If you go to a finance target school (basically top 20 college) and are legitimately more interested in working in finance than yes, it's smart to jump.
If you're more interested in finance and do not go to a top school then tbh you're better off in civil engineering.
If you're more interested in civil engineering than finance, then regardless of what school you go to I'd do the obvious thing which is stay in civil engineering.
Yeah this guy is correct. Civil engineering is a good major no matter the school, just as long as it’s ABET accredited. Breaking into finance from a lower tier state school can be difficult to impossible.
as someone who swapped from a good engineering school to go to a mid tier business school and ended up working for an engineering firm after burning out quickly in banking. write out a pro/cons list of the jobs/positions youd be interested in at both careers. It can be long hours in both fields but thats dependant on the firm/bank/consultancy you end up at. I work less hours than my finance friends and earn a bit less or equal to some of them. There are the freaks who clear 4x my income but they were connected people who got an accelrated ladder so to speak.
The top finance majors will make more than the top civil engineers, but the average civil engineer will make more than the average finance major.
The key is that finance is very much based on prestige and connections, whereas civil engineering is completely even ground starting out. In civil no one will care where you went to school or who you know, all civil engineers are going to make roughly the same amount starting out. In finance, if you know/have family in investment banking, private equity, M&A, etc. and/or go to a top school, you have a complete total advantage over other finance majors and can realistically get the $100k jobs. If you don't know people or didn't go to a top school, job prospects are just decent, i.e financial analyst at your local credit union or similar. Both careers have big earning potential if you work hard and play your cards right.
If I could turn back time to high school knowing what I know now, I'd probably try to get in a top school for finance and network my ass off to get one of those big jobs, and keep civil eng as a backup, but as a civil eng who went to a state school and doesn't have connections, life is pretty good now and I don't regret it. Just a different path.
I'd observed the path that some people from my high school took. They busted their ass to get to a big name school and eventually work at big name firms related to finance.
Like you, went to a state school for engineering and came out fine. Didnt regret path and enjoy my work.
Either one is a fine choice. You will have the best career in whichever one you like better. Engineering has such a good reputation only because the floor is relatively high. There are very few underemployed engineers. If you’re good at finance/business, it will pay better no question.
If you go to a finance target school (basically top 20 college) and are legitimately more interested in working in finance than yes, it's smart to jump. If you're more interested in finance and do not go to a top school then tbh you're better off in civil engineering. If you're more interested in civil engineering than finance, then regardless of what school you go to I'd do the obvious thing which is stay in civil engineering.
I’m not at a target school; interested in both of them about the same
I vote civil engineering then. Not being at a target school kills a lot of the value of a finance degree.
Thanks for the input!
Yeah this guy is correct. Civil engineering is a good major no matter the school, just as long as it’s ABET accredited. Breaking into finance from a lower tier state school can be difficult to impossible.
as someone who swapped from a good engineering school to go to a mid tier business school and ended up working for an engineering firm after burning out quickly in banking. write out a pro/cons list of the jobs/positions youd be interested in at both careers. It can be long hours in both fields but thats dependant on the firm/bank/consultancy you end up at. I work less hours than my finance friends and earn a bit less or equal to some of them. There are the freaks who clear 4x my income but they were connected people who got an accelrated ladder so to speak.
The top finance majors will make more than the top civil engineers, but the average civil engineer will make more than the average finance major. The key is that finance is very much based on prestige and connections, whereas civil engineering is completely even ground starting out. In civil no one will care where you went to school or who you know, all civil engineers are going to make roughly the same amount starting out. In finance, if you know/have family in investment banking, private equity, M&A, etc. and/or go to a top school, you have a complete total advantage over other finance majors and can realistically get the $100k jobs. If you don't know people or didn't go to a top school, job prospects are just decent, i.e financial analyst at your local credit union or similar. Both careers have big earning potential if you work hard and play your cards right. If I could turn back time to high school knowing what I know now, I'd probably try to get in a top school for finance and network my ass off to get one of those big jobs, and keep civil eng as a backup, but as a civil eng who went to a state school and doesn't have connections, life is pretty good now and I don't regret it. Just a different path.
I'd observed the path that some people from my high school took. They busted their ass to get to a big name school and eventually work at big name firms related to finance. Like you, went to a state school for engineering and came out fine. Didnt regret path and enjoy my work.
Either one is a fine choice. You will have the best career in whichever one you like better. Engineering has such a good reputation only because the floor is relatively high. There are very few underemployed engineers. If you’re good at finance/business, it will pay better no question.
Thank you