Hi everyone,
I’m planning on going to law school after finishing my undergraduate degree. My degree may be in the humanities (political science, philosophy, etc) or something like psychology.
If I am unable to continue to law for some reason or another, is it possible to find a job in the business/finance sector with a humanities degree?
Does anyone have experience of this?
Thanks!
The American higher educational system is exceptional insofar as the top schools attract the best and brightest and in turn produce among the most capable, creative and best learners in our society. This has always been an attractive pool for employers to hire from, irrespective of specific job field. Maybe this is changing a little now, but over the past 100 years entrance to a top school usually gave graduates enormous latitude in getting jobs across all kinds of fields, from business to entertainment to government to public service. Of course today its much harder because we are competing for jobs with the graduates of the rest of the world and the internet has disintermediated geographical advantageous of being inside the USA. Nevertheless, at heart I think your question can be easily answered this way. If you work hard in school, learn easily and are adaptable, you will be successful no matter what subject you study.
good luck!
Thank you for your insightful comment! I will definitely be sure to remember this, and see the current job market through your perspective.
It depends on the job of course but I’m sure it is possible. It would be more likely to happen an area such as human resources as compared to a financial analyst. For many jobs it would be hard to compete with students coming out of college with business degrees who have had training in areas such as accounting, finance etc. and would be more able to hit the ground running.
@happy1 is wrong, especially in Finance. The best and highest paying jobs on Wall Street recruit primarily from the top LACs and Ivies and those schools do not even have ‘business majors’ Again… maybe its changed a bit, but I can categorically tell you that 30 years ago it was all about which school you went to first and foremost… secondly it was about how well you did there, how interesting/unique and distant third was your major… Its a more competitive world now, so maybe its a bit different… but for the prestige Finance jobs for undergrads I can say it has not changed that much.
I don’t think that you can really say @happy1 is wrong. First of all, top LACs and Ivies still have economics, statistics, mathematics, which can all be applicable to “Wall Street” jobs. Certainly more applicable than Humanities. Also, a lot of Ivies have graduate business schools in addition to UPenn and Cornell having undergraduate business programs.
I think happy1 is right. With a humanities degree, I’m sure there is a way you can find a business job, but it is less likely to be on the technical side of things like finance, and more likely to be on the side of management, human resources, etc.
If you are unable to continue with law for some reason you could always consider getting a MBA after getting a few years of more-relevant work experience!
@Regulus7 I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I have worked in accounting and finance in NYC for 30+ years and have helped out with recruiting at a major CPA firms and financial institutions I have worked at. Yes, graduates from the very top schools do have a shot at jobs at the top banks, consulting firms etc., but the number of students who attend those institutions are quite few in number given the total population of students. For a typical student at a typical college with no personal connections in the industry wanting to work in the business world, I believe that the smoothest route to a job would be an undergraduate business school education.
There is a business major available at Penn (Wharton), MIT (Sloan) and Cornell (Dyson) and some other top schools offer business-related programs (ex. Princeton offers Financial Engineering) which are feeder programs to business as well.
@happy1 no worries. I have worked for 4 major wall street firms, 3 premier hedge funds and now my own firm. I directly hired dozens of analysts, traders and investment banker analysts over the past 30 years and I always made it a point to hire humanities people, sure some economics, many more math, science but also a large number of classics, english, history and psychology majors too. I found that the most successful of the people I hired were almost always this latter group… of course there are many more econ and math majors today than 20 years ago, but there is always a place for a smart, hardworking and adaptable person in any field or industry. its so much easier today than ever before in human history to learn a new business, trade or job thanks to the availability of information, that to be successful and remain pertinent your greatest asset is the ability to learn. Whatever school and major you end up in, always remember that @sonnet18 that is the single most important thing you can get out of any education
@Regulus7 I have had a different experience at a Big 4 CPA firm, major Wall St. firms, and a boutique bond firm so I guess we will have to agree to disagree. Guess that is what makes the world go round. While I completely agree that there is always room for a smart hard-working person in the business world, I just think that unless that person is at a very top LAC or university that it can be hard to get in the door without connections.
Anyway we are off topic for the OP. And I do agree that the OP should follow her interests and get the most out of his/her college experience. The OP said in another thread that he/she isn’t interested in business affairs, so perhaps an undergrad business major is not the way to go. (But be aware OP that many (not all) areas of law entails working with businesses)
@happy1 @Regulus7 @philbegas
Thank you for your input!
It was interesting reading through your interactions and varying opinions about humanities in the business sector.
I am quite indecisive regarding my choice for undergrad, and my peers/family are pushing me to do business due to the career prospects. I don’t know how I will do in university, but I will do my best to hopefully make it to a top tier school for law or further studies.
One aspect that perhaps is not factored in is that I’m in Canada, where none of the schools are to par with Ivies. If I were to work in the US (where there are more career advancement opportunities), I would most likely be at a disadvantage. I would most likely do my studies in Canada due to low fees before doing post-grad elsewhere. However, I did get accepted to top U.K. schools.
I am still indeterminate about my choice of degree. Especially since it appears that a humanities degree may or may not be favourable in the business sector. Maybe I’ll go back for an MBA after graduation when I have several years of work experience.
Thank you!
Hey now, don’t forget about the University of Toronto Rotmann school of management! Toronto is still a financial center, just perhaps not as big as Wall Street.
@sonnet18 you have some great undergrad business school options in Canada that can position you just fine - UofT, McGill, UBC, Western, Queens - all can get you launched into a solid business career as well as law school. Close friend of mine is Canadian and did the McGill to Wall Street route and then Wharton for MBA. His son is now in his final year at McGill which is a good choice for US name recognition as he is returning to the US for work.
@my2caligirls
Thank you! I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.
A humanities degree from the Ivy+ schools and to a bit lesser degree from the very top LACs will still provide you with plenty of chances to break into top business jobs. A humanities degree outside of these top schools will not take you very far for a top business job in most cases.
@sonnet18: accounting is different in that it looks for technical expertise and to be a cpa you need that certification. However to be an analyst, your major doesn’t matter as long as your school is a target. Sure, being a math or economics major may help, but philosophy or Russian Literature majors from Princeton are quite appreciated too.
Right now, the career prospects of an English major are the same as a business majors (look at unemployment rates, 5-year salaries, etc.) However as a humanities major, you need to 1)be excellent 2)atrend an excellent college 3)get in touch with career services your freshman year, start looking for internships right away (note that a lot of prestigious summer internships for humanities majors are unpaid, and top schools will pay you a stipend while you do it… Whereas a typical school will leave you to fend for yourself.)