<p>I assume basic courses like macro/microeconomics and introductory accounting are a must, but what kind of math of english courses (for example) would you reccomend?</p>
<p>Or any other courses that will help in the IB proffession</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Maybe higher level finance classes? Most econ departments have finance classes.</p>
<p>engineering. builds work ethic.</p>
<p>Math: You don't really need more than Calculus I and II, depending on the type of finance you want to go into. If you're into actuarial science or financial research, you'll need more than that. Probably Calculus III, linear algebra, probability, differential equations, financial math, etc. If you want to take higher level math, you should follow an applied sequence, not theoretical.</p>
<p>English: Any humanities course that gets you thinking and writing is okay. You might have a course in school along the lines of Professional Writing or Business Writing.</p>
<p>Regarding specific accounting/finance classes, you should take financial statements analysis, derivative securities, and courses about investment decisions. This is assuming you want to go into investment banking, which is no surprise if you're on CC. For consulting, perhaps more management courses.</p>
<p>I'm no expert (I don't work in finance), but I've talked to my academic advisors and did research with the help of my school's Office of Career Development.</p>
<p>I'm actually not too sure IB is for me, I'm more along the lines of becoming a financial/industry analyst (which is very Investment Banking-ish).</p>
<p>I was just curious what courses outside of the standard finance courses like what kind of math, english, communications, econ, accounting, psychology, or philosophy classes would help (if any).</p>
<p>Also, if you want to put some more technical skills on your resume (more than just Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), you should take at least intro to programming.</p>
<p>After my first semester in college i will have only taken Calc I. I took calc BC in high school but decided it was probably better for me to retake Calc I. Should i continue my math courses to Calc II or does it not matter much?</p>
<p>How much math is necessary if I'm planning to go into corporate finance/M&A (investment banking)?</p>
<p>I think you mean what kind, and I think that redhare sort of answered that question:</p>
<p>"You don't really need more than Calculus I and II, depending on the type of finance you want to go into. If you're into actuarial science or financial research, you'll need more than that. Probably Calculus III, linear algebra, probability, differential equations, financial math, etc. If you want to take higher level math, you should follow an applied sequence, not theoretical."</p>
<p>Well as I said, I'm no pro. I'm just recycling stuff I heard from my advisor and people I know in business. A guy from Ross did Calc BC and never took a single college math class, and he ended up in Goldman Sachs. After one year, he quit GS and made it into hedge funds. NO MATH TAKEN IN COLLEGE BEYOND HS CALC BC. So it's not really a requirement unless your business program says you MUST take it. If you're good at math and know you'll get good grades in it, I guess you should go beyond that requirement. I think Sloan requires up to linear algebra. Ross requires only Calc 1 (equivalent to AB), and the rest of the stuff you get in your finance and accounting classes.</p>
<p>The quantitative analysts (financial research) guys will need more math. They aren't the ones doing the deals, though. They are the investment pros that work the numbers. Corporate finance and M&A look for quantitative skills, but I have yet to discover what they really mean by that. I think they just mean general aptitude for numbers, not necessarily whether you know your Green's and Strokes' theorems.</p>
<p>For Financial/Industry Analysts, linear algebra, linear programming, and some other computer science courses would work well.</p>
<p>You probably don't need beyond linear algebra and differential equations in terms of math, however.</p>
<p>It's not as much what specific courses you take as much as how well you present it (and in turn yourself) in terms of practicality and usefulness when asked at an interview.</p>
<p>i was thinking of doing a joint major in Econ-Mathematics
but after reading this i am not sure if its going to be worth it
my goal is to break into investment banking, i thought i will do joint major in econ-math instead of just econ b/c it is a harder major...
but i think if i do this joint major my GPA will be affected as well by the higher level math courses
do u guys think i shud just major in Economics?</p>
<p>I think you should major in what you are passionate. I'm certain on doing math and econ, not for IB, I don't give a crap if it will ower my GPA or not, I'm gonna do simply because I'm passionate about those two areas.</p>
<p>hmm i see cool...</p>
<p>but like is a joint econ-math degree a lot better than just econ? not for IB, but just in general?</p>
<p>i am not bad in math, but i am not passionate about it either...</p>
<p>Econ without math can't get you as far as econ with math, especially if you want to pursue quantitative economics/economic analysis in graduate school. You'll need a lot of math for an econ pre-doctorate education, even if you don't exactly major in it. A minor would be solid enough.</p>
<p>I see a lot of bad advice as for as math goes in the financial world. Honestly the most math you'll ever need is college level algebra and some business calculus/statistics, nothing more unless you want to go into like financial engineering or trading, but from what I've heard investment bankers don't need to know anything above basic calculus.</p>
<p>I'm guessing it's the same for business as engineering. From what I've heard, most engineers don't use that much calculus (unless they're R&D or doing something really hitech I suppose). A lot of the necessary calculus is computed with programs, calculators and formulas. For example, you can do most of the calculus with a TI-89. Obviously, you need to understand calculus but you don't need to do every step.</p>
<p>operations research engineering + econ/business concentration is a good major. It should take you a long way in finance, as it deals with optimizing investments, hedge funds and other finances. Also, it's not a GPA killer like ChemE, and the corporate world really likes it, and as only Cornell, Princeton, MIT and (Caltech or Berkley (don't know which one)) offer it, it's not that hard to find a good job. Also, basic computer knowledge is must for a future business career the top MBA schools emphasize it, as does the financial world.</p>