<p>Im a CAS student who entered the university intending to follow the pre-med track, so my freshman year was focused on science courses and research. I joined a pre-med organization and did some superficial shadowing, while mainly concentrating on my classes. I simply went through the motions and got the necessary things done, since it was easier that way. It was during this summer that I truly had the opportunity to reflect on my choices; in short, I found that I truly did not enjoy what I was doing, nor could I really see myself thriving in the careers circumstances. Coming to college, I was indecisive about majoring either in economics or following the pre-med track. Looking back, I regret trying to rush my pre-med requirements now that I want to switch to economics.</p>
<p>I am currently unsure where I would like to go with my economics degree, but I would like to look into jobs in the financial sector. However, I already see people securing internships starting from their year, especially during their first summer. My concerns are that, having come so late into the competition, Im already at a serious disadvantage in building up my resume before the end of junior year, the time I hear is best to look for employment for after graduation. I have not taken any economics or finance-related classes, and my relevant extracurriculars concern pre-med. I got a decent GPA freshman year (3.91/4) but from irrelevant classes like physics. </p>
<p>Id like to ask if its already too late for me to consider the track that Wharton students commonly take? Of course, Im in the college and want to study economics, so Im not sure if thats yet another disadvantage Ill have to deal with. If my plans are still feasible, what would you recommend me do so I can promptly get back on track?</p>
<p>You will be fine. I know a lot of people who went into finance/consulting or into a similar field who did not major in Econ. One was in political science, a few others in computer science. Since you mentioned physics, I also know quite a few physics majors who went into finance related jobs. Off the top of my head, one of the graduating seniors this year went to work for a venture capital firm, one for Wells Fargo, and one in asset management.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, Poeme. That is reassuring to know, though I’d imagine there can’t be too many people with unrelated majors who make it into the financial sector? </p>
<p>Also, would you happen to know how they built up their resumes despite having different academic focuses? I’d especially like to find out how to secure an internship. I’ve browsed these forums, and basically what I got out of the information was networking. But if my first year was spent on irrelevant courses, extracurriculars, etc. and I have no experience at all, how will I be able to effectively compete with more seasoned candidates who knew what they were doing early on?</p>
<p>Quantitative skills are valued for these sort of jobs. That’s why they like physicists. While I am not at all interested in finance, several of my friends in the physics major have taken Wharton courses such as finance 100. While many Wharton kids struggled with the math, my friends found it trivial.
I think as long as you have good grades and are involved on campus, you should be able to get a position in finance. Penn kids seem to do really well with these types of jobs (as well as in other areas such as medical/law/graduate school admissions.) There are a lot of people who start as premed/interested in grad school who change their minds and decide to go into the workforce after graduation. These students get internships through various methods. Many do OCR (it is open to everyone). It is not too late to change your mind after freshman year. In your situation, I think it is much easier to go from being pre-med to interested in Econ/finance than the other way around.</p>
<p>Alright, it looks like I will switch to studying economics. I can see how quantitative skills are valued even from subjects as distant from finance as physics, but would you say I ought to also take a few Wharton classes to also build more direct background? As of now, I am registered for an econ class, stat101, and may take math240 for a math minor. However, I am considering replacing math240 with acct101 to get the prerequisites for other Wharton classes out of the way.</p>
<p>As for networking, I know of the career fair in the fall and that joining finance clubs are also a good way to get in touch with recruiters. I’d like to hit the ground running as soon as I start sophomore year, but would it be possible for me to find an internship during the school year? I’ve only heard of summer internships, but a friend who interned at a Philadelphia bank this summer said something about continuing her work in the fall… although, I’m not sure if this is too late at this point in July, and whether my science-dominated background is pretty jarring on an application.</p>
<p>I hope you don’t mind my inundation of questions; I would like to make up my mind in time for the new school year and am awaiting responses from alumni I also recently contacted for advice.</p>
<p>My overarching concern, in essence, is that I may not be able to compete with other Penn (Wharton) students who got started a lot sooner than me.</p>
<p>It’s not a zero-sum game, at least not at the level of you and your classmates. Thousands and thousands of students get hired every year for financial industry jobs. The industry is voracious. Of course, lots of students want those jobs, too, and not everyone who wants one gets one. But your success does not mean failure for some other Penn student, and their success doesn’t doom you. There’s room at the table for as many of you as qualify. </p>
<p>Be interesting, be the kind of person who gets things done and works well with others, and learn as much math as you can. That’s pretty much it. You don’t need to major in Economics, and you don’t need to be networking as a freshman. You are lucky enough to be at a college where you won’t have to move heaven and earth to get recruiters to notice you. You just have to make yourself worth noticing.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input, JHS. When you mention that I must “be interesting” and “make myself worth noticing”, would my classes and extracurriculars have to be clearly have some connection to finance? Or is resume-building more like applying to college, where your merits could assumed from your dedication to your activities regardless of what they are?</p>
<p>As for math, I intend to perhaps pursue a math minor at the least. What would you say about taking Wharton and/or programming classes on the side, for practical background as well?</p>