Bc. Sci (Maths and Stats) or Bc. Sci (Adv. Maths) when going into investment banking or finance? (1 Viewer)

bsuffern

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Hi,

I'm currently in Year 12 and considering going into investment banking or finance after uni. I'm currently thinking of doing a double degree Bc. Comms / Bc. Science at UNSW and I'm wondering whether a major in maths and stats or adv. maths will be more beneficial when seeking a job, keep in mind I do Ext. 2.

I appreciate all your advice.
 

blyatman

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U can do advanced math and stats together cant you? If you can't, then take maths and stats. Nobody cares about adv maths.
 

bsuffern

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See that's what is confusing me, as the enrolment guide shows different majors available than the Bc. Sci. One of the majors is advanced statistics, would this be more beneficial than majoring in maths and stats in normal Bc. Sci? What I'm trying to find out is what quantitative skills would a company be looking for?
 

blyatman

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No, employers do not care whether your degree had the word advanced before it or not, as the differences between a normal vs adv major aren't really that big (in some courses, they sit together in the same lectures, but just have harder assessments). Most advanced content is just extra stuff built upon the normal material, which would likely have little to no impact to your job anyway since you typically only apply 5% of what you learn in uni. In contrast, having an extra major can be really useful, as it means you two distinct specialisations, kinda like have 2 degrees in a way. In general, it's always better to have 2 majors over a single advanced major.
 

bsuffern

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Okay, thank you very much. Just another quick question, would you recommend doing a Bc. Actuarial Studies instead of Bc. Science?
 

blyatman

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I can't really comment on that, since I didn't do Acturial Studies, and a good answer to your question would require understanding your specific context (e.g. your interests, career goals, etc). Maybe someone else who has done Acturial can chime in, but you'd probably need to provide some context to get a good answer.
 

ultra908

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kinda similar q -> is it worth doing a degree in commerce at all, or to just focus on maths?
 

blyatman

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Again, depends on your circumstances/context!
 

Trebla

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Depends on what you mean by "investment banking". If you mean it in the traditional sense then you likely won't be using much maths or stats because that is mostly just accounting and corporate finance. If on the other hand, you include aspects like securities trading or risk management then that would be more quantitative.

I also agree with blyatman in that you're better off career-wise broadening your knowledge and skills into as many areas as you can, rather than being too narrowly focused on one area (unless you are absolutely certain you want to get into that area).
 

elanelown

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Hello, bsuffern! If you are thinking about making your first investment think about creating the Schwab intelligent portfolios.
 

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