Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many finance & financial management graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	47,848
Master’s Degree	4,732
Graduate Certificate	895
Basic Certificate	737
Associate Degree	299
Undergraduate Certificate	135
Doctor’s Degree	44

What Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to finance were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Finance Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in finance should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Finance Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to finance:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Finance Majors

As you progress with your finance degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

People with a finance degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Budget Analysts	6.5%	$76,220
Credit Analysts	8.3%	$71,520
Credit Counselors	13.8%	$45,180
Financial Analysts	10.8%	$85,660
Financial Managers, Branch or Department	18.7%	$127,990
Financial Quantitative Analysts	9.6%	$70,280
Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts	9.6%	$70,280
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930
Investment Underwriters	9.6%	$70,280
Loan Counselors	13.8%	$45,180
Loan Interviewers and Clerks	12.4%	$39,890
Loan Officers	11.4%	$63,040
Personal Financial Advisors	14.9%	$88,890
Risk Management Specialists	9.6%	$70,280
Sales Agents, Financial Services	6.2%	$64,120
Sales Agents, Securities and Commodities	6.2%	$64,120
Securities and Commodities Traders	6.2%	$64,120
Treasurers and Controllers	18.7%	$127,990

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This is one of the most frequently chosen business majors. It is the 3rd most popular in the country with 48,214 students graduating with a bachelor’s in finance in 2021. This major tends to be male dominated. About 71% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of finance majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	3,922
Black or African American	2,269
Hispanic or Latino	5,942
White	29,156
International Students	3,792
Other Races/Ethnicities	2,767

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Finance. About 7.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Saudi Arabia
• India
• Vietnam
• South Korea

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

Finance majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $41,310 to $103,330 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some degrees associated with finance may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for finance careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	20.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.1%
Some College Courses	8.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	6.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	38.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	6.4%
Master’s Degree	10.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.4%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.8%
Doctoral Degree	4.3%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	54	9
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	2
Associate’s Degree	90	23
Bachelor’s Degree	127	51
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	267	65
Post-Master’s	31	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	20	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a finance grad is $79,830 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 100% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $798,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to finance.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	403,753
Accounting	93,982
General Business/Commerce	56,779
Marketing	52,078
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	48,037
Human Resource Management	27,074
Business Support & Assistant Services	19,686
Hospitality Management	16,015
Management Information Systems	12,429
Entrepreneurial Studies	12,241
International Business	8,014
Real Estate	7,448
General Sales & Marketing	5,450
Business/Managerial Economics	5,151
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	4,668
Other Business, Management & Marketing	4,606
Construction Management	4,158
Insurance	1,737
Taxation	1,447
Business/Corporate Communications	897
Telecommunications Management	68

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Dave Dugdale under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.