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financial risk management

Types of Degrees financial risk management Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing financial risk management may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	3

What financial risk management Majors Need to Know

Studies in financial risk management build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that financial risk management graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in financial risk management emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Economics and Accounting — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a financial risk management program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Learning — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to financial risk management careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, financial risk management graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Processing Information	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by financial risk management professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	✓
Structured query language SQL	Data base user interface and query software	✓
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft Dynamics	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition	Business intelligence and data analysis software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for financial risk management graduates include:

• Credit Risk Analyst
• Operational Risk Manager
• Bond Analyst
• Analyst
• Securities Consultant
• Securities Research Analyst
• Equity Research Analyst
• Securities Analyst
• Corporate Securities Research Analyst
• Risk Management Consultant
• Business Risk Manager
• Energy Risk Management Analyst
• Market Risk Analyst
• Loss Control Consultant
• Estate Executor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to financial risk management graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	51.9%
Master’s degree	18.7%
Doctoral degree	9.9%
High school diploma or equivalent	6.1%
Some college courses	3.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	3.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.5%
Less than a high school diploma	1.4%
First professional degree	1.1%
Postsecondary certificate	0.8%
Post-master’s certificate	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in financial risk management?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 66.7% of financial risk management degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1	33.3%
Men	2	66.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of financial risk management graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1	33.3%
Hispanic or Latino	1	33.3%
Two or More Races	1	33.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do financial risk management Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of financial risk management graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$60,617
4 years	$75,528
5 years	$88,287

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $88,287 — roughly 46% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online financial risk management Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for financial risk management. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in financial risk management Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, financial risk management graduates earn a median of $75,528 four years after completion — roughly 99% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Business Administration and Management, General	336,590
Accounting	58,956
Business/Commerce, General	57,976
Finance and Financial Management Services	57,564
Finance, General	49,828
Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies	10,661
Financial Planning and Services	5,773
Accounting and Finance	3,502
Actuarial Science	1,363
Accounting and Business/Management	1,270
Banking and Financial Support Services	992
Investments and Securities	414

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.