3 answers
Averi
Student
Rising Sun, Maryland
1
Question
Updated
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What should I major in to become a investment banker?
I love all things math and really want to work with money
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3 answers
Kevin Yang
Impact Investing
13
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Kevin’s Answer
Hi Averi,
Many entry-level Investment Banking Analysts major in business (in other words, graduating with a BBA -- Bachelors in Business Administration). Not all colleges and universities have BBA programs, but some notable programs that do and feed into many strong investment banking firms include: University of Michigan (Ross), New York University (Stern), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), University of California Berkeley (Haas), University of Virginia (McIntire), etc.
In fact, most colleges do not have an undergraduate business program, but firms still recruit and many students go onto investment banking with related majors such as Economics. With that said, I've had peers in IB that have majored in Computer Science, Biochemistry, English, and all other sorts of studies. Business programs are helpful because you'll directly learn in coursework accounting, finance, strategy, operations, etc. -- but these are things that can be learned elsewhere with online resources.
A few things to consider as you explore career options:
(1) Investment Banking is a bit of a misnomer in its name (confused me big time when I was first recruiting) -- you don't actually manage any money. The role of an investment banker is to serve as a sort of financial consultant for corporate clients when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (i.e., buying a company, selling a division), financing (raising money via debt or IPO), and restructuring (debt expertise when things go south). To add to the confusion, investment banking, as a function, is not to be confused with the Investment Banks, which is the umbrella term for the whole bank that provides a multitude of different financial services.
(2) Investment Banking definitely requires somebody to be strong with numbers, but isn't particularly math-concept heavy beyond the add/subtract/mult./divide. It's just a lot of those functions in different forms when it comes to financial modeling.
(3) If you're interested in working with money in the realm of finance, a lot of the same advice about majors still applies. There's a lot of different fields in finance, including wealth management, investing, corporate banking, etc.
Best wishes and cheers to the journey ahead on discovering your professional passions!
Many entry-level Investment Banking Analysts major in business (in other words, graduating with a BBA -- Bachelors in Business Administration). Not all colleges and universities have BBA programs, but some notable programs that do and feed into many strong investment banking firms include: University of Michigan (Ross), New York University (Stern), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), University of California Berkeley (Haas), University of Virginia (McIntire), etc.
In fact, most colleges do not have an undergraduate business program, but firms still recruit and many students go onto investment banking with related majors such as Economics. With that said, I've had peers in IB that have majored in Computer Science, Biochemistry, English, and all other sorts of studies. Business programs are helpful because you'll directly learn in coursework accounting, finance, strategy, operations, etc. -- but these are things that can be learned elsewhere with online resources.
A few things to consider as you explore career options:
(1) Investment Banking is a bit of a misnomer in its name (confused me big time when I was first recruiting) -- you don't actually manage any money. The role of an investment banker is to serve as a sort of financial consultant for corporate clients when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (i.e., buying a company, selling a division), financing (raising money via debt or IPO), and restructuring (debt expertise when things go south). To add to the confusion, investment banking, as a function, is not to be confused with the Investment Banks, which is the umbrella term for the whole bank that provides a multitude of different financial services.
(2) Investment Banking definitely requires somebody to be strong with numbers, but isn't particularly math-concept heavy beyond the add/subtract/mult./divide. It's just a lot of those functions in different forms when it comes to financial modeling.
(3) If you're interested in working with money in the realm of finance, a lot of the same advice about majors still applies. There's a lot of different fields in finance, including wealth management, investing, corporate banking, etc.
Best wishes and cheers to the journey ahead on discovering your professional passions!
Olivia McDonnell
Consulting
25
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Olivia’s Answer
Majoring in finance and accounting can make interviews, internships, and analyst jobs much easier. But if you prefer a general business management degree, that can be useful too.
Anand Cavale
Business Executive
9
Answers
Princeton, New Jersey
Updated
Anand’s Answer
Averi,
It will help if you can major in Business Management with concentration in Finance, Investmetn Banking, M&A
Try to get an internship with a major investment bank like Goldman or Citi
It will help if you can major in Business Management with concentration in Finance, Investmetn Banking, M&A
Try to get an internship with a major investment bank like Goldman or Citi