Financial Careers

Undergraduate careers in finance focus on the financial services industry (although finance jobs are available in a multitude of industries). This includes activities such as insurance, securities, lending and investing. Financial careers can be found in securities brokerage, investment banking, financial planning, insurance and corporate finance. All businesses need employees highly knowledgeable in finance in order to survive. Generally speaking, a person will need at least a bachelor's degree to enter into a career in the financial sector.

Financial careers require a strong background in economics and finance. Depending on your ultimate career goals and interests, you may want to take other classes that will help in your future career, such as law, statistics and marketing. If you plan to advance to executive-level positions, you will want to take classes in operations and management and hone your leadership and communication skills. Although there is no set degree that is required for financial careers, more and more employers prefer a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree. An MBA is a graduate-level degree that gives intensive training in finance, economics, management and operations – all knowledge that is needed in order to run a business smoothly. Some companies may prefer employees with a law degree or a background in the military or athletics.

Financial careers also require computer skills. Most of the work will involve using Microsoft products such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. E-mail and Internet skills are also a necessity. Some financial careers also may require a credential or certification in order to do business with the public. Overall, those in the financial services industry need to have excellent people skills, as they will come into regular contact with many people.

Financial careers are not just in the finance or banking industries. Insurance and real estate are two hot fields that are not always recognized as financial careers. There are also many job titles that often are not considered to be financial careers; these include appraiser, auditor, bookkeeper, claims examiner and fraud detector.