Is the Corporate World for You?
Finance degrees prepare you for a career in the business or corporate world. While there is some overlap between finance degrees and economics or business degrees, finance students focus their studies much more on issues of capital management and risk assessment.
Topics Covered in Finance Schools
Whether you do an online degree in finance or attend classes at a traditional institution, you will cover a very similar set of topics during your studies. Your core courses will cover introductory statistics, basic economic theory with emphasis on the time value of money, risk management and accounting techniques.
The electives that will be available to you depend largely on the institution, but often include applied mathematics and managerial economics courses, especially at the graduate level. Many colleges will also encourage students doing finance degrees to branch out to other fields of study, including the liberal arts and social sciences.
Typically, an online finance degree program is more concentrated. Most of these programs eschew electives in favor of having students focus on their core courses. Thus, they can often be completed more quickly than traditional four-year college programs.
Finance degrees are also available at the graduate level. The Master of Science in Finance (MSF) designation is an in-demand professional qualification that is not unlike an MBA, except that it's more concentrated on monetary management.
Finance Jobs for Graduates
If you've decided to pursue a finance career, you'll have many options available to you after graduation. Professionals with finance degrees often go on to careers in wealth management, helping private individuals plan their financial futures and manage their assets. This career path can also lead to similar positions in the world of corporate finance.
In fact, the majority of finance jobs are at the corporate level. Financial analysis and investment management are two common applications of both undergraduate and graduate finance degrees. These career paths can be very lucrative, though they are extremely competitive. Expect to have to put in long hours of hard work to ascend the corporate ladder.
Finance degrees give you in-demand skills and prepare you for a wide range of exciting, practical and high-paying careers. If you've got a knack for keeping track of dollars and cents, this may be the path for you.
