Finance

Types of Degrees Finance Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many finance graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	46,671
Master’s Degree	4,166
Graduate Certificate	440
Basic Certificate	277
Associate Degree	149
Undergraduate Certificate	50
Doctor’s Degree	26

What Finance Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to finance and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

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:

• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Finance Majors

finance majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Finance Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a finance student include the following:

• 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.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Finance Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with finance:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Budget Analysts	6.5%	$76,220
Credit Analysts	8.3%	$71,520
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 Officers	11.4%	$63,040
Personal Financial Advisors	14.9%	$88,890
Risk Management Specialists	9.6%	$70,280
Treasurers and Controllers	18.7%	$127,990

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance?

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	3,588
Black or African American	2,228
Hispanic or Latino	5,588
White	28,422
International Students	4,355
Other Races/Ethnicities	2,490

Geographic Diversity

Finance appeals to people across the globe. About 9.3% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Finance Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Finance majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $79,830 to $123,880 (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 Finance

Some careers associated with finance require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to finance have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	6.7%
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)	2.8%
Some College Courses	6.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	6.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	42.8%
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.	9.6%
Master’s Degree	16.3%
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.	0.7%
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.	1.3%
Doctoral Degree	7.1%

Online Finance Programs

In 2020-2021, 789 schools offered a finance program of some type. 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)	15	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	32	7
Bachelor’s Degree	58	18
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	207	43
Post-Master’s	22	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	15	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Finance Worth It?

The median salary for a finance grad is $100,990 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 153% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,221,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Finance

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

Major	Number of Grads
Financial Planning & Services	4,087
Banking and Financial Support Services	1,022
Other Finance and Financial Management Services	362
Investments and Securities	346
International Finance	123
Public Finance	48
Credit Management	10
Financial Risk Management	1

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.