My son who is a freshman in college wants to do something in the financial world, he’s not sure what exactly at this point but he spends quite a bit of time reading up about stocks and the stock market as a whole. Should his degree be a finance or business degree?

I don't think it really matters. I was an Econ major and work for a big bank. If the school he attends is known for one over another, that may help. Generally speaking, finance places a focus on math, so if your son wants to be an analyst, the finance degree might be helpful. Unless he needs to make a decision now, I'd take classes in both and then decide.


TS

Look at job postings for where your son wants to be 5 to 10 years after graduation to see what type of degree they require or prefer. In my case, I started out pursuing a finance degree, but added accounting as a second major in my Junior year.

There are degrees specifically for finance or economics and also Bachelors in Business Administration with an emphasis on finance or economics and some other areas. Either should cross-over in the same job market. He could always go for an MBA later.

Most brokers are on the lookout for new talent. Call a couple and ask, they will likely tell you and some may have some type of mentorship program.

He should get his Series 7 license if he really wants to play in the finance world. That isn't an easy thing to do FYI. I'm a software guy but golf with a lot of financial advisors. They all make really good money and non have their degrees.

Business Finance degree. It's what I have, and although I've never used it, it covers both bases pretty well.

So a finance degree from Princeton, pays. It’s the only Ivy degree which does.

Otherwise, if he can stick out the schooling, I’d suggest an accounting undergrad, then a dual JD/MBA program.

But it depends on his drive/where he’s looking to go with it. Obviously, my suggestion is more for a high drive type A person.

Regardless, I think the accounting undergrad, with a few sport psychology classes, make the most sense for a business undergrad degree.

Sport psych is more appropriate to the size of group a young student will lead, than most business management courses, and is more likely to be taught by winners/successful managers.

Apologies for the bluntness of my comments, in advance.

If he’s interested in investments and trading, the first question to ask is what university he is attending. Very, very few firms recruit from schools that are not top tier, so if he has Wall Street dreams those might be out before he even gets past freshman year.

Second, his network. Investments and trading are heavily weighted towards two types of individuals: those with significant, and wealthy connections, and those with extreme quantitative capabilities. The former is by far the most prevalent, you don’t need that many pure data/research individuals in the modern investment environment (relative to the past).

This may be a dash of cold water, but perhaps not. I merely wanted to call out some things that should be considered at this stage. The most likely career route for a student at an average US university in finance will be some sort of analyst role, maxing out at $60-75k around 5 years post-grad until they leave in search of a better balance. It’s a grind!

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Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
There are degrees specifically for finance or economics and also Bachelors in Business Administration with an emphasis on finance or economics and some other areas. Either should cross-over in the same job market. He could always go for an MBA later.

Sounds like what I did when going to college back when. Double major in business and personnel management, minor in economics. MBA 2 years later. LOTS OF WORK trying to hold down a 60+ hour per week job, and taking 4 classes at the same time. My suggestion for him would be to take a few courses that would/might be required anyway and see how he likes/does with them.

He'll need reasonably advanced math, at least intermediate econ, and some accounting coursework.

It would be good for him to figure out as soon as reasonable what sorts of finance work he'd like to do, to guide what classes to take and which summer internships to try for. The path for 'quant jock' is very different from 'industry analyst' and both are very distinct from 'bond salesman'.

If what he wants to do involves getting hired by a name-brand Wall Street firm, as noted above, there is a lot of competition for those jobs. To get their attention, he's probably going to want to wind up getting an MBA/MS Management at a top tier business school and find ways while there to distinguish himself from the crowd.

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Originally posted by Aglifter:
So a finance degree from Princeton, pays. It’s the only Ivy degree which does.

Otherwise, if he can stick out the schooling, I’d suggest an accounting undergrad, then a dual JD/MBA program.

I wouldn't rule out a joint JD/MAcc over the JD/MBA. If he really wanted to write his ticket, I'd get an engineering/physics/chemistry/etc. undergrad and then a JD/MAcc. He would be an attorney, could take the patent bar, and could get his CPA. Any business would scoop him up with those credentials.

If he wants to get anywhere in the financial world, the bachelors is just the first step. That'll get him is first job. But to progress, he'll need an MBA in finance (thinking major financial firms.)

I'd get a bachelors in economics, which will set him up to get the masters, but won't be explicitly duplicative. It'll also give him more math/statistics, which will come in handy.

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Originally posted by BB61:

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
So a finance degree from Princeton, pays. It’s the only Ivy degree which does.

Otherwise, if he can stick out the schooling, I’d suggest an accounting undergrad, then a dual JD/MBA program.

I wouldn't rule out a joint JD/MAcc over the JD/MBA. If he really wanted to write his ticket, I'd get an engineering/physics/chemistry/etc. undergrad and then a JD/MAcc. He would be an attorney, could take the patent bar, and could get his CPA. Any business would scoop him up with those credentials.

Either of the suggestions are fine. I was onboard with Aglifter's then I thought I'd read further. BB61's is a a couple of hairs better. An MBA is supposed to be a generalist; well, a lawyer is supposed to be a generalist also. With a technical undergrad (engineering) and a business expertise in accounting - because follow the money, baby, he'll be a triple threat.

As reloader-1 says, unless he's going to a top-tier college or you have family connections, a job on Wall Street is like his chances of being drafted in the NFL.

Brokerages are a commodity now with stock transactions at zero commission. That doesn't leave much to pay stock brokers. As for quantitatives, the real work is being done by computers based on algorithms created by PhD Economists.

My background is I have an MBA and a second masters in Information Systems earned from private universities as a working adult. That second masters would have been a JD if I had convenient access to an ABA accredited law school.

Retired banker here. Wanting to get into “finance” is like saying that you want to be “an engineer”. Lots of variations. As some here have said before, it depends on what his interests are. I think that a solid accounting background is the most useful no matter what part of the finance world he ends up in. Series 7 holders are sales people, period. I held a Series 7 for a few years but didn’t like the constant pressure to sell. There are many honorable people with a Series 7 license, but there are also many who would do anything just short of selling their own children to make a commission. And he will be competing against them for a living.

If your son is more analytical, he could start out taking some accounting classes and then test the waters with finance classes, econometrics, etc., to see what he has an interest in. There is more than one way to make it in the finance world. I have an undergraduate degree in Economics and a JD. Many others in a similar position to me had MBA’s. Some went with just a bachelors and then sought out professional designations such as Chartered Financial Analyst.

I wish him the best.

Finance grad here. It depends on the college. I went to Colorado State University (CSU). There they have a "College of Business", which is separate admissions process than from the plain University. You have to apply to, and be accepted by, the College of Business after you are enrolled by the University. Inside the college of Business were several areas of emphasis. Finance, Accounting, Computer Information Systems, Marketing, Real Estate, etc...

I loved Economics, but the first course in Econ I took the professor told us that basically the only jobs in Economics were in government and Academia. Not 100%, but most jobs. At CSU, the Economics dept. was in the College of Liberal Arts. About half way through my degree I wanted to do a double major, Finance and Economics. However, if I wanted to get a Major in Economics I would have to take many courses in the college of Liberal Arts...which I had no interest in doing. In the end I got a Bachelor of Science of Business Administration (BSBA), with an emphasis in Finance and a minor in Economics.

If I had wanted to, the next step would be to get a Masters of Science in Finance (MS Finance). An MBA is really meant for people who don't have an undergrad in Business...Engineers, etc... I'm not saying someone with a Business undergrad can't get an MBA, but it's most of the stuff they already know. Same goes for Accounting. The next step would be a MS in Accounting, not an MBA.

There are 3 "routes" to take in Finance, and for students who want an emphasis in Finance they have to take all 3. Equities (Stocks), Fixed Income (Bonds) and Corporate Finance.

If you want to get into the investment banking side, your best bet is to become a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). This is not to be confused with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP)...2 entirely different things.

bogeyman posted as I was typing. I agree with him. Accounting knowledge is great to have for a Finance major. I took 4 Accounting classes, Acctg 1 & 2, then Intermediate Acctg 1 & 2. It really helped in my understanding of Finance concepts in the real world.

Goat and Bogeyman both had good posts as I was typing this up...

A general business degree is worthless without an accompanying specialization (via MBA or otherwise). Maybe not down the road, but for that first job or two the hire will always be a finance degree over a general BA who likes finance. Even the finance degree should be focused, my undergrad had 6 finance paths you could take (as an example).

Wall Street/Merc/Hedge Fund - Ivy League, or very high tier, with degree in investment banking/economics. Or OP is already elite, son doesn't require a job, and OP knows the right people.

Banks - Good to very good school with degree in Economics, Financial Planning/Real Estate/Insurance.

Corporate America/CFO Track - Corporate Finance or Accounting degree, MBA and/or CPA. Accounting is more back office, 'what has occurred and was it correct', whereas finance is more forward looking, 'what variable can I change to make the result better, what does the result from this time period mean for xx time horizon in the future'?

Financial Planning/Selling Investments (annuities/mutual funds/insurance) - Difference here vs. the banks (in my opinion) is 'sought after vs. cold call'. Doesn't require a degree but requires a large network and the ability to sell whatever product the company is pushing. A finance degree may help but sales/marketing/communications would be more helpful.

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Originally posted by trapper189:
Look at job postings for where your son wants to be 5 to 10 years after graduation to see what type of degree they require or prefer. In my case, I started out pursuing a finance degree, but added accounting as a second major in my Junior year.

My experience was that you get as much finance for an accounting degree as you get for a finance degree.

Better to graduate in basket weaving than flunk out of engineering school.