As I mentioned elsewhere, there are three econ tracks at Princeton – frat track, math track (modest amount of math), and grad track (real analysis etc) :-). I am guessing the frat track kids do the best over the long term, because they understand the game better.
DS 2024 has an IB internship in NYC this summer. He is a finance major.
The undergraduate major is not as important if a student is at an Ivy or other top school that doesn’t have a business degree. A polysci or econ major from Harvard has an easier IB path than a finance major from a non-target school. There are a number of factors: school prestige, alumni trying to help their schools’ students, family connections. They add up.
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I am just trying to stick to the original question from the OP. IMO, if you can go to a school that offers business and econ, then why limit your options? There are many pathways to finance.
We live in a bedroom community for Wall Street; some really diverse backgrounds work in that industry. The CEO of Goldman has a Poly Sci degree from Hamilton. One of our close friends made it through the 08 recession cuts at Bank of America because he was a skilled manager with an undergrad business degree in management from Rutgers. My kid is in his fourth and final round of interviews with a financial behemoth on the business administration side, not as an analyst and he is in leadership studies at Northwestern.
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Great point. I have an English literature degree from a regional state school and have had a career in real estate and banking.
I should have been more specific. The BB and EB analyst positions are the hardest to get and are dominated by the Ivys and a handful of other schools such as Georgetown, Amherst, Northwestern, Berkeley, Stanford, Vanderbilt, UVA, etc. Few students from non-target schools get those positions. If a student goes to a non-target school a specialized degree becomes much more important, especially if the business school has a good reputation and a good track record of successful placements.
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We also see being hooked in plays a significant role in getting these opportunities.
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It’s as if college applications never end
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Someone trying for an elite position should expect to have to compete to pass through multiple gateways which allow only a small percentage to pass.
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Deleted by author off topic
Yep. All else being equal, an Art History major from Yale is way more likely to land an IB position at a major bank than is a business major from University of Delaware.
Read Wall Street Oasis for every bit of minutia you’d ever want to know* about this.
*But were afraid to ask.
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Yes, second Wall Street Oasis to OP for an unvarnished, uncensored, and irreverent look at the world of finance.
WSO is helpful but if anyone is gong to the site, Keep in mind it is primarily focused on IB…not all of finance which is much broader.
If you spend enough time on CC you’ll soon forget there are other areas of finance 
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What puzzles is why this is the case. It is not necessarily the highest paying part of the industry, either in absolute terms or on a per hour basis, it probably has the worst work life balance, and the work is not interesting at least until you are 4-5 years into the industry.
I think it is because it is, along with consulting, are among the highest paying jobs for generalists. While Econ is probably the most common path for IB, there are plenty of other ones as well. They both also have outstanding exit options, and it’s very common for students entering IB after undergraduate to leave for greener pastures after finishing their two year contract.
While there are plenty of other finance roles, the other roles tend to be specialized positions, such as math for quant finance, or an actual business degree for traditional corporate finance.
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I think many parts of the buy side also have good financial outcomes if you start young, stick to your knitting, and stay at one place for a long time. With much better hours. But yes, you need to know more finance going in. Often the payoff is backloaded though.
WSO has added subforum in commercial banking, consulting, etc. Not as active but still helpful.
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There are relatively few non-quant buy side firms that hire right out of undergrad. Most want either an MBA or two years of IB.
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Plenty of other solid finance jobs. Corp development, treasury, trade, asset management etc.
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I thought large firms like Blackrock hire out of undergrad.
I know Prudential does – the asset management side of the business.
Wellington does. Bridgewater hires undergrads. Citadel fundamental HF. P72.
etc …
You can also join the broker dealer side of a bank.
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