<p>How common is it for a person with a BS engineering degree to get a job in banking or finance or a related field? Does an MBA help? GPA? Communication skills? Any thoughts on this path would be appreciated.</p>
<p>It really depends on the school. At Penn, 25% of Engineering BSE graduates go into Financial services, as opposed to 24% for Engineering jobs. By Industry, the number that went into the Financial industry is 31%. Investment banking is actually quite popular in Penn Engineering, probably due to the influence of Wharton on campus.</p>
<p>At the top engineering schools, it is quite common for engineers to end up in banking. Plenty of MIT and Stanford engineers, for example, take investment banking jobs.</p>
<p>This is what I plan to do...if I get into one of the two LAC's I applied to I might even do physics and then do this (or maybe a 3-2 physics + engineering)</p>
<p>I might even just switch to Econ if I decide I don't want to do engineering or physics (although I feel I am a great match for engi). I'm sure you care about that though :)</p>
<p>Why do so many people end up in non-engineering jobs?</p>
<p>Well the number of engineering majors who end up in engineering jobs is certainly more than the number of hummanities majors who end up in a their field. But you're right, that it's not that high of a percentage, but its still higher than any other major except Business or maybe Nursing. </p>
<p>At Penn, a huge reason why many Engineers end up in buisness is because of Wharton and many people who come here are well rounded and business oriented. I guess for Penn in particular, the data may be skewed because there're alot of Wharton-engineering dual degrees. I can't speak for any other school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses everybody. I just have one more question: What about GPA when getting jobs? Don't engineers tend to have lower GPA's than business/liberal arts? Are they able to compensate with their quantitative and analytical skills? Also, experience? What kind of job experience should you have? Over here, they emphasize research for engineers. I don't think that would help in banking, haha.</p>
<p>I thought I was the only person who wanted to do Engineering -> Finance/Business :D</p>
<p>Nope. The fight towards wall street is tough and you're not alone, even among engineers. </p>
<p>vpt, Employers will compensate for the low GPAs. However, med school and law schools won't.</p>
<p>For those of you who are considering this path (Engineering -> Finance), what engineering degrees are you pursuing (Mech/EE/etc)?
Which engin field would be the best for going into finance?</p>
<p>Im applying to jerome fisher at Upenn! Mech Engineering and Sumthing in business, dont know yet! It really doesnt matter which Eng you do! Pick the one that will suit you best!</p>
<p>If I had to guess I'd say that industrial/OR/systems would be the engineering degrees most suited for finance, but don't quote me on that.</p>