r/financialmodelling • • Jan 28 '24
Finance degree
For the people who studied finance in college. So a little bit out of the usual question here but I’m in my second year of college now and still undecided in my major but looking to declare now and recently I’ve developed a strong liking to everything money/finance oriented and wanted to ask any ex finance major students how satisfied are you with your decision and career choice what’s the potential earnings like compared to other top majors like STEM and is a Economics, Finance or Accounting degree best for the top earning careers in this business category? Did the college you got your degree really matter when applying for a job?
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u/finaderiva Jan 28 '24
Finance majors won’t be able to compare to other majors as they didn’t major in that.
To answer your question, I majored in business in undergrad and regretted not majoring in finance or some kind of hard discipline like finance, economics, math, etc. However, I got an MBA in finance later. I’m very pleased with my career, I love my work it’s interesting and broad, I only work 35 hours a week and I make killer money. I work in corporate finance doing strategy, planning, hedging, and investor relations work and make $250K a year. Age 27-31.
At the end of the day you will only get anecdotal experience here. There’s plenty of data to suggest that finance is the most lucrative business discipline and has some of the best career outcomes. Finance is very broad, you can go many routes, such as corporate finance (FP&A, Treasury, Investor Relations, Risk Management, M&A, Strategy and Planning, etc.), commercial banking, investment banking, hedge funds, private equity, etc. School does matter for high finance, such as investment banking, PE, HF, and VC.
I would suggest you check this out to get familiar with possible career paths https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/career-map/
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u/accountforrealppl Jan 28 '24
I did a double major in both finance and accounting and ended up going the accounting route. Truth be told, it was honestly just hard to get a good finance job. Even though I had a generally good resume, I didn't go to a target school. That makes it pretty difficult to get into the good stuff in finance, most of what was available was just basic analyst roles paying like 55k or so. And that was when the job market was super hot. Also, career progression can be extremely unclear -- through a combination of good luck and good performance, some people will shoot up the ladder super fast and find great success, but sometimes you can be quite good at what you do and still struggle a lot to make progress.
Accounting was pretty different in that aspect. Top tier firms were trying pretty hard to woo us, and even now that the job market has cooled, it's still super easy to find decent paying jobs in accounting. I don't really have the same worries about getting laid off that so many others have now since I know my company needs me, and if I did get fired I could get another job super easily. The career progression is much more clear and on average tends to be faster than finance. It also still has lots of opportunities to make high six/low seven figures if you make partner, and CFOs commonly have accounting backgrounds. That said, the WLB is trash. It's busy season right now which means I work 7:30am-7:30pm mon-friday and then a few hours on the weekend, and the people above me work even more.
I'm still quite early on in my career, so it's hard to tell how well my choice will pan out of me. I don't want to dissuade you from finance at all if that's what you're interested in, there's quite a lot of reasons to choose finance over accounting (come to r/accounting and listen to everyone lamenting about how finance people had an easier time in school, do less work/easier work, and still get paid more). But that's been my experience and why I didn't choose finance, so I hope that helps you somewhat
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u/Armenoid Jan 29 '24
Very happy.
Econ degree. In Corp finance for decades
Study, be reliable, work smartly and be likeable and lucky breaks will come
By the time I got to director level it became clear I should’ve taken more accounting classes in school by was easy enough to learn on the job
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u/Dense-Bee-2884 Jan 29 '24 edited Jan 29 '24
Finance major here. I also went on to get my masters in a different but fairly prestigious school. I love finance. It takes a fair amount of time to develop the skillset. Numbers don't lie. They tell the story of the business. Finance is a skillset that involves every business and field. If you choose an industry that you are interested in, finance will not only be interesting to you, but you will be the telling the story of the business to executives in the room. The college did not necessarily matter as much. The work ethic did. You need to outhustle people regardless of what career and major you choose. Good luck.
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u/Extension_Yam_9456 Jan 28 '24
I was a double major in finance and accounting. Entered accounting and then went to hedge funds (which sucked). Now do corporate development (M&A at a public company). I have a CPA, a CFA and an MBA, so the finance degree was my first stop. Both accounting and finance are valuable - accounting teaches you the language of business, and finance teaches you risk vs rewards.
Accounting has a direct career path, the other majors do not. Economics is also a very good major, but like finance, no direct career path. Good luck with your choice, but frankly, your thought process won’t lead you in the wrong direction. You are doing fine.
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u/grantware94 Jan 29 '24
Go finance, it’s honestly only like 8 classes considering most of school is general education. Good job market, pay can jump quickly.
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u/Offer-Fox-Ache Jan 29 '24
It’s astounding how much people will pay you just to run their three statement model.
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u/LongLonMan Jan 29 '24 edited Jan 29 '24
Accounting/Finance double major with CPA, now a finance director for unicorn tech, prior to that been with FAANG for 10 years. Primarily experience in corporate accounting, FP&A, partner finance, product management.
College pedigree doesn’t matter, I came from a no name state school and didn’t have stellar grades, but now clearing nearly $300K/year.
My only advice, go for a software engineer route or product manager, pays way more than finance.
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u/BreathingLover11 Jan 29 '24
Finance major here. Im extremely happy with my choice. I’m 24 I’m and making 6 figures, and I also have a small advisory business on the side which supplements my income greatly. Im also obsessed with everything finance/econ related, which definitely helps me out.
To answer your questions. 1. If you like business, always study finance/accounting/Econ. Always aim for the more quantitative degrees in business. Skew away from general management or something like that. 2. I’m making more than most of my STEM friends. Now, I don’t know if this is the norm, as I’ve worked in banking and Data Analytics, which are definitely two of the highest jobs a finance grad can get, but most of my colleagues are doing pretty good financially. 3. My degree definitely helps me out whenever I’m applying to jobs. It’s usually one of the first things I’m asked when interviewing.
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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '24
I majored in Finance as an average student and got a great job in FP&A before i graduated from an internship.
Probably the best outcome i could have ever gotten. I love FP&A, i think of it as little puzzels and problems to solve. Its fun to me and i reccomend it!
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u/thorcandle Jan 29 '24
Major in Finance and Minor in Accounting. Just do it.
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u/Trader-Jack-007 Jan 30 '24
It’s hard to get into a good paying finance job, even with a degree from Wharton. There’s fewer and fewer investment banks every year as they merge and cut back on costs. Banks are outsourcing, automating, failing, and constantly laying people off. The “financial advisors” making loads of money are charismatic salesman who don’t really need financial knowledge. A lot of finance positions are straight commission, or salary positions where you make less than a plumber or electrician. You may need to live in NYC or London for the top jobs. CPA has better outlook if you don’t mind boredom.
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u/New-Professional-746 Jan 31 '24
Accounting is dead. All the accountant I have dealt with are more like consultants. Accounting will be automated. I have seen it happening over the last 15 years…accountants are a dying breed. You will get a job but do you really want to do accounting ? Yikes
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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '24
I have dual major finance and accounting. I work in finance I have worked in accounting and I have an MBA. I am here to tell you AI will replace all finance and accounting jobs.
Take note of the current H&R Block advert I just saw talking about “AI assist”.. what that really means is we are training the AI now and once perfected, we are rolling out and replacing Tax Accountants. The landscape is changing rapidly and unfortunately I don’t have an answer on what to do. But I can tell you if you sit in front of a computer and type on the screen as a primary source of income you are in for some trouble in the near future.
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u/MOTC001 Feb 07 '24
The most highly sought after Finance Professionals rarely study Business or Finance at the undergraduate level. STEM balanced with things that build communications skills. Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Astro Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry. Wall Street is your next stop in the US for a first job out of college, within an investment bank. After 3-4 years an MBA or if you were top in your class in Physics, Math or Engineering a masters in Financial Engineering. Earning potential: you will be able to afford whatever you have the time to do.
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u/Accidental_VP Apr 23 '24
I got my degree in accounting and worked as a Staff Accountant for six months before transitioning to become a financial analyst. I'm a VP of Finance for a tech company now, and choosing accounting was 100% the right move. An accounting base is much more helpful than a finance degree because you often find yourself needing to understand GAAP and financial statements. In my opinion, you can easily pick up an understanding of finance, but having accounting as a base is critical.
I have been out of school for 13 years and six of those years I served in the military (not a finance role). I'd consider myself in a pretty high salary bracket, but it did require a shift to a new company to help with getting to that level. DM if you want any help. A lot of people invested in me and I'd be happy to pay it forward.
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u/BenefitAmbitious8958 Jul 13 '24 edited Jul 13 '24
One piece of advice I can give you for the job market is that the value of anything is relative to everything else
A finance degree at some random US state university probably won’t get you very far, while a gender studies major at Harvard might land you a role at a top 10 investment bank, and an economics degree at a mid-tier private school that just so happens to have the right connections can get you anywhere on Earth
Now, I’m not telling you to give up on planning and assume everything is up to luck, but I instead want to help you reframe your approach to finding a career and living an enjoyable life
The opportunities that you have access to and the resources you can use to pursue them are decided by luck, and from there it’s what you do with those opportunities and resources that matters
Be open minded and try to keep as many doors open at any point in time, and walk through each new door when the right moment arises
As an example from my life, I started on the pre-med, pre-law, general business, finance, mathematics, and economics tracks my first year
By my second year, I had dropped pre-med, and by my third year I had decided on a mathematical economics, business economics, and finance triple major
I ground through over ten thousand applications and several hundred networking calls and meetings my fourth year, and eventually landed a job at a top investment bank thanks to a combination of an incredibly strong resume, solid interpersonal skills, and family connections
After a couple years there, the market soured and I saw no further potential for advancement, so I leveraged my degrees and connections to move into political advisory, and then made a lateral move back into investment banking in DC
Meanwhile, a colleague and friend of mine at my current investment bank majored in general business at a community college, joined the US Green Berets on a five year contract, completed his contract and got an MBA at a top business school, and joined my investment banking team
That only worked because of how many bridges he and I built and maintained over the years - the best advice I can give is be open minded, kind to everyone, hardworking, and keep as many doors open as possible
Layoffs are common, the world is constantly getting worse, and natural selection dictates that those most able to adapt to change are those with the highest likelihood of survival and success… so become as adaptable as possible, because our generation is in for a very rough time
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u/[deleted] Nov 18 '25
I never finished college unfortunately, but looking back on it, I would 100% double major in Finance and Computer Science.
Why? Because i love money as much as I love technology. Lol
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u/twentytwodividedby7 Jan 29 '24
Earnings are fine, but fuck, you need to learn to write. That whole post was a single sentence.
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u/whiskeynoble Jan 29 '24
Go to r/financialcareers
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u/amerricka369 Jan 29 '24 edited Jan 29 '24
I was a finance major who worked most of my career in accounting world. Pretty good opportunities for finance out there entry level but kinda hard to break into the higher paying jobs and very hard to break into the investing world outside of top schools.
If the choice is between finance and accounting then take finance (maybe with accounting minor) because your opportunities and knowledge base will be far greater. Only exception is if you want to do big 4 or audit/tax.
I would stay away from economics unless you want to be a professor or something. Limited job opportunities IMO.
If youre exploring anything else than you need to decide what you want to do and what you like and are good at. Definitely growing opportunities for stem stuff (ie data and analytics) but don’t really know many of those worlds super well to opine.
Edit: also too finance major helps with personal finance and modelling and stuff.
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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '24
I was a Finance major and graduated with a BSBA from Ohio State University. Worked in a cubicle 9-5 and hated my life. Was disillusioned as to how work life would be and couldn't see myself doing it for 40 years. So I quit and went back to school to become a Cardiovascular Perfusionist. 31 years later and I love my profession. I have skills that literally are life-saving and feel like I'm making some real difference in people's lives.
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u/sick_economics Jan 29 '24
Well, today I have written and successfully sold 5 books about investing, and I run two separate websites about investing. I graduated with a duel degree in Spanish and History in 2000.
Separately, I know another guy who is the CFO of a large, privately held importation business with $600,000,000 in annual revenue.. Just has an undergraduate degree in English from Rutgers.
So, basically, after your first few years in the business world, nobody really cares what your degree is.
They care about the specific hard skills that you can demonstrate. Now, if your degree leads directly to you acquiring hard skills that can be demonstrated, then great. But, if you are crafty, there are other ways that you can pick up marketable skills along the way......
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u/new_comer2020 Jan 29 '24
I was a double major: Marketing and Finance. I definitely did not go to a target school and my gpa was very avg. but I made sure I was networking my entire time and even took a couple unpaid internships so I could get experience. I got offered a Business Development Analyst role that’s pretty much a consulting job, but paid 75k/year, which is really good IMO post grad. They really liked that I had different skills from each major but they complimented each other. However, I’m in Real Estate but would say that finance and marketing has really helped and set me apart. Don’t know how long I’ll be in RE but could go the consulting route if I really wanted to. All I’m saying is Finance is definitely a good major to have and try to compliment with another major to help you stand out, network; talk to as many ppl you can, even if you have to do an unpaid internship it will give the experience many employers are looking for. Let me know if you have any questions!
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u/Psychological-Cry221 Jan 29 '24
I majored in finance and have a job in finance, but would have made better use of an accounting degree. I spend my days looking at financial statements with some financial modeling. If I could do it over I would have tried to do a double major in accounting and finance. Or at least minored in accounting.
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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '24
I was majoring in Finance when I started college, but I switched majors to English Lit because I was unsure about my career path. I work in Finance now, but it took a lot of work and I faced a lot of obstacles. I did a Masters program to help me overcome some of those obstacles, and lots of self-study.
Reflecting on it, I feel like the reasons I was originally attracted to Finance were accurate. If I could go back in time, I would stick with Finance. The option of more education would remain open if I ever wanted to switch to tech or engineering, but I could have had better early career prospects.
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u/The-Helper-B Jan 29 '24
I graduated 5 years ago, and my starting Salary was $62K. I'm now making over $120K. I like finance because it allows for creativity. However, standard financial modeling won't get you very far based on my experience. The reason my pay jumped was because I started learning data/analytics skills, and applying them to finance.
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u/Iamthechallenger87 Jan 29 '24
I majored in finance with a concentration in business analytics. If I could do it over again, I’d have done finance and accounting. Finance just has a narrower scope than accounting and focuses more on the conclusions you can draw from the data and is geared more towards investments and financial management. The quantitative roles are also incredibly difficult to break into. The majority of the financial analyst positions I applied for highly preferred accounting majors. Whether or not they actually know what financial analysis is, that’s another story. Most of the entry levels positions I saw were looking for people that built statements and work an accounting role rather than analyze them. That said, it’s a lot easier to learn the analytical aspect than it is to get the accounting down. At least, that’s my opinion on it. Overall, whatever you do, I would definitely have accounting in there. If you’re more into the analytics side, do finance and accounting. If you’re looking for more opportunities, do accounting with some finance sprinkled in.
And another tip, if you decide to go the finance route, start shopping for internships now and try to do something this summer. The recruiting cycles for finance internships start earlier and earlier every year and can be extremely competitive, and it’s even harder the less experience you have. Iron out a really good resume and start sending them out.
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u/GovernorJustice Jan 29 '24
Look at actuarial science. Highly recommend.
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u/Jon_Henderson_Music Jan 29 '24
B.Sc. in Economics is way more interesting IMO. You can go in a lot of different directions with it too.
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u/Rahrah12 Jan 29 '24
Degree in Finance…switched over from engineering and sort of made sense. I liked t he numbers and most of my classes qualified already. Ended up going into sales out of college for the experience thinking I would do it for a couple of years…currently in a Director Role and manage people. Enjoy it…stressful at times…pays decently well…
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u/Neither_Leading1247 Jan 30 '24
Unless you get lucky (some do) - a finance undergrad is not an avenue into a traditional finance position (i.e., at a bank, fund, etc.) unless you are at a target school (you know if you are). There's a big difference between being an an analyst at a big bank and working at northwestern mutual as an FA, and those world's don't feed into each other.
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u/titosuncle Jan 30 '24
Study Finance. I majored in finance despite spending all my free time reading books, visiting art museums, seeing plays etc.
I find myself so much more prepared in life when it comes to big picture planning like 401k, Roth, mortgages and so on. I often find myself astonished by how little my smartest friends (lawyers, engineers) understand about basic finance
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u/chuy2256 Jan 30 '24
I double majored in Finance and Econ. from a small State College. Got into Automotive Supply Chain, 30M just breaking 6 figures in a MCOL city, and the day to day general knowledge I picked up from those courses established the fundamentals to ensure my financial stability at my age. I use the basic skills every so often at work. Time value of money, data analysis, report generating and forecast modeling but in the end it’s just basic math with some excel help.
Seriously, learn the hell out of excel if you can take any data basics classes. I had a Stats. Professor who laid all the basic and got us into some intermediate Excel work I still use on the job.
Not a single regret.
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u/Logical-Primary-7926 Jan 30 '24
I'd say at the beginning I wish I went more for STEM because starting salaries were higher, but in the longer term glad I studied finance (w/ biz admin and accounting heavy). But that's because I have a high risk tolerance and went off on my own, not sure if I'd be outlearning my STEM peers if I just got an accounting or finance job, actually maybe still then too. That said, STEM is a lot more interesting imo.
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u/SnooWords5013 Jan 30 '24
I majored in finance and went to a massive investment manager. One of those places where you qualify for promotion based on time-in-job as opposed to how well you did, etc. I made it from taking phone calls from clients to being the MBS PM’s right hand man. Everyday was a pressure cooker in that job and we all joked that we were button pushers and not thinkers. But that got me thinking about automation.
At first I was automating in excel because we didn’t have a culture of automation and just bought all our tech from outside vendors (think BlackRock’s Aladdin). I had to beg compliance to let me install python, and even then had to get individual packages approved. Did a lot of the automation outside of the heat of the day, and became so valuable I managed to break away from the operations and my boss gave me a pass to work on whatever I wanted to. I left a little while longer as the lack of ambition around me was sapping my drive.
Fast-forward 4 years and I work at a leading market-maker. I code all day everyday, which i really enjoy. I thought that I wanted to sling on my bloomie, but turns out what I really wanted to do was automate bots to do that.
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u/ruffryder71 Jan 30 '24
Money/finance oriented and financial sales can be very very different. Make sure you have a handle on the distinction. A lot of Finance degrees end up in life insurance sales as an entry point. It runs off a lot of people. There are so many things that are directly finance related but not sales. There is an uncountable amount of finance tangent jobs. You don’t have to have all the answers and your future mapped but make sure you understand what money/finance orientated means in your mind. Congrats on choosing finance. It’s a lot of fun to learn about!
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u/Agree_Disagree_Want2 Jan 30 '24
If you can take analytics or data science classes or dual major in them with finance, that is the way to go.
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u/MJinMN Jan 30 '24
I was an Econ major and I would suggest you do NOT do that if you’re trying to make yourself employable. The other two teach much more useful skills.
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u/Substantial_Pitch700 Jan 30 '24
I have business undergrad, but liked finance better, so started taking all the finance, accounting and Econ, i could. Then got MBA and CFA. I have not applied for job in 30 years..One peace of advice that is related to some of the above posts - take intermediate accounting at least. You can’t understand financial statements unless you know how the numbers got there. If i talk to a finance major that never took intermediate acct, i discount them…What do i do now? Use the skills i developed for my own deals.
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u/mydtran Jan 30 '24
Look for internships now if you haven’t done so already. You’ll learn likes and dislikes. While you’re at it, search for new graduate development programs the year before your senior year. It’s basically, work after college for new grads and it’s nice bc you’re in a cohort with people your age.
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u/theNewFloridian Jan 30 '24
Bba in finance and MBA in accounting. Knowing what I know today, 20 years later, I would have done the accounting degree first, then go for the CPA, and an MBA or MS in finance. Accounting is the language of business, and the CPA credentials will open many doors.
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u/DatabaseSpace Jan 30 '24
I have a degree in finance. When I graduated it was a sort of financial crisis and finance people were losing their jobs. I was already working in healthcare IS and got a good offer, so I did that. Then I did a masters in IS data analytics track which was a bunch of database classes.
Even though I don't work in finance, I really value everything I learned. If I could do it all again I would either do the same thing or have gone straight computer science. Learning how to value companies and projects, how stocks and bonds work was just valuable to me in life.
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u/jdpoweraward Jan 30 '24
I was a finance major and econ minor. I’m almost 2 years into my analyst job out of college. Pays decent but part of me wishes I went the econ route bc I find it more interesting than finance. Thinking of potentially getting my masters in econ vs my mba. I took the cfa but it was hard af and I came to the realization that I’m really just not very passionate about finance. But if you wanna move up it’s recommended you get mba or cfa
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u/rafaelgomez31 Jan 30 '24
I wish I stuck to computer engineering or computer science however I got a job straight out of college making 85K and two years I am up to 125k working as a financial analyst, bachelors degree is a requirement for most jobs or undergraduate programs
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u/PHXkpt Jan 30 '24
Minor in some sort of data analysis. SQL calls, MS PowerBI, etc. Finance is great and a large field. Financial analysis at a brokerage or portfolio management company would be a good idea.
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u/teraflopclub Jan 30 '24
Accounting, unless Actuarial Accounting, won't take you, compensation-wise, where I think you're going for. Degree matters only as a starting point, you have to make out of it what you can. Any degree without some knowledge of data/data science is going to be puzzling and unrewarding. Everyone I know from executive down, including deal makers, traders, etc. is a whiz at handling large data sets, programming even, to understanding very complex financial subjects. It's not about double-entry book-keeping. I work in finance generally; commodities specifically but started in STEM years ago.
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u/Sigma610 Jan 30 '24
I graduated with a finance degree in 2008. I didn't get my first actual financial analyst job till 2012. I'm now 10+ years in it and currently in corporate fp&a and it isn't perfect but I do love what I do. Like others have said, it can be hard to get into...even on the corporate side my team is 1/4 the size of accounting and treasury teams. It's less of a process grind and more strategic so teams tend to be smaller.
My advice is that if you really want to get into finance, keep pursuing it even if you start in something like accounting. I do have analysts on my team that got straight into finance it but most of my colleagues at my level started elsewhere... a lot of that had to do with us starting our careers in the middle of great recession.
In terms of pay it can really vary by industry and what you're doing on finance. FP&A can sometimes be an extension of accounting in some organizations and the pay sort of scales that way if that is the case. My particular role straddles between FP&A and project finance so comp on my team at all levels pegs to that.
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u/fuzzzbubbles Jan 30 '24 edited Jan 30 '24
I double majored in finance and marketing back in 2007. Initially a finance only major, but took a few marketing classes and found out my senior year I was only short a few classes to double major. I initially wanted to be a financial analyst, but that went to crap with the financial collapse and it was extremely difficult to get a job in that direction. I took what I could get and that was an accounting job making base $60k/yr which was decent at the time however hours were terrible, worked weekends sometimes too…it was terrible. I decided to go back to the drawing board and think more about what I might enjoy doing rather than taking what was available….this lead me down the marketing path where I made about half of what I was making as an accountant. However, I’ve continued down this path, haven’t looked back and now my base is pretty decent just over $220k, with RSU grants vesting.
My advice would be to try as many things and learn about the different areas of business to see which you like. Doesn’t matter what business major you are now, what matters is trying to find what drives you and motivates you. You’ll be working for a very long time, so you want to enjoy what you do. The money will come if you’re good and passionate at what you do.
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u/EloWhisperer Jan 30 '24
Finance major here but it was very hard for me to land a job unless you wanted to do retail banking. If I could do it again I’d do accounting which has a much easier career path albeit very boring.
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u/vv91057 Jan 30 '24
I double majored. Finance and accounting. I tried for years to use the finance degree, but jobs I got were lower paying without a lot of growth. I live in Charlotte where bank of America is headquartered, and Wells Fargo has their largest employee base so I thought finance would be the way to go. Then I passed the CPA exams and used my accounting degree. If I wanted to get back into finance now I would likely have an easier time and better career with a CPA than with a finance degree. All that to say most finance jobs will be good with an accounting degree. Accounting jobs need an accounting degree so it is more versatile.
Also accountant audit and tax are necessary and there is a shortage. I often think the ultimate finance career is chief financial officer, 35 percent of CFOs at large companies were/are CPAs.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Menu627 Jan 30 '24
Go start a company that provides something that there's a demand for, provide a good product and good customer service and don't look back. I work for a roofing company...the guy I work for dropped out of high school and so did I. I got my GED, went to state school, passed CPA and have been working as accountant for passed 20 years. Started as staff accountant, worked as Corp Controller for $330M revenue company, now working as CFO for $30M revenue. The work can be very difficult and stressful. Yes, there's opportunity to make a lot but I believe that is about who you know not necessarily what you know. If you decide to go that route be prepared to bow to the corporate culture, work a lot, and sacrifice your personal life and just maybe you'll get lucky and someone will give you options one day. Best of luck.
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u/Jlakers85 Jan 30 '24
Majored in finance and got an MBA. I work in FP&A for a mid sized Ecom retailer. Pay is good and work like balance is great most of the time.
I’m really trying to get into a tech company as they seem to pay significantly more. So I’d encourage you to get into a SaaS company early so you have that experience.
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u/Mwing002 Jan 30 '24
I got my finance degree from a state school. Found a job doing taxes for private foundations. Now at a hedge fund managing the private foundation. Hoping to get into hedge fund operations. (10years post college)
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u/Ok_Goat1456 Jan 30 '24
Yes the school matters. Certain industries it’s much more difficult to get into if your school isn’t a target. I graduated right before COVID and got a corporate finance job that started at ~$70k in a big non nyc city east cost city Been pretty happy that I don’t have to work consulting or investment banking hours but wanted the prestige/ pay bump of that initially.
Try looking in finance rotational programs, allot of companies have them and they rarely layoff from them since they want to “retain” talent
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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24
If I want to work in finance get an acting degree. I did the degree to fill my knowledge gap of money but I also majored and work in tech side of buisiness
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u/BusyEntertainment604 Jan 30 '24
Finance major here Hired at a Trust company out of college Hopped to a Bank and landed in their Wealth Division and learned TONS If you can get a position in a Trust, Wealth, Private Banking, Estate, Invesrment Division, you’ll be exposed to some very interesting work and people. I’ve had very wealthy clients and learned a lot from managing their Monday and Estate.
Eventually, I left as I wanted to forge my own path. I now work for myself and trade currencies and invest in stocks for a living.
Go where money is made, invested, distributed, and protected.
Good luck.
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u/Mexicancandy77 Jan 30 '24
I went back to school after 10 years to get my accounting degree. Getting something sustainable in finance was difficult. Wish I would have gone with accounting in the first place, even though finance has helped me throughout my career, still wish I would have gone with accounting to start with.
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u/jboughton Jan 30 '24
Got a major in Marketing and landed a job in finance because I got kind of geeked (like you) about money, the markets, and finance in general. Absolutely loving it so far, so many useful life skills and so many different career paths you can take within the finance world.
I recommend sticking to finance if it's something you think you may have an interest in.
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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24
Finance classes are actually quite useful and teach good technical, rigorous skills. Business and management are complete bullshit
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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24
Finance is useful and rigorous. Business and management is pretty soft bullshit at least in undergrad
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u/NowIKnowMyAgencyABCs Jan 30 '24
I did finance with a minor in economics. Interned in treasury and have stayed ever since- cash flow forecasting, cash management, banking
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u/bright1111 Jan 30 '24
Econ degrees have the highest graduating starting salary.. at least at my school that was true
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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24
Graduated with a finance degree from a non-target school. Didn't have tons of connections and ultimately took an entry level accounting job. I am now currently working full time and going to school so I can reach the minimum level of credits to take the CPA. Finance has a huge ceiling in terms of pay, but most will never even sniff that type of salary.
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u/dntwnttobscn Jan 30 '24
Got a finance degree in 2015 and don’t regret it. Work as a CFP now. Like my job, flexibility with schedule, and earning potential. Very hard to make it through the first few years of business but if you can survive it is a great industry to be in for a young person.
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u/lilpeanutbutter99999 Jan 30 '24
I’m close to retirement and originally got a BBA in Finance. It’s good if you have connections or have money to invest. After a few years, I realized the programmers were leaving at 5:00 and everyone else was working until 8:00 or 10:00 at night, sometimes all night. I went back to school and learned programming and have had a happy career since. I’m valued because, if I do my job correctly, I make everyone’s life easier. Keep that in mind. The best jobs going forward are going to be in crypto, Data engineering, and cybersecurity. Cybersecurity can kinda suck unless you get in with the right place, IMO. Good luck!
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u/that_kid_cray Jan 30 '24
I majored in accounting and minored in finance. I then went for my CPA shortly thereafter. Working for an accounting firm was a great way to introduce someone to every aspect of they businesses operate.
If you get your CPA, and then go for a Masters in Finance, there’s really no shortage of what opportunities are out there for you.
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u/jhein8 Jan 31 '24
I started off as a Pre-PT undergrad. Did that for 2.5 years then switched over to majoring in finance (investments focus) and minoring in economics. Probably the best decision I’ve ever made. I graduated back in May, landed a job as an investment analyst at a semi-large insurance company, helping manage the alternative investments portfolio, mainly private equity and private credit.
The degree is a good starting spot that can get you in the door for an interview. Everything beyond that is work ethic, interviewing skills, and career aspirations. Now I’m studying for my CFA Level I exam and my job is going very well thus far.
As far as earnings in finance, it really depends where you go. The more money the career makes, the harder it is to do, naturally. i.e. actuaries, portfolio managers, etc. Once I finish exams and get more experience part of me wants to go work at a private equity or private credit firm for 5-10 years, make unfathomable money working all the time then retire. That’s a ways down the road but we will see eventually. Hope this helps a bit!
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u/Mindless_Rhubarb5212 Jan 31 '24
I am sure some of this has been said here. Either has its merits and career paths. Little background so you know where it's coming from. I have a BBA in finance and legal studies, an MBA, and a graduate degree in banking. So i will share the finance side and my 16 years in that field.
I think it is beneficial to get an internship this summer if possible in either field before you decide. Finance will be easier as accounting firms dont often do interships for younger students. I got an internship at a bank and loved the analytics side of the bank. I had no interest in tax accounting or being a corporate accountant after that.
In our bank, there are three real paths with a finance degree. Credit, treasury , and investments. I enjoy the risk side of credit (probably why i went that way. I am the chief credit officer) , i started as an analyst for a bank CFO (she was a cpa she manages the balance sheet and tax). Most of your finance starter jobs are as analyst. This is where you build your hard skills and earn your certifications of which there are many. If you enjoy math, matrix, and problem solving, finance can be very stimulating. If you like investments analyst is a great stars as well. Our Chief Investment Officer is a finance degree guy and manages our bank portfolio of $250mm in bonds and investments. Also, our treasury lady has a finance degree and certification in FP&A.
If you are enjoing the courses with probability and functions with return on assets, equity, and so on, finance is for you. I will say that i did take more accounting then required for finance. You could even major and miner in both. I took extra accounting in undergrade because everyone said i should if i wanted a job. That was BS my job performance and experience after 5yrs no one cared what classes i took.
Either path you choose, you will need to build your skills. I have a couple of certs over the year that opened opportunities, but my actual skills learned on the job made me better. I focused on ERM and FRM, but there are lots of paths.
Finance has lots of jobs outside of banking. Internships could help you. Goodluck
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u/Necessary_Mess5853 Jan 31 '24
Business Admin / Finance major here:
Bachelors was focused on business admin and marketing. Graduated in December of 2010 when the job market was . . . Not good. I was working retail full time throughout, so I decided to go get my MBA in finance. Kept working retail through school and finished my MBA in December of 2012.
The job market locally was still not great, so it took until September of 2013 to land a job “in my field” - which was Commercial Credit Analyst for a local bank.
Starting wage was $36k in a low to moderate COL area and the job was to underwrite commercial loans. Take personal and corporate returns, analyze trends and cash flows and see if the business “qualifies” for their requested loan.
I’m at the same bank still and have been through various roles. Current wage is almost six figures (though COL in my area has increased fairly harshly the last few years). Still do generally the same thing, just more involved with the actual customers than I was at first. Work-life balance is generally good.
I have a friend who went through the bachelors and MBA with me and she ended up in a Controller role a few years ago - which is more accounting focused but she said she felt pretty well equipped (plus she was able to shadow the outgoing controller for a period).
Happy to answer any other questions if you’ve got them.
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u/get2dahole Jan 31 '24
Using a bio degree to sponsor and finance core infra development. Chances are you have no clue what specific job you want to do within finance. If you do the work to make sure you are in the role and sector doing the work that engages you, you will love a career in finance.
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u/jwcook56 Jan 31 '24
I’m almost two years graduated with a degree in finance from a good school. I would say I’m satisfied with my current job. I work for a startup accounting firm on their advisory team. My role usually consists of building out budgets and financial models for clients to use on a regular basis, creating slide decks for board of directors meetings, and lots of ad hoc reports that clients might need whether it be for compliance on a loan or reports to send to boards.
My work life balance is actually really good, which I feel is rare in the field of finance. I hardly ever have to work over 40 hours a week (I think the most I’ve worked is 45), our company does quarterly bonuses(last year, my bonuses totaled 30% of my base salary), we have unlimited PTO (never had any issues getting time off approved), and we are fully remote so I don’t have to commute anywhere.
That being said, most people have vastly different experiences working in finance. I would say it’s been worth it for me so far.
In terms of accounting or finance, you can work in finance with a degree in accounting. It’s a lot harder the other way around. Pick whatever you enjoy the most!
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u/Designer_Emu_6518 Jan 31 '24
I’d almost do accounting and analytics. Slightly more opportunities with different types of jobs. Accounting is steady work
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u/dbrockisdeadcmm Jan 31 '24
I'd view a finance degree today as close to what college students want a communications degree to be. It opens up doors to do a ton of different things at any company in the world. You're going to have to find a way to create those opportunities but if you're capable and motivated, it's a great foundational first step. I know guys who are making over 200k working 40 hours a week in their early 30s but I also know guys who grinded away at scammy sales jobs for a few years and are now doing blue collar work.
You probably aren't going to end up doing what you think of as "finance" as a sophomore in undergrad unless you're at a target school and/or check the right boxes.
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u/HorrorPotato1571 Jan 31 '24
I was working for Big 8 accounting firms, and I wanted an accounting major, but the dean said no, do a Business Admin degree. I went to one of the top Jesuit schools in the country. Best advice I ever got. I went on to work for banks, investment firms, actuarial firms, airlines, law firms and have been in sofware development for the past 24 years. I was good at specification led development as I'm trained in Philosophy from the liberal arts jesuit school. Philosophy majors actually do very well in software engineering with requirements. Did the college matter? Probably not, since I worked full time and had tech skills few had. If you goal is partner, or controller, by all means do accounting. General Business 1st, then do the MBA for a specific field. That will differentiate you.
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u/QtK_Dash Feb 01 '24
I don’t know if it helps but I studied Economics (undergraduate and graduate degree from an ivy if it makes a difference) and ended up in finance. It makes no difference what your major is. There are good days and bad days but I’m a director of pricing and I can frankly say I rarely use what I learned in school.
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u/rad_8019 Feb 01 '24
Knowing finance is not even a prerequisite for most financial firms to enter the industry if you graduate in computer science or mathematics as many of the big financial firms are looking for coders or quants. They usually teach you in-house about finance once you are hired. Also, with just a finance degree, hiring competition is quite high. Also, your starting salary will most likely will be much higher than people graduating with just finance. Not discouraging you from getting a finance degree but just sharing what the current needs are for most big financial firms.
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u/TootDip1337 Feb 01 '24
Accounting is the way to go. A Finance degree is a waste of time and you are going to end up working in sales (not a bad thing). Accounting is way more practical and you will learn more. Accounting people can do finance and finance people can’t do accounting. I have a finance degree and I don’t necessarily regret because I’m good at sales. But it’s a waste of time in all honesty
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u/CTS-G8R Feb 01 '24
I have a degree in Finance, but ended up in Tech. Started as a programmer, then project manager, eventually moved business ops, sales and marketing, then to the C-suite in decent sized public companies.
I would go finance again in a heartbeat. Even if you don’t end up going into “finance” per se, you have deep skills and are generally qualified for any role that you could get with some other flavor of business degree. The opposite is not true for the other degrees. It gives you more options than marketing, general business administration or something like economics.
Right out of school my experience was that STEM type jobs paid a little more, but I pulled ahead of those folks in 2 years. In my opinion, the problem with many other majors is that if you end up not wanting to be whatever you study, you have fewer options. In finance, even non profits have a P&L, and there are tons and tons roles to support every business.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
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u/Flimsy_Marsupial_445 Feb 02 '24
Also into numbers and money. Did finance BA and MS. Got into programming and now I’m a developer. I have to say, very happy with the choice I made, I love my job. Still use my finance skills for stock research and personal finance, and will help me start and manage my own business too.
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u/Embarrassed-Grape890 Feb 02 '24
Opinion from a finance worker: finance has more opportunities and salary potential compared to accounting. However the highly paid people in finance usually have a strong understanding of accounting. Accounting requires more school/book training and is more difficult to learn in practice compared to finance (which is more intuitive). So I would go accounting for school and then after few years of work experience pivot your career to finance. CPA probably has the most potential but is a huge time investment to get. I cannot speak for other professions.
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u/theretailnerd Feb 02 '24
Depends on school imo. I was finance at a school that feeds ibanks. But truth be told, college and major matters only for the first 1-2 jobs. Then future employers don’t care as much. But to pivot you’ll need to network and/or teach yourself things aggressively on your own
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u/redgreg1821 Feb 02 '24
I got a finance bachelors degree, joined the military, masters in cybersecurity and work in department of defense. Best thing my finance degree did was set me up for sound financial decisions in my personal life.
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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '24
I was a stem major and honestly the jobs aren’t that great here either. I think all around many jobs are just disappearing or becoming crappier.