5 Majors to Consider for a Career in Finance – BigFuture (2024)

FAQs

What major is best for finance? ›

There are four main areas of finance: banks, institutions, public accounting and corporate. Courses within the finance major provide a solid background in many subjects including: Financial markets and intermediaries. Measuring the risk and return of investments.

A bachelor's degree in finance is usually the most common requirement to pursue a career in finance. This degree takes four years to complete and prepares you with the basic fundamentals you will need as a finance professional.

Finance majors build knowledge related to nearly every operational area of an organization, including accounting, sales and lead generation, human resources, and marketing. The curriculum for a finance major includes courses in personal finance, economics, business law, accounting, marketing, statistics, and ethics.

Finance is a somewhat difficult major. The difficulty with finance comes down to its concepts that students would not have experienced before in their lives, the financial lingo in the field, and the concentration of math in the subject.

The Benefits of Working in Finance

Finance degree jobs can provide relatively high pay, stability, opportunities for advancement and consistent demand projections. Careers in finance may also offer flexibility for employees by allowing them to work remotely or in hybrid environments.

The finance professionals' basic activities are the 5 A's - assemble, analyse, advise, apply and accumen.

Finance Career Character Traits

If on the other hand, you love numbers, are good at math and Excel spreadsheets, and relish delving into the financials of a public company, then you might want to be an analyst. If you have both skill sets, a position as a financial advisor could suit you best.

Is finance a valuable major? ›

High earning potential: Many jobs in finance offer high salaries and growth potential, making it a lucrative career choice. Diverse career opportunities: With a finance degree, you can work in various roles and industries, from investment banking to risk management to financial planning.

One thing that's for sure is the high amount of math you will need to study. Finance is a mathematical discipline, so if you aren't as comfortable with math as with other ways of thinking, you may find it more challenging.

While the financial industry is traditionally associated with high wage earners, making it into the top three paying industries of 2024, there are 10 specific finance careers or jobs that hold significant salary potential and are showing promising signs of growth and industry demand.

Many companies say your major does not matter, claiming they hire people from all backgrounds, including art majors. No doubt they do, but it is certainly better to apply for finance jobs with a finance-related degree.

Some of the main math-related skills that the financial industry requires are: mental arithmetic (“fast math”), algebra, trigonometry, and statistics and probability. A basic understanding of these skills should be good enough and can qualify you for most finance jobs.

That said, the average starting salary is slightly higher for finance vs accounting degrees. In 2023, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)¹ reported that the medium starting salary for finance majors was $61,456, while the medium starting salary for accounting majors was $53,444.