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Top 5 Careers With a Finance Degree

When you earn your MS in Finance online, you can open the door to a highly rewarding career.

The financial sector continues to grow worldwide, making a graduate degree in finance increasingly valuable. The Graduate Management Admission Council reports that the job market is especially favorable to those who’ve earned an MS in Finance.1 If you want to start a new career in finance or advance your current financial career, consider enrolling in an online MS in Finance degree program. Here are five career options that may be available to you after you’ve earned this degree.

Investment Banker

If you want to work in the day-to-day selling and trading of securities and commodities, consider a career as an investment banker. The coursework for your master’s in finance degree will help prepare you by providing you with expert-level knowledge of financial markets and their workings. The degree can also help you prepare to sit for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority qualification exam. Investment banking is one of the more popular careers with a finance degree because of the opportunity to earn commissions for sales and trades. The median salary for investment bankers is over $97,000 a year.2

Top 5 Careers With a Finance Degree

Financial Analyst

The job of a financial analyst is to recommend investments and assemble investment portfolios for an organization. A master’s degree in finance can give you the specialized skills you’ll need to assess an organization’s financial outlook and put together investment plans that fit with the organization’s culture and financial needs. The degree can also help prepare you to take the internationally recognized Chartered Financial Analyst exam. Financial analysts work for banks, corporations, insurance companies, and pension funds. They earn a median salary of over $85,600 a year.2

Financial Examiner

Financial examiners are in the business of risk management. In this career, you can work in consumer compliance, ensuring lending organizations are following financial regulations and not engaging in predatory or discriminatory lending. Or you can work in risk scoping, where you will evaluate the risk level of your organization’s investments and asset management. An online MS in Finance degree can give you the analytical skills and foundational knowledge of financial laws you’ll need for a career as a financial examiner. Examiners earn a median salary of over $80,000 a year.3

Personal Financial Advisor

If you enjoy helping others, you may want to use your master’s in finance to enter the field of personal financial advisement. Your master’s degree will help you acquire an advanced knowledge of risk management and financial systems. It can also help you prepare for the Certified Financial Planner exam. Most financial advisors spend their days meeting with clients and helping them plan for both short- and long-term financial goals, working with retirement savings, educational savings, and investments in stocks and bonds. The median salary for personal financial advisors is over $88,000 a year.2

Actuary

Actuaries provide vital services to the insurance industry and other businesses involved in risk management. As an actuary, you will work with statistics and probabilities to develop strategies that minimize future financial risks and maximize future profits. This is a natural MS in Finance career option if you come from a background in statistics or general mathematics. Your master’s degree coursework can help you acquire the additional financial knowledge you’ll need to succeed as an actuary. Actuaries earn a median salary of almost $103,000 a year.2

Walden University is an accredited institution offering an online MS in Finance degree program. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.

1Source: https://www.gmac.com/market-intelligence-and-research/research-library/employment-outlook/2017-year-end-employer-poll.aspx?fromsearch=1
2Source: www.bls.gov/ooh.

Career options may require additional experience, training, or other factors beyond the successful completion of a degree program.

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org

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