<p>Xerox, you do not need to double major to go into Investment Banking and there isn't one way to get a good position with an IB. Of course, going to Wharton, Stern, Ross or Sloan and majoring in Finance obviously increases your chances. But you can major in any field at any top university and get a job with an IB upon graduation, provided you plan ahead and take initiative.</p>
<p>Just make sure you get a good internship your junior year summer and you should be set.</p>
<p>Going to Wharton or Stern will help land those internships/build connections.</p>
<p>If you did not go to a top university, is there any hope getting a good position in Investment Banking? </p>
<p>You say any major can go into investment banking, but wouldn't they lack the investment/financial knowledge for the position? If thats the case, then couldn't people straight out of high school go into I-banking?</p>
<p>And is it possible to land those internships/build connections if you didn't go to Wharton, Stern, Harvard, or MIT?</p>
<p>IBs recruit primrily at top universities, regardless of major. There is no such thing as an "investment" major. As you start learning about the way IBs work, you will realize that there is very little university can do to train you for the field. Sure classes in Math, Economics and Finance help, but they are not a real window into the world of IB. When you interview with an IB, they do not really ask you many questions about finance. They care more about presence, reasoning skills and stamina (IBankers work roughly 80-100 hours/week). The IBs will train their new recruits on the more technical aspects of the business.</p>
<p>And no, one does not have to go to Wharton, Stern, Harvard or MIT to land a good job at a good IB. Princeton, Yale and Stanford will do nicely. So would Chicago, Cal and Brown. And Duke, Michigan and Northwestern. Georgetown, Amherst and Williams can also get it done. As can Haverford, Swarthmore and UVA. And Cornell, Columbia and Dartmouth. I am pretty sure Carnegie Mellon, Rice and johns Hopkins are also popular hunting grounds. But once you leave the elite universities, it gets a lot harder to land a job with top IBs. Most major IBs recruit directly from the unversity campus...and they only bother going to elite campuses. Students at non-elite universities have to take the initiative...and connections never hurt.</p>
<p>What about University of Massachusetts-Boston, Wentworth Institute of Technology, or Suffolk University? Do any of the top IB bother going there to recruit?</p>
<p>And if you don't get into any elite universities, can you go to the elite campus when they're recruiting? Why does the school you go to make you a better I-banker?</p>
<p>Zerox, UMass, WIT and Suffolk are all fine schools, but IBs do not recruit there...at least, not that I am aware of. IBs, like most companies, have limited resources they can allocate to university recruiting, so they focus on target, "strategic" campuses.</p>
<p>You can obviously go to College fairs at nearby elite universities, but you will not be able to get on their interview schedules on those campuses. </p>
<p>This said, if you take the initiative, have a shot at an Investment Bank. But it will be an uphill battle.</p>
<p>And the school you go to does not make you a better IBanker... but things are as such that top companies have very few spots availlable for college graduates each year and they can pretty much focus on top universities.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. You seemed to know alot about IB. Are you by any chance an IB?</p>
<p>And I know you said the major does not matter... but how many pharmacy majors become IB? I heard that alot of engineers, business majors go into IB. </p>
<p>Because I don't think I really want to be an engineer except in management and would majoring in pharmacy hurt my chances of getting into IB? Thats because I think I could become a pharmacist and still make a good money if IB don't work out.</p>
<p>Pharmacy is not an undergrad major. It's a 4-year professional program that requires a minimum of 2 years of pre-pharmacy courses, and many students have a bachelor's degree.</p>
<p>Zerox, like Imblue said, Pharmacy is a 6 year program. However, a degree in pharmacy can actually be extremely attractive to IBs if you mix it with some math, econ, finance, management and accounting classes. Do you have any idea how huge the pharmaceutical industry is? A person with a degree in Pharmacy and a good grip on buisiness theory could be of great interest to IBs.</p>
<p>is the path to business success better achieved through a top undergraduate business school or a top undergraduate engineering school (with maybe a minor in econ or somethin)?</p>
<p>If there was an answer to such a question, we'd all be taking that path! LOL I hope one lesson you all learn on this forum is that there is no "best" way.</p>
<p>The school(Northeastern University) I'm considering has a six year pharmacy program. And their engineering program is five years long because of co-op. So I figured its one more year and I could get a pharmD degree instead of a BS in engineering. And I figured I could always be a pharmacist if my plans for IB don't work out..</p>
<p>Would you say the degree in pharmacy would make me more or less attractive to IBs than a degree in engineering?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Zerox, Northweastern is certainly respected by companies accross the board. Its Pharmacy school is highly regarded. Major in either Engineering or Pharmacy at Northeastern and you will do well. I recommend you major in whichever field you prefer. No matter what, take the initiative and you will see doors open.</p>
<p>Thanks, I wonder how does Northeastern compare to Northwestern?</p>
<p>Alexandre I don't think you should take ZeroX seriously.</p>
<p>amrik, you seem to be hating... stop being racist man.. i'm just trying to research the different majors.</p>
<p>i'm sorry zerox, u cannot go into investment banking with an engineering degree. in fact, engineering degrees are worthless. think about it, all u do in engineering is learn how to make paper cups and how to design the chairs that other people sit on. If you want to make money, and a lot of fortune 2000 CEOs are like this, start on ebay, start making your own computer and sell them, u don't even need to know about computers. Sell all the computers u make including the one u are using now, and then u can pickup a guide to C++ and computer graphics and just make the best computer games out there. I assure you that companies like Eclectic Ads (EA) will buy any good product from you. (major bucks, probably more than an engineer will ever make)</p>
<p>the only person providing good advice here is Alexandre...</p>
<p>jeffl, if ur gonna write a paragraph, at least make it funny.</p>
<p>"amrik, you seem to be hating... stop being racist man.. i'm just trying to research the different majors."</p>
<p>Slow down there buddy. Where was I racist? Whoops, I wasn't! Stop throwing random accusations out the window. Are you always this ignorant, or are you making a special effort today?</p>