<p>Do many kids at Wharton look into fields such as joining startup culture and tech companies, and if so, what concentrations are best for pursuing these kinds of jobs? I know finance --> Investment banking, but what prepares wharton students to work for tech startups or google/microsoft etc?</p>
<p>I’d say Marketing, Management, Operations and Information Management, Statistics, Behavioral Economics could all get you there just based on the nature of the material. Truthfully, you could get into tech pursuing any concentrations from Wharton. It is just a matter of what you want your role in the space to be. Most Wharton undergrads are not going to go into tech and be software engineers (not to say that there aren’t some with the technical backgrounds to do so).</p>
<p>Ok cool…what kinds of jobs are available at tech companies outside of software engineering and marketing? In other words what do the Wharton kids that go into tech end up doing there</p>
<p>A tech company is a business built around some innovative technology. While they technology may be something never seen before, a business is a business. Whether it tech or oil or widgets or wheat, all businesses require marketing, finance, management, logistics, etc.</p>
<p>My guess (because I’m not a Wharton grad so it is a guess) is that a Wharton grad will help create the business that a new technology start up needs to get off the ground.</p>
<p>All business - start up, tech, internet, brick and mortar, new, old, exciting, boring, big or small, etc. all have the same basic needs. Nobody has invented a business that doesn’t need working capital, marketing savvy, strong management, inventory management, strategic plans or vision.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Get involved with some of the entrepreneurship clubs on campus, which are run both through Wharton and engineering. These will teach you more than any class will.</p></li>
<li><p>With that being said, there are a few classes in FNCE and MGMT that deal with entrepreneurship and venture capital, but I honestly question the value of these classes, having taken a couple of them, relative to real-world experience.</p></li>
<li><p>You’ll be taken a lot more seriously if you know how to code. Therefore, CIS 110 / 120 / 121 at a minimum, plus knowledge of web development — JavaScript, Python / Ruby for server-side, HTML and CSS, and an eye for design.</p></li>
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