<p>I've recently started researching the public policy major and I'm curious how it translates to Wall Street/investment banking. Is it a well respected major, like Economics? Or is it looked down upon like something such as sociology, philosophy, etc.? Would majoring in Public Policy hold me back from doing investment banking later on (even if I had a high GPA and were at a target school)? Let's say this was along with a minor in finance.</p>
<p>If your focus is to become and investment banker, focus on what leads you there rather than hoping what you want will lead you there. If you look, many IB jobs look for backgrounds in accounting, economics, finance, and math/stat. It is an analytic disciple and you just don’t get the same depth with a public policy degree, i.e. you get some stat, some econ and some applied poli sci. It looks like a watered-down degree to me for someone with interests in IB. Furthermore, public policy is geared towards solutions at a government level which does indeed affect the business climate but you can analyze that without a public policy degree.</p>
<p>I have seen in other posts you have an interest in English. To be honest, I would rather have an English major (or philosophy as you mentioned above) on my staff than a public policy major. Both are strong disciplines. And obviously from my above paragraphy, you can surmise that I prefer accounting, economics, finance, and math/stat to public policy. </p>
<p>You also mentioned a minor in finance. One thing to keep in mind is that it is not unusual for schools to restrict access to upper division classes (and even lower division classes) to students in the particular school or major (I have seen this particularly for business classes). So even if you did public policy or English, you may not have access to accounting and finance classes which really one needs in the IB arena.</p>
<p>Is public policy actually considered a business major? Maybe at some schools… my D was a double major in it at her LAC, and I didn’t think of it as a business major at all. I do not think of it as a major that would play into an investment banking/Wall Street career. Unless you want to lobby on their behalf…</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses! I mean I don’t even know if I want to do investment banking, I just want to have that option open if it turned out to be something I’m interested in. Right now I’m planning to major in economics, I’m just worried that I might not enjoy it and therefor want to know if there are alternates. (From other CC threads I read that public policy is a business-like major – maybe that doesn’t check out?). And fortunately the school I’m looking at right now allows the finance major for anyone; however, if you major in econ then it is a finance “concentration” so I guess that’s how they make the discrepancy. I really appreciate the perspectives, thanks!</p>
<p>You’re welcome. I do like the econ with a finance concentration as a way of keeping your options open. What school(s) are you considering?</p>
<p>“I mean I don’t even know if I want to do investment banking, I just want to have that option open if it turned out to be something I’m interested in.”</p>
<p>Thats not how IB works. You have to be at the right school, and go balls to the walls with networking, work experience, grades, ECs, etc., and then you still have like a 1% chance of getting an interview.</p>
<p>I take it you’re one of those people that saw the compensation in some random google search and now decided you want to do IB.</p>
<p>Actually no. One of my siblings (and several of my cousins) did IB for a couple of years and said it was a rewarding (but grueling) temporary experience. I’m aware how competitive the process is. What I said wasn’t meant to be taken so literally. I am just saying, among the many things that could hold me back, I wouldn’t want my major to be one of them.</p>
<p>(And what’s interesting is my brother was a political science major/business minor which is why the whole concept of my major not having to be economics is in my head).</p>