing about combining CS with Math (finance /quantitative math) is that you will be able to implement advanced mahematic models as a programmer. People who are good at programming and financial math are worth gold in the finance world these days. </p>
<p>One of the posters said " What centerclaus said about a CS major is only applicable if you want to do quantitative stock trading, which is a dying field anyway (and you’d need a PhD). " Which in my opinion is really not true. The Quant field is one of the most important, fastest growing fields in finance today. Allot of fields require quant knowledge, especially HFT which is the future of investment banking. And you certainly not need a PhD to get a job in this field. (though there are allot of PhD’s in this field). </p>
<p>I do not hold a PhD and I got hired at JP right out of college. I finished my double bachelor (CS and Math) at Amsterdam University with a 8.4 average. After that I did a master in Financial Engineering and one in computational finance. My programming skills focused mainly on C++, C, Assembly, Python, and Haskell. (I advise any CS who wants to work in Finance to focus on these languages). I had almost no extra curriculum activities except for organizing seminars/bootcamps in PUA (pick up artist community) and trading privately since the age of 18. (This really helped me because it showed my genuine interest in IB.) </p>
<p>For anyone who is insterested in these subjects and wants to work in Finance, I strongly advise you to follow a path like this and stay away from accounting, “soft” economics (no math) and “Business” related studies. Most of the people who get hired here are hardcore beta types.</p>
<p>I hope my personal story will help you or people who have the same desire to work in IB/trading make the correct choices about education. </p>
<p>Feel free to ask any questions related to my work/education. </p>
<p>Bent. V.</p>