What Can I Do With a Finance Degree?
If you want to make a career in finance, there are uncountable options that increase for you, only if you gain more education and experience on the job. Because finance is one of the top subjects which gives you both high earning potential and great graduate job options. If you really want to study finance, go for it without having any doubt, because there is a wide range of career options that you could pursue after you complete your graduation.
Three categories of the finance field
If we talk about the field of finance, there are mainly three categories of this industry.
- Public
- Corporate
- Personal
Whether you talk about financial planning, investment banking or insurance, all the people who pursue careers in finance, pursuing a bachelor of science in finance is the first step that will enhance your financial career potential.
So in this article, you will get to know about different types of finance degrees, career options in finance, the skill of the finance majors and general salary.
Types of finance degree
If we talk about finance, there are different levels of degrees you can choose to pursue depending on your specific choice. Maybe you are thinking of, what can I do with a finance degree? For getting entry-level work in the finance field, you need to have a finance degree, and if you want to get an instructor role in the finance field you will require a decorate degree for that, so below are the degrees that you can pursue in the finance field.
Bachelor’s degree in finance
If you want to pursue your career in the finance field then, a bachelor’s degree in finance is one of the most common degrees you need to have. In this degree, you learn the basic fundamentals which are necessary to have for finance professionals, and this degree takes a total of four years to complete. In this degree, you will also be taught the quality of leadership and you will build upon your communication and financial skills according to your abilities.
Why get a bachelor’s degree in finance
One of the main reason to get a bachelor’s degree is, mostly for many entry-level position bachelor’s degrees is required in the finance field, or any similar degree. Because for the basic foundation that you need to have in order to succeed in your finance career you need to need to have a bachelor’s degree, and it is also required to further your education to advance your career, depending on your choice.
Master’s degree in finance
You will be qualified to pursue your master’s degree only if you have completed your bachelor’s degree in finance. After giving four years to a bachelor’s degree, it will take two more years to complete and to learn more fundamentals of finance by focusing on specialized areas of finance.
Why get a master’s degree in finance
It’s a time when there is competition in every field of a job especially in the finance job market, so you will get the advantage of this degree in your competition in the job market, and a master’s degree holders are apart from the bachelor’s degree counterparts. In a master’s degree, you learn better about the specific areas in the finance field such as investment, trading and risk management position.
Doctorate degree in finance
If you want to be qualified for every position in the finance field then this is the degree you need to have. The main benefit of having a doctorate degree is, it allows you to become a financial instructor and also a financial researcher. After giving 6 years to bachelor’s and master’s degree it will take an additional four to five years to complete a doctorate degree.
Why get a doctorate degree
You must need to have a doctorate degree is you are searching for an instructional and research-based job position in finance.
Careers in the finance field
There are lots of opportunities for working within the finance field. In finance fiend, you can get a high paying position just after you complete your degree, but it depends on your level of education and your personal interest to choose the job accordingly.
Options of jobs
Commercial Banking
Choosing a carrier in commercial banking will be a good option for you if you want to joy financial services such as checking accounts, savings accounts, and multiple loan options. You also get a lot of room for growth if you are into commercial banking, many of the people start their career as bank tellers and move up to become branch manager, and commercial banking average salary is up to $93,000.
Financial planner
Basically a financial planner creates plans for his client to ensure that the current and future finances of an individual are in order. They also make plans and discuss the strategies for investing and saving, keeping the client’s goal in mind. The financial worker works within the local or national firm and their salary is up to $62,000.
Investment banking
Investment banking is also a good option to choose as a currier this is a high-intensity field, they sell and trade corporate securities, and also provide intelligent advice to individuals and corporations. Investment bankers may also include some more responsibilities such as trading stocks and trading bonds on the stock market, and they get salary is up to $96,000.
Insurance agent
If you want to explore various aspects of finance within one job then this job is the best option for you. You get the options to work as an insurance sales representative, customer service specialist or you can also help your clients with their financial objectives, and the salary of an insurance agent is $38,000.
Public accounting
Public accounting is also another diversified carrier within the finance field. They work with both types of clients individuals and corporations to preserve their financial transactions, prepare income tax returns and audit records. They may work with both small and large firms depending on their clients, their salary is up to $64,000.
Hedge fund manager
Hedge funds are also known as unregulated private investment funds. Working with this type of investment provides an array of possible jobs ranging from analysts, financial traders, compliance officers, and portfolio managers. The average salary of a hedge fund manager is $70000.
Real estate agent
Real estate financial career work for their clients to plan out the best strategy for purchasing office location, shopping center or a house. Montage companies, life insurance professional and montage brokers are some potential paths for financial real estate, their average salary is up to $59,000.
Chief financial officer
When it comes to tracking the profit and deficits of the company, all of that responsibility goes to the CEO of the company means chief financial officer. After that, he makes a strategy to maintain finance successfully, and the average salary of a chief financial officer is $128,000.
Skills for finance majors
Finance courses provide you great knowledge about technology, financial insights, and interpersonal skills which are very important for you to get success in the job market.
It is also important for you to have knowledge about the various types of financial environments because it also plays a very important role in deciding your finance career.
Top 10 vital skills in the finance industry
- You need to have your certifications and accounting qualifications
- Skill of interpersonal
- Skill of management
- Skill of communication
- The strong skill of problem-solving
- Financial forecast reporting
- Skills of using software’s
- You need to be innovative
- Analytics capabilities
- Business savvy
Finance degree and FAQs
Difference between finance and accounting
Both finance and accounting are different in specific aspects of the financial scope of their work. If we talk about the accounting field they deal with more transactions that happen on a daily bases. But the finance focus on broader investment management all over time.
A person who is working on finance, his work is to focus on stock and bonds and determines batter investment strategies and ensure that their finances should grow with the changing market.
Can you get a CPA with a finance degree?
Yes, if you are doing finance you can also get CPA with it. You will need to have a bachelor’s degree for that or you can also do a bachelor’s in any other business-related field. You will be qualified to sit on the CPA exam after you qualify for a bachelor’s degree in finance.
What does finance degrees cover?
Basically finance degree covers a combination of two types of knowledge theoretical and technical, which includes basic finance skills that you will need to enter in a finance career.
In finance, you will learn how to measure wealth and how finance shapes the way companies behave. Accounting, macro and microeconomics, information technology and mathematics are some important topics that will be taught in finance.
Entry requirements for finance degrees
It normally depends on the institution. Although many of the time some good universities do not demand any specific qualification to the students, you need to have a strong academic record especially in your mathematics and you also need to have good skills in communication and English in order to study finance.
What kind of bachelor in finance degree should you choose?
Most of the degrees in finance are paired with business administration degrees, but there are some degrees that stand alone also. So if you want to get an education that gives you a good foundation about business concepts, then go with those programs that offer you BBA or BSBA along with doing a concentration in finance.
You should look for that kind of business schools that allow you to enlist in full finance major. So that you can specialize in areas such as investment banking and real estate finance.
What degree should I study finance or accounting?
This is the question which comes in everyone’s minds when it comes to choosing in between right bachelor’s degree, they get confused between degree in finance or accounting which often seen as the same thing but both the degrees have lots of difference, like full mango or slice of a mango, which means accounting is just a part of finance but finance is more complex and have broader scope than accounting.
In accounting, you mostly have a lot of paperwork and deal with numbers. You prepare yourself to analyze financial statements and record transactions in the bachelor’s degree in accounting.
But doing studies in finance means you will learn here about budget planning and long-term financial budget planning. Here you will find out how your company will reach its financial goals. Raising funds, gathering cash flow information from accounting department all these activities comes under finance.
Best entry-level finance jobs
No doubt finance is a fiercely competitive field. And why not? After all, everyone knows that it’s a high paying industry which is known to pay a good amount of salary and also bonuses for those who are at the top. As compared to another field even those who work at the bottom level they can also expect to start out at a strong wage.
Maybe you are not walking into your dream job right, but you do not need to worry because the industry of finance is very vast, you will get plenty of chance to evolve, once you are in, so the first thing that you have to do is at least get your foot in the door.
Looking for a finance job?
What is the thing that you need to identify to get the most rewarding entry-level job for yourself in both the terms of salary or future career prospects?
The first thing that you need to do is, take some time and think hard about which job will fit according to your abilities and interests. Once you will make your mind, you can begin your search.
Aside from your personal network with friends, family and anyone they know searching for entry-level work in online job sites will be the best and logical way to get a job. There are lots of online sites for jobs, but it might be more efficient to search on sites, which specialize in finance-industry jobs.