Why Study Finance?

Given such dire circumstances, it's not surprising that many people are considering studying finance.
Indeed, business—the discipline that finance falls under—remains the third most popular college
major in the U.S., according to a 2018 report from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Studying finance can prepare you not only for careers in the financial services sector, but also for tasks
in your everyday life.

Students considering studying finance can take many different routes. A bachelor's degree in finance,
for example, can prepare you to work in corporate and government financial management, banking,
and financial planning. And because finance revolves around planning and analysis, studying finance
and becoming more financially literate enables people to make better personal financial decisions.

Pursuing graduate coursework in finance only bolsters these fundamentals. Besides improving a
person's chances of being hired, a master of science in finance can also help you hone your critical-
thinking and problem-solving skills, which you can then use to make sound financial decisions.

Job Growth Outlook for Finance Roles

A bachelor’s degree in finance can prepare you to work in a number of business roles, including:

 General and operations manager

 Financial manager (predicted growth: 15%)

 Budget analyst (predicted growth: 3%)

 Credit analyst
  Financial analyst (predicted growth: 5%)

 Personal financial advisor (predicted growth: 4%)

 Loan officer (predicted growth: 3%)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the government agency that researches, analyzes, and publishes
statistical data on the U.S. labor market and makes employment growth projections based on this
data. While the BLS doesn’t make projections for all the roles listed above, it does predict that
employment of business and financial operations occupations in general will grow 5% from 2019 to
2029, adding about 476,000 new jobs to the U.S. economy (individual occupation growth projections
have been noted above for individual roles).

Growing employment opportunities in a variety of corporate, nonprofit, and government settings

make finance an exciting and rewarding career. When you combine that with the obvious benefit to
your everyday financial decision-making skills, a finance degree could be a smart decision for those
seeking a career in business.