Hello,
I am a freshman at Duke. I was wondering which combination of majors might seem more appealing to Wall Street recruiters: physics and econ double major, or Mech Engineering? at Duke, even to get an engineering degree alone requires that you overload your courses for two semesters (if you don’t have credits, that is), so to get a minor in econ or finance with a major in Mech Engg seems very tough and unmanageable. so how does an engineering degree alone compare to Econ+Phys double major. furthermore, if I do somehow manage to minor in finance or econ with mech engineering major, how will it compare to Phys+Econ double major?
Finally, do the engineering graduates who go on to work at Wall Street normally have econ/finance second major or minor?
Depending on the job, I think you would be fine doing physics/econ or ME. I would advise pursuing whatever major is most interesting to you while networking extensively, preparing for interviews, and completing quality internships. The internships and work experience will be more of a focal point than the content of your degree. There would probably be more non-finance career options available with an ME degree (e.g. working as a mechanical engineer). Either major would be good preparation for more quantitative jobs in finance (not IBD, M&A), although options for quantitative jobs will be limited for someone without a grad degree. I would also advise taking as many computer science courses as you can for more quantitative jobs.