Time to declare a major: Operations Management or Finance (advice please)

[hess side 978]

Which of these two major do you think would be more likely to end up with a higher salary? Which one will pay more directly out of college?

 I'm told that financial positions are easier to come by, but if one can land a job in the operations management field the advancement opportunities are out there. Can anybody give me some insight on this situation. I plan on hopefully at some point down the line acquiring an MBA, but not until I can at least get a decent job to pay off some of this undergrad debt.

if it matters, I go to UMass Dartmouth, which uses the Charlton College of Business which supposedly is one of the better business programs around.

 

[grizzlyboy]

Whatever you do get a certification. CPA, etc. From my experience certifications are better than advanced degrees.

 

[rsdplaya]

well what path do YOU want to take, what is more interesting to you???

 

[cincybcats22]

Fellow business student here, graduating in a month from the University of Cincinnati.

I was a finance/marketing double major, but dropped finance due to not wanting to go to school for an additional year.

I would say do Finance, most likely easier for you to find a job after graduation.

 

[toy collector123]

Finance=better get certs...

Anyways, I'm an Information Operations Management Major... I got 6 job offers for above $$K + bonuses out the wazzo last semester. Follow your heart.

 

[throwedindagame]

Hess Side 978 wrote:

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Whichof these two major do you think would be more likely to end up with ahigher salary? Which one will pay more directly out of college?


So lets pick the best job out of college in both fields.

Finance: Investment Banking
Business Management: Consulting.


Watch this video, before I continue. (Keep in mind it's wall street biased)



If you play your cards right, on average:

Finance will pay more now
Finance will pay more after your MBA
Finance will pay more in 20 years.

I'm referring to high finance. There are a lot of avenues, AssetManagement, Sales & Trading, Research, InvestmentBanking...............
I'm going to elaborate on Investment Banking because that's the fieldI'm interning in this summer and thats what I know most about.

Compensation: Since you asked about the money, I'm not going to beat around the bush.You get into a Bulge Bracket investment bank.....you could see 100-130k in this market: 70k salary + (30-60k) bonus. (numbers will probably be up from last year)

Lifestyle: You're going to work your !++ off....like 80-120 hours/week depending on deal flow and your group placement/culture. I remember being at my sell day and guys were telling me they pulled all-nighters the night before

Exit Opportunities: Private Equity, Hedge Fund, Venture Capital, Corporate Development, CFO/treasurer track, Random stuff

Certs: Unless you want to be a money manager, don't waste your time. Get that MBA from an M7 school and you're good to go.
If you're doing sales & trading or some other securities dealing type position your going to probably need to get a license to get execution rights.

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The other side of the coin, there are consultants. You want to shoot for Management Consultant at McKinsey, Bain, or Boston Consulting Group. Unlike Banking where there are a bunch of bulge bracket firms, there are basically only 3 Top Consulting Firms...the prestige, compensation, and exit opps drop off steeply after MBB.

Compensation: Definitely less than banking. I've got a full time consulting friend who makes less than banking interns. I'd say depending on the firm, around 60-70k salary as well but your bonus is going to be like 8-12k entry. I heard someone pulled 105k first year @ McKinsey from my school, but I don't know about all that.

Lifestyle:� Your going to work crazy hours but not quite as bad as banking. You might work less but your going to travel all the time even at the junior level. I remember talking to an ex-consultant last month who basically said "I traveled 51/52 weeks my first year out of college". If you like going to the airport Monday morning and not returning to your own home until Thursday night/friday morning, then consulting is for you. Consulting firms (with the exception of McKinsey) tend to have a better culture more collegial culture. #*%+ just attend a consulting info session at your school and an i-banking one, you'll see the difference.

Exit Opportunities: Much more broad than banking. Corporate executive track, private equity, entrepreneurship, Random stuff.

Both of these jobs are basically transition type jobs. Not many people are Bankers or Consultants for life.
In general you need to realize, that the work for both of these jobs is temporary and sets you up to do great things and get into a good Business school. In life, there is no such thing as free lunch. You're going to put in hours/work to get ahead in life.



Do what you like though or do it because it as a pre-requisite for what you REALLY want to do, but don't do something solely for the money............
Although money can be a factor, it should not be the only one. The guys who don't have their heart in it are weeded out pretty quickly in both of these fields.


Non Target School Advice
Your school is not a Wall Street/MBB target school. These guys pretty much only recruit at certain schools.
My advice:
You're going to have to do a lot of networking and make sure your resume is THE #*%+ by junior year.
You need to intern as a� freshman and sophomore, preferably at good companies. Demonstrate value-add at your internships.
Join 2 clubs that you like in August-September and make sure to attain a leadership position in both by your Junior year.
Since your major choices are kinda easy, make sure you maintain a 3.5+....hell shoot for a 3.8

Google "investment banking resume" so you can see what I'm talking about. Because that resume will pretty much get you consulting jobs as well.
Also, check out these websites.

www.wallstreetoasis.com <--the NT for Wallstreet wannabees.....im not sure how many FT guys actually post there, some consulting too
www.mergersandinquisitions.com
www.managementconsulted.com

 

[toy collector123]

You can't pop bottles in the break room though...

Go with Consulting... that's what I did