Are analysts at Wall Street economists or people from economics and finance background, or is it possible that they can be from sciences and engineering backgrounds?

Analysts from Wall Street are from extremely diverse backgrounds. There are PhDs, Engineers, MBAs, Statisticians, Pure Science professionals and many more from different areas of expertise.

But the common skill they share is quantitative ability coupled with analytical skills. Quantitative ability is a common thread across PhDs, Engineers, Statisticians and MBAs. So as long as you love number crunching and deriving key insights from those numbers, you would like a career in Wall Street though it is a lot of hard work.

Many economists have also done their PhD in Applied Mathematics and work on Equity Research (Buy/Sell Side). Here is an interview of one of them with a Science background

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • College majors often matter when seeking out positions on Wall Street.
  • Internships are an important way to get your foot in the door, especially if you’re an undergraduate student.
  • Identify the kind of work you want to do, along with a list of potential employers.
  • Make calls, send out resumes, and apply for a variety of open positions.
  • Network constantly by joining groups related to your job search on LinkedIn and other local organizations of professionals.