Many freshman students begin college undeclared. They are unsure what they want to do in their careers and use their first year of college to figure out what to study. Some students take up to two years to declare a major or switch their major multiple times. This can be costly and time-consuming. It can also prevent a student from graduating on schedule.
It is common for students who are undeclared to take time off from college and explore all of the options at their disposal. But a break from school is not the right choice for every student. If you want to find the right major, perform plenty of research. After you do, you may discover a major that suits you perfectly. From here, you can enroll in the classes you need to graduate and earn your degree.
If you’re interested in exploring some of the career options in finance, you’ve come to the right place. This feature on careers in finance is just one in our series, “Undeclared,” which explores potential career options in different fields, from private enterprise to public healthcare.
A Degree in Finance
You may believe pursuing a major puts you on a predefined career path. But those who choose finance as their major can find many career opportunities.
In a finance degree program, you’ll build soft and hard skills that help you succeed in the real world. For instance, finance degree programs emphasize the development of computer, project management, leadership, and communication skills. You can apply these skills in a variety of finance roles.
As you earn your finance degree, you may find that you use what you’re learning in your everyday life. You’ll become financially literate, to the point where you have a good understanding of money management, investing, banking, and how to build credit. Financial literacy can help you land your dream job in finance. At the same time, you can put your financial skills to work while you’re still in school.
For those interested in finance, multiple degree options are available.
It takes about two years to earn an associate’s degree. During an associate’s degree program, you’ll learn about accounting, management, and economics. Furthermore, you’ll get insights into financial institutions, markets, and analysis.
A bachelor’s degree is a step up from an associate’s. The program requires about four years to complete. In a bachelor’s program, you’ll explore financial models and assessments, investments, and bank management. You may be required to complete an internship as part of your bachelor’s program, too.
Once you earn a bachelor’s degree, you can earn a master’s on top of it. A master’s degree program requires one to two years to complete. In the program, you’ll learn about qualitative methods of financial analysis. You can even concentrate on areas like business analytics, international finance, or wealth management, depending on where you want to go in your career.
Before you pursue a finance degree, consider your interests. If you’ve always had an affinity for finance, earning a degree in this area may be ideal. You can learn about different finance jobs and sign up for a degree program that helps you land a great job in the sector.
Personal Financial Advisor
A personal financial advisor helps people and businesses manage their money. The advisor offers financial tips and recommendations on everything from investments to estate plans. They also track financial markets to ensure that their clients can set themselves up for long-lasting financial success.
Finance and insurance companies frequently hire personal financial advisors. Some of these advisors choose to work directly for businesses. Others are self-employed. Meanwhile, the average personal financial advisor’s annual salary is around $94,170. The number of personal financial advisor jobs is also expected to grow in the next decade.
You’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree in finance to become a personal financial advisor. Depending on your specialty, you may need to earn certain certifications and licenses.
In-demand personal financial advisors possess sales and marketing skills and know how to build and sustain positive client relationships. These advisors are typically capable of communicating with individuals of all skill and experience levels and delivering complex financial information in easy-to-understand terms.
Financial Analyst
Financial analysts take financial data and help people and businesses use it to make decisions. They review macroeconomic and microeconomic elements to understand the conditions surrounding a particular finance topic. Then, they use financial models and other tools to see how different factors impact these conditions. This allows financial analysts to provide financial forecasts. People and businesses can use these forecasts to determine the best ways to utilize their money moving forward.
Banks, insurance companies, and other businesses employ financial analysts. Comparatively, individuals may hire financial analysts in the hopes of gaining finance insights that they can use to turn a profit. The average annual salary for a financial analyst is about $83,660. More financial analyst jobs are expected to become available in the next few years.
Earning a bachelor’s degree in finance offers a terrific starting point toward building a career as a financial analyst. Those who have math and analytical skills may find that a career as a financial analyst meets their expectations.
The top financial analysts have exceptional problem-solving abilities and qualitative skills. They can also review large amounts of financial data, generate insights from it, and share these insights in reader-friendly reports.
Financial Manager
In a financial manager role, you’ll produce financial reports and craft financial plans. That way, you can help a business achieve its financial goals.
Banks and investment firms commonly hire financial managers. Most financial managers work at least 40 hours a week, and some work more than that. On average, a financial manager earns more than $100,000 annually.
Getting a bachelor’s degree in finance can help you get your career as a financial manager off the ground. If you want to stand out from other financial manager job candidates, you can earn various certifications and licenses.
A financial manager should know how to manage a team and work independently. The manager must also possess analytical, communication, and presentation skills. The best financial managers are generally detail-oriented and look at every piece of information they can to tackle any financial problems that come their way.
Conclusion
Finance offers a wide range of career opportunities — you can pursue finance jobs in anything from banking to stocks. As such, it may be a good idea to consider finance in conjunction with other college majors. When you do, you may find that finance is the right major for you. In this instance, you can earn a degree and build your career in finance!
