<p>The title basically says it. Is finance pointless to get a degree in if you don't go to a Wharton-like school or have amazing connections, especially compared to accounting? I think that I want to go into a corporate finance role within a large company, so do you think a degree in finance or accounting is better suited for that? If I do pursue accounting, is taking some finance classes enough to demonstrate a passion for a role in industry, or what do I have to do to prove that I don't want to do public accounting?</p>
<p>Its probably riskier in that if you don’t stay on top of stuff, get involved, get a high GPA, then its MUCH harder to find a job relative to accounting. But I don’t think its as bad as people here make it sound like it is. Yeah, you might not work at McKinsey or Blackstone, but there’s always commercial banks, F500 companies, etc. that will take people with either finance or accounting backgrounds.</p>
<p>Because taxguy barely admits to minoring into it. He mentions his econ minor more often, that should tell you something. On the other hand, he capitalizes Physics as if it’s a proper noun…</p>
<p>Finance is definitely a major where undergrad ranking matters more than most, but I think that, at an average university, finance would be more worthwhile than the average major. Everything is relative.</p>
<p>Think about it. A finance major at average U will probably have a much easier time finding a job and it will probably pay a bit better than if he had a classics major at average U. Of course the finance major at a top 10 finance program will be in a much better position, but so would the classics major at Harvard.</p>
<p>My point is that program strength should definitely not be overlooked, but if you want to major in finance, you should go ahead and do so, because it’s still generally a lot more worthwhile than most majors.</p>
<p>Anyone who says finance is worthless unless you come from a top school has no idea of what they’re talking about and has been sipping a little too much of the CC kool-aid. I know two people that went to a very small, unknown college that is known around my hometown as being the party school that no one takes seriously. They both came out of college with finance degrees and high GPAs. The one kid got offered a six figure salary to be a financial planner in DC and the other became a branch manager of a major bank in Baltimore. Needless to say they are both doing very well for themselves just a couple years out of school thanks to their “worthless” finance degrees.</p>
<p>^your post is just as equally kool-aid compared to other posts. Your citing anecdotal evidence, which is impossible to verify, and if it is true, it isn’t necessarily the norm. You suggest they partied for 4 years at some hokey local college and are easily making 6-figures. Does that make any sense at all? Is that the norm? More than likely, they are outliers.</p>
<p>rankings are obviously not the most important in finance/business jobs outside of wall street, but for the banks that operate in and around wall street, rankings are a considerable weight because they want to make sure they have qualified workers from reputable schools that have given them smart people in the past.</p>
<p>Peoples for god sakes, don’t just swallow everything anyone says on CC. Its really important to consider everything everyone says very carefully. Your own intelligent judgement and common sense are the things you should trust.</p>
<p>Skittles is exactly right. While a finance degree from a school outside the Top 25 might not lead straight to Wall Street, it will help getting a job at regional Ibanks, commercial banks, major companies in corp fin etc,. accounting consulting firms and the like. Much better than the average History major from the same school lucky to get into a sales training job.</p>
<p>I didn’t say they were slackers, just that the school they went to was less than reputable. They worked hard and did well, and were rewarded for it. Whether or not it’s the norm isn’t the point, the point is whether or not finance is useless at a lower tier school. Too many people on this forum act like you are going to be living below the poverty line unless you attend Wharton or Harvard. It’s true that you may not end up as an investment banker on Wall Street straight out of college (and I’m not sure you would want to be right now) from a lower tier school, but that doesn’t mean the degree is worthless. Financial analyst/planning positions are expected to grow in the next few years, and both of those jobs traditionally pay well. You can also go into other areas of business with a finance degree such as management or sales/marketing. If you follow the logic of some of the people on this forum, you might as well not even go to college unless you’re majoring in CS, engineering, or accounting.</p>