8 Popular Finance Degree Jobs

Earning a finance degree gives you financial, accounting, and economic skills that you can apply to various roles in a professional industry. A finance degree allows you to choose from many career routes. By carefully considering the tasks and expectations of each role, you can choose the career that best fits your interests and qualifications.

In this article, we discuss some career options for individuals with a finance degree based on earning potential and popularity.

Best jobs for people with a finance degree

Earning a finance degree could qualify you for many jobs. For the most up-to-date salary information from Indeed, click on the salary link for each job title below:

1. Credit analyst

National average salary: $55,120 per year

Primary duties: A credit analyst often works with banks or other lending institutions to determine a customer’s ability to repay a loan. Credit analysts use risk calculators and previous credit history to provide recommendations on offering credit.

2. Financial planner

National average salary: $60,764 per year

Primary duties: A financial planner assists clients in planning, organizing, and investing their finances with the goal of financial security. Financial planners typically use strong decision-making skills to help clients evaluate retirement needs and plan for large purchases like college tuition, a new house, or international travel.

3. Financial Advisor

National average salary: $65,705 per year

Primary duties: A financial advisor assists clients in analyzing their finances, primarily with the goal of planning for retirement. Financial planners can also help adults change spending patterns or reinvest funds into better-performing investments in order to meet retirement goals.

4. Financial analyst

National average salary: $67,371 per year

Primary duties: A financial analyst assesses finances and makes recommendations based on data. Many financial analysts work in a corporate setting, identifying financial trends and making informed predictions about the finances of the company. Financial analysts may also work for investment companies, banking institutions, or in a small business setting.

5. Entrepreneur

National average salary: $69,039 per year

Primary duties: An entrepreneur is an individual who starts their own business. There is a level of risk involved with entrepreneurship and a background in finance can help you decrease that risk and properly plan financially for the start of a new business. Developed skills in tracking spending, estimating sales trends, recording profits and losses, and creating a sales plan based on financial data will assist the entrepreneur when running a business.

6. Certified accountant

National average salary: $79,481 per year

Primary duties: A certified accountant offers consultation to clients regarding taxes and their business accounting needs. Some accountants work with clients organizing and filing their personal taxes. Certified accountants have completed the required education and successfully passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.

7. Attorney

National average salary: $89,614 per year

Primary duties: Completing a financial degree along with a Juris Doctorate in law will qualify you to work as a finance attorney assisting clients with legal issues with their finances. This might include bankruptcy, garnishments, or repossessions. Attorneys may also work in the legal industry on the business side, assisting business owners or account managers in collecting late payments.

8. Professor

National average salary: $134,458 per year

Primary duties: A professor in the financial industry uses their background to educate students on accounting, micro-and macroeconomics, international finance, risk management, and personal budgeting. Professors may also administer exams, grade projects, lead internships, and offer consultation as students explore their career options with a degree in finance.

What skills do you develop with a finance degree?

You can expect to learn skills in personal finance, budgeting, cost behaviors, profits and losses, and financial planning when studying for a degree in finance. Each of these skills could carry over into other industries, even outside of the financial sector.

For example, a business owner will use planning and budgeting skills to project profits and losses for each quarter. A sales team leader will use skills in cost behaviors and profits to better understand customer buying habits. A degree in finance can also help to develop the following skills:

• Customer service: Many financial careers require that you work closely with customers. Internship experience can assist you in developing important verbal and written communication skills. Finance professionals will use these skills to better understand their client’s needs.

• Organization: Because many financial careers require that you maintain and report clients’ information, strong organizational skills are a requirement. In fact, many clients work with a financial advisor or planner to assist them in keeping their financial documents organized.

• Mathematics: Mathematical skills are also important in most of the financial career roles. An accountant must carefully calculate income and taxes to report an accurate number. A business owner will need to consider wages, taxes, discounts, and store costs to get an accurate profit-and-loss statement.

• Problem-solving: Strong problem-solving skills are also crucial in many financial industries. The client will often turn to the financial expert to solve a problem. Whether the problem is complex tax documents or a barrier to retirement, it is the role of the financial advisor to identify the problem and the steps to overcome it.

I hope you find this article helpful.