<p>How is the economics department at Duke? I'm hoping to find a job at a financial firm straight out of college, and I was wondering if Duke econ majors were pretty popular with them. </p>
<p>Specifically, does anyone have any experience with the Duke in NY program? (Duke</a> in New York)
It looks really fascinating and seems like a great opportunity. But other than what little I have heard, I know very little about Duke economics. Is it a hard? Competitive? Enjoyable, even?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I'm looking for answers to the same questions!
What I've gathered from different threads is that a Duke undergrad deg will be as competitive as any on Wall St. except maybe Wharton/Stern.</p>
<p>duke is very well represented on wall street (a little too well represented, in my opinion). when you get to be a senior it seems like nearly half the people you know have jobs at goldman sachs, morgan stanley, jp morgan, bank of america, merrill lynch, citigroup, etc. all the major firms recruit here and people with decent credentials (~>3.4) generally have no trouble getting a job. </p>
<p>check this article out:</p>
<p>I-Bank</a>, Therefore I Am - Towerview</p>
<p>"Nearly a quarter of Dukies seem to agree. A whopping 24 percent of last year's seniors graduating with a full-time job played on the bank team, equalling those heading into consulting and health careers combined. The venerable Teach for America was still the school's top employer with 28 hires, but Goldman and Citigroup merged together to acquire even more than that. Goldman has hired nearly every rising senior from its internship program full-time the last two years, promising a salary of around $70,000 per year for its I-banking crop. Deutsche Bank's feverish alumni recruiting will reel in at least 10 more of its brethren for next summer."</p>
<p>ps--you don't need to major in econ to get hired by an i-bank. i know kids who majored in public policy or even art history who are banking next year for top-10 firms.</p>
<p>y'know i have absolutely no problem with those figures. sounds wonderful</p>
<p>hopefully the plummeting market won't make them reconsider their hiring practices..</p>
<p>great info, incollege88. Thank you.
My friend who is doing econ at Duke has also told me before that Duke students are very popular among financial firms and whatnot, being able to compete against students from HYPS, Wharton, and Stern. I am trying to decide between Stern and Duke right now, and a pretty important aspect to me is job placement after school. </p>
<p>Also, I'm aware that firms dont require you to have an econ degree. However, its really one of the only things I'm interested in learning--that and math. Would math + econ dual major be feasible? And would it be any more "wanted"?</p>
<p>Sure, the stronger your quantitive skills are, the better. I think double majoring in those two subjects would present you as a candidate with a clear and directed focus so that can only be a good thing.</p>
<p>sure, if you can do well at math here then i am sure firms find those quantitative skills desirable. however, you should know that math is going to be a lot harder here than in high school, and kids who coasted through BC with a 5 on the AP often end up with Bs and Cs on the first math classes they take here.</p>
<p>also, you should know that duke is well represented among leaders of the top financial firms on wall st. for example</p>
<p>-John Mack, (A.B. 1968), CEO of Morgan Stanley and former CEO of Credit Suisse
-the infamous Alan Schwartz, (A.B. 1972), CEO of Bear Stearns (probably have heard about him a good deal in the news lately...)
-Steven Black, (A.B. 1974), Co-CEO of JP Morgan (benefiting from the Bear Stearns collapse...)
-Roy Bostock (A.B. 1962), on the Board of Directors for Morgan Stanley and other major companies
-David M. Rubenstein (A.B. 1970), co-founder of The Carlyle Group
-John Thain, (Parent of '09) CEO of Merrill Lynch
-John Allison, (M.B.A. 1974), Chairman and CEO of BB&T
-William H. Gross (B.S. 1966), Founder and Chief Investment Officer, PIMCO, the world's largest bond fund with $641.6 billion in assets
-Robert K. Steel (A.B. 1973), Chairman of the Duke University Board of Trustees, former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs</p>
<p>If you choose to come to Duke, which you should, you will become familiar with these names, as they appear on many of the buildings around campus</p>
<p>somebody that I know at Duke, who double majors in BME and econ, told me that the econ in Duke isn't top-notch and instead of Duke, he suggested that I go to U Chicago or Northwestern... all the while I thought that Duke's econ program, though not high in rankings, was very respected in the wall street and such. I'm confused...</p>
<p>He's wrong.</p>
<p>eh...let me clear some things up about Wall Street.</p>
<p>Individual department programs are not what is most important during recruiting, it is the school's name that plays the greatest factor, and Duke places students VERY well</p>
<p>You can work on Wall Street with any major...Econ majors are not the only one placing at the BB firms from Duke or other top targets for that matter</p>
<p>P.S Duke Econ is respected for what is worth</p>