What is the best way to begin understanding/working towards being in the finance profession (IB, PE, VC, etc.)?

Financial modeling and valuation are very important skills for investment banking and PE. To best set yourself up to be a good financial modeler, pay close attention in your financial accounting course(s) and your general financial courses. Once you have developed good finance and accounting foundations, invest in a book on financial modeling and valuation or purchase training resources from websites such as http://trainingthestreet.com/ or http://wallstreetprep.com

Learning another language will help you become marketable -- especially if you speak Chinese or Spanish. If you're having problems understanding your school work, take advantage of your professor's and TA's office hours and ask questions until you understand. Not being afraid to ask questions or to raise your hand that you don't understand is an invaluable skill. Also, read the finance sections of the WSJ and NYTimes. During summers, apply for internships in the financial services industry -- this is where you'll start to build your network. These connections from your internships can help you find work after graduation. And most important, work hard in college and study. Getting 'A's in key classes will give you a leg up on the competition. Good luck!!

Hey man!! So the relevant finance and accounting you will need to get into Investment Banking is going to range from none to very basic. If you are not a finance, accounting, or any other type of business related major you typically will not be asked any questions about finance in interviews and in terms of doing the actual work, you won't need to know any finance as they will train you! I know it sounds ridiculous but that is just how it is. So pick a major which you will truly enjoy and be able to sink your teeth into. In terms of what you really should know inside and out is, your story, and how it lead you to "I want to work in finance." If you really do want to get into learning what basic finance and accounting that they expect from business majors visit: http://www.ibankingfaq.com/ ...here on the left you will see a section on technical questions. These are the topics you will be expected to know...you can supplement anything they do not explain with Khan Academy videos. additionally here is a quora post on what exactly is ibanking, and I have quoted the Vault Guide on Investment Banking there. If you want to go the extra mile one you have gone through the above material, try learning financial modeling. Start with http://www.valuationuniversity.com which gives you step by step tutorials, explains the concepts, and provides dynamic excel spreadsheets to work through and download. If you want to move up to more advanced modeling step up to http://www.macabacus.com ***You have until your Junior year's fall semester to: really get your story perfect, practice for interviews, take on relevant internships (anything finance or accounting related will help), join clubs that show your interest (student managed funds, to ibanking clubs) show leadership If you have questions during your career development feel free to reach out as I was a highly motivated freshmen not too long ago. I have gone through the whole process as a finance major, and I do have friends from the other majors who have done the same.