Question about highly selective finance jobs

<p>Hey guys, I've been wondering about something, and I feel like this subforum might be the best place to ask. I might also ask on the careers subforms later, though, depending on the response.</p>

<p>So, you hear about these high-paying jobs in finance, investing, etc. - you know, where people make tons of money. The kinds of jobs for which top firms recruit at top universities. You also hear these top firms recruiting grads from all kinds of fields... humanities, science, engineering, etc.... in addition to business.</p>

<p>My question is this: what kind of work do these jobs entail? Would firms hire a PhD physicist or mathematician to do the same kind of work as a PhD engineer or computer scientist? For the same kind of work they may hire a PhD philosopher or literary scholar? Is the work that high-profile STEM hires do the same as the work that high-profile humanities hires do? What about high-profile business hires?</p>

<p>Just to be clear, I'm talking about different graduates being recruited for the same, ultra-competitive positions - the ones where prestige, grades, and who you know are big factors. Thanks!</p>