Engineering Majors Going into I-banking -- Fact or Fiction?

Career Opportunities & Internships Investment Banking
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<p>I've heard a lot of anecdotal evidence on this forum and elsewhere that Wall Street banks, consulting companies, etc. routinely recruit engineering students because of their technical backgrounds that require a lot of math skills, etc.</p>

<p>Is that really what happens? Now, I'm aware that many people end up doing work that has nothing to do with their college major, but do students really major in engineering and learn about circuit design, mechanical stress testing, etc. so they can analyze stock indices and be salesmen?</p>

<p>Do engineering students at top-15 schools have any advantage over students who just major in business or perhaps economics? Or sociology or history with a business certificate?</p>

<p>Another question: What about at lower tier schools like UF, U Washington, etc.? Do engineering students there not have the same advantage compared with business students at the respective institutions?</p>

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<p>The short answer is yes, engineers do often become investment bankers, although many do not start off majoring in the field to do so - more likely, they become interested as a rising junior, soph, etc, and then work to see if they can make their way in. Next, IB is a sales job for sure, but it is not just about analyzing a stock index, but rather, different markets, industries, products, management structures and teams, debt markets, capital markets, and so forth - engineers can have an advantage when it comes to IB if they are interested in industry groups within IB such as Tech or Industrial growth, since they have an assumed expertise in the field, or at the least, in a very related field. </p>

<p>For top 15 schools, engineers don’t really have an advantage, unless, perhaps, they are applying to tech boutiques specifically - otherwise, all majors of Target schools are on a pretty equal playing field.</p>

<p>For lower, non-target schools, I recommend that you major in something math related, whether math, engineering, finance, accounting, etc, but also, regardless of major, try to take a few business courses and join an IB school club or the like to really demonstrate your interest in the field and the profession.</p>

<p>If you have any other questions, PM me. </p>

<p>IBanker</p>

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<p>I’m an engineering major and going into banking next year. It’s fairly common, but engineers definitely do not have any sort of advantage in the recruiting process. In fact, I would say they’re at a disadvantage because 1) they have to learn finance and accounting on their own, as opposed to econ majors who can learn it through their classes, and 2) you have to constantly be able to explain why you’re interested in going into banking from a non-traditional major. </p>

<p>Nobody I know chose to major in engineering because they thought it would give them an advantage for banking recruiting. They all chose their major based on genuine academic interest, and decided on banking as a career later on in school. My general advice to major in whatever’s most interesting to you academically. Banks don’t care what you major in, as long as you do well.</p>

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<ol>
<li>no one questions your work ethic.</li>
<li>you’re more interesting at recruiting sessions since you’re the only (or count on 1 hand) non- econ/bus major. </li>
<li>courseload won’t be a problem. multiple directors told me all i needed was one accounting class. two of them were alumni and they even told me the course number.</li>
<li>even if you can’t get in out of undergrad, you’d be making base equal base pay for half the hours doing engineering (or more at BP/microsoft), and it’s easier for engineers to go into b-school at which time you can switch careers.</li>
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