Best classes for non-business major to take?

[tkfriend]

I'm an uprising senior majoring in economics and minoring in math. Other than a class such as financial accounting, which kind of classes are best to take for getting jobs in finance? programming?

 

[imschatz]

- stochastic calculus .. likely offered via financial math/actuarial science. Black and Scholes is a stochastic calculus model. Likely need to take Master's level financial econ to actually see it, but at least knowing some of the terminology and basic mechanics would be a huge plus. - Any/all econometrics courses. Multivariate, time-series regression - I recall my undergrad Stat department offered courses in Time-Series regression analysis ( ARMA(p,q), VAR(p), SVAR(p) models). and, - Stuff like "corporate finance" is good, but if I could do my whole undergrad over, I'd still avoid accounting classes. Too many people get labeled as accountants, and from job descriptions I've seen .. I'd avoid like the plague. - any classes that have a lab component - ie: most upper-level statistics courses. Anything that gets you fluent in SAS or Matlab. ps: I took math classes to get me into Economics grad school. If I could go back, these are the classes I would have taken, instead of all the linear algebra and differential equations courses I took in prep work for my MA.

 

[tkfriend]

thanks a lot!

 

[Odey]

I would recommend a VBA class if your school offers it.

 

[GreenFrog]

Originally Posted by Odey

I would recommend a VBA class if your school offers it.

this plus a basic accounting/financial accounting class

 

[RSS]

Do remember, college isn't trade school. I recommend taking at least some courses that have nothing to do with your future job.

The political philosopher Leo Strauss once defined liberal education as "the counter-poison to mass culture." Few receive the education he was referencing, but something is better than nothing.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by RSS

The political philosopher Leo Strauss once defined liberal education as "the counter-poison to mass culture." Few receive the education he was referencing, but something is better than nothing.

I like that.

 

[pkblaze100]

I'd have to disagree - assuming you haven't taken any accounting class take at least financial accounting. If you want to do financial matmatics (aka quant) then imschatz has listed some great courses, but if you want to do banking S&T etc take some basic finance courses including whatever your intro to finance class is (for npv, basic dcf type stuff), corporate finance, valuations (for dcf, comparables, Real options) and some type of financial statement analysis course. VBA and spreadsheet modeling (using the mouse in excel is a sin for bankers...) can also be very helpful.

If you are looking into finance stuff also remember that instead of an MA you should expect to do an MBA

 

[Michigan Planner]

I have to agree with RSS and would advise you to get outside your comfort zone and not to pick all your electives based on what you think will look good on a resume.

Take a some poly sci classes like comparative political systems, politics in literature, or public budgeting. Maybe an extra English lit course or a class that focuses on one region of the world that you know nothing about. Take a public speaking class and classes that make you write write write; I cannot believe the quality of some of the writing/work samples I've seen from applicants at entry-level positions on up. Take courses that make you write, and think, in different styles - maybe an entry level journalism class and a business writing class on top of those English lit classes.

Not only will this make you a more well rounded person and help give you different perspectives into your chosen field, it will make you about 1,000x more interesting to be around once you are at your employer.

 

[RSS]

Originally Posted by Michigan Planner

Not only will this make you a more well rounded person and help give you different perspectives into your chosen field, it will make you about 1,000x more interesting to be around once you are at your employer.
I would agree.

BTW when hiring ... I never simply looked for the most qualified ... but for that person who was both qualified and well rounded. I have to like and enjoy the company of those in my firm ... otherwise it's just not worth it.

 

[Odey]

Originally Posted by RSS

I would agree.

BTW when hiring ... I never simply looked for the most qualified ... but for that person who was both qualified and well rounded. I have to like and enjoy the company of those in my firm ... otherwise it's just not worth it.

I 100% agree it's important to be a well-rounded person. However, taking an extra lit class will not help you get hired. If you want to show your interviewer you're a well-rounded person, do it through unique extra-curriculars, volunteering, and hobbies.

It's hard to recommend a class without knowing exactly what the OP wants to do, the types of classes and quality being offered, and his current skill set. That being said, if the OP wants to work in finance, VBA will be super helpful. I was able to immediately add value as an intern because I could program macros. For what it's worth, I just graduated as an engineer and will be starting full time as a trader next month.

 

[otc]

I suppose financial accounting (or something like "reading financial statements") would be useful if you think you might ever have to look at a balance sheet/read a 10k/10q (even if for your own investing). I sort of wish I had taken it even though I know it would have been boring as **** since learning it as you go is also boring as **** and without tests/instruction...a lot of it doesn't stick.

Avoid anything else that has the word accounting in it.

Are there any good electives in the physics/engineering departments? A course in electronics or a course that gets you into a machine shop can give you a nice perspective on how things work on the inside or how things are actually made (or what is possible to make) and they give you a fun class to play with tools.

Take a class that has field trips. Quite possibly my favorite class was one I took in the geophysical sciences department on energy technology. We covered energy generation and use and it involved field trips to a coal power plant, an oil refinery, one of the major national labs, and a nuclear plant.

 

[RSS]

Originally Posted by Odey

I 100% agree it's important to be a well-rounded person. However, taking an extra lit class will not help you get hired. If you want to show your interviewer you're a well-rounded person, do it through unique extra-curriculars, volunteering, and hobbies.

It's hard to recommend a class without knowing exactly what the OP wants to do, the types of classes and quality being offered, and his current skill set. That being said, if the OP wants to work in finance, VBA will be super helpful. I was able to immediately add value as an intern because I could program macros. For what it's worth, I just graduated as an engineer and will be starting full time as a trader next month.
Much depends upon what one does for "extra-curriculars, volunteering, and hobbies." Being mentally agile in a particular field -- at the expense of a true liberal education -- may get one hired at the get-go ... but it may also leave one culturally ignorant ... and that can stunt advancement.

 

[Michigan Planner]

Originally Posted by Odey

I 100% agree it's important to be a well-rounded person. However, taking an extra lit class will not help you get hired...
It might not help him get hired but it might definitely help him advance one he is in a position. (And I actually think that it actually could help him get hired since it could give him another thing to talk about in response to some inane interview question or at least another angle. I've interviewed folks for positions and people fresh out of college sometimes come across as total robots or have such a singular mindset about a job and what it entails. Plus, you never know when you might make some veiled Pushkin reference only to find one of the interviewers loves early 19th century Russian poetry.)

 

[RSS]

Originally Posted by Michigan Planner

Plus, you never know when you might make some veiled Pushkin reference only to find one of the interviewers loves early 19th century Russian poetry.)
Sadly very few people under 30 will believe this.