Second bachelor at OR in columbia or master in econ at nyu?

[Leah Chong]

Dear all,

I am a college student and about to graduate in 2 weeks. I have two options after graduation: 1. to get a second bachelor (2 yr) at Columbia Fu foundation school of engineering in Operations research or FE. 2. a Master in Econ at NYU (It is terminal master's degree at NYU).

My background is in Economics/Math. In order to qualify for the columbia program, I have also taken computer science and science classes, but really don't enjoy them that much (can do it though). I don't know if that Engineering school program is designed for quants, but I don't see myself capable for being a quant. I think I will really enjoy working in corporate finance, business, and I-banking, etc, and I really don't think my skill set and ability are best suited as a quant. If just choosing between schools, I would prefer Columbia. For some personal reasons, Columbia has been a dream for me for a few years now. But as it is a second bachelor, instead of a master, I really don't know if my time will be better spent getting the master's (it's a yr and half).

If you were me, what would you choose? Is the operations research at Columbia at a bachelor's level really quantitative and designed for future quants?

Sorry if that seems like a silly question. I would really appreciate your help and insight!

Thanks,
Leah Chong

 

[Connor]

Have you tried getting a job? Your current qualifications should be enough for what you listed.

Operations research isn't really necessary for corporate finance or ibanking but then neither is a masters in econ...

 

[Leah Chong]

Thanks Connor, I agree with what you said. I looked for jobs my senior year, had some interviews, but none of those eventually worked out. I thought getting another degree while I'm unemployed can increase my chance of landing an IB offer, as the school network and career office would be helpful. Only worry is that IB will not want to hire master's students when they have college students who can do the same work...

 

[Connor]

From my experience IBs like students with relevant job experience and they seem to hire alot of MBAs (at least historically).

I don't think OR helps you much for what you are wanting to do (corporate finance/ibanking), Econ will probably be better but not by much. I guess it's too late to get into a masters in math/statistics program?

You also listed business as a career option which is extremely general, in which case OR could be useful...

 

[Leah Chong]

Thanks Connor! Would a masters in math/stats be helpful for careers in IB? I thought they were more useful for quants. Yeah, I guess it is too late to apply to most programs now unless I defer a year. So if you were me, you would go to NYU?

 

[Connor]

Math/stats helpful for a career in IB? probably debatable but more useful than OR and I would say more flexible in terms of jobs than econ

If you are interested in finance then yes I would recommend going with NYU based on your options (deferring only makes sense if you can get a job otherwise one year is half a masters in econ)

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Would a masters in math/stats be helpful for careers in IB? I thought they were more useful for quants.

You need to narrow down your career choice. Saying "career in IB" is similar to "career in computer science". There are many roles in the industry and you need to understand each to see where you fit in.

 

[Leah Chong]

Thanks Andy! I don't know a lot about the divisions, but I want to work in the front office, investment banking side, for example, working on M&A, or IPO. I don't think I'd be good in sales and trading.