As you look into building a well-paying career, you may be considering a Master’s in Finance. A M.Fin. degree can provide strong preparation and open the doors to a wide variety of jobs in the financial world. Whether you end up working for a large or small company, a group of companies or individuals, you will end up using your skills in finance to help people make better decisions about how to use their money.
Growing Acceptance of M.Fin. Degree
The Master’s in Finance is a much newer degree than the related but different Master of Business Administration. While the two have some things in common, generally the M.Fin. focuses more on financial knowledge and less on management and marketing skills. The M.Fin. generally takes a little less time to complete than the MBA. It’s a good idea to look at your career goals and think through which degree will get you where you most desire to go. However, you shouldn’t worry unduly that the relative newness of the M.Fin. degree will result in fewer job opportunities. Although employers are still getting to know the degree, many top level companies have begun to hire M.Fin. graduates, including Merrill Lynch and Bank of America.
Analysts, Agents, Managers and Advisors
A list of the most common jobs for those holding a Master’s in Finance includes financial analyst, financial services sales agent, financial managers and personal financial advisors. Though each of these jobs has different contours and could take to you many different places, they all draw on skills taught in the course of the M.Fin. degree, including accounting, financial management and investment analysis.
Financial analysts must be good at watching trends. They help their client companies choose investments. Analyst jobs tend to be popular and command strong salaries. You will likely be working for a bank or insurance company. Sales agents are also trend watchers. They work in securities and commodities, conducting trade in stocks and bonds and advising companies regarding their investors.
Financial managers deal more specifically with data. Controllers and credit managers are two types of financial management positions. They help managers look at how a company is running and advise them on strategies regarding investments and profits. Their job is essentially to help companies maintain good financial health.
Financial advisors often work with individual clients. In many ways, they act like managers do, but their job is to advise individuals or families, rather than companies, on the best way to use and invest their money. They might help a family figure out how to save and invest for college, for instance, or help someone prepare for their retirement years.
As a graduate with a Master’s in Finance, choosing the “best” job depends on your skills and aspirations. If one of your main goals is to earn a high salary, many excellent and well-paying jobs can be obtained with this degree, including financial analyst, vice president of finance and financial director for a company. Even beginning level financial analysts earn, on average, about $74,000 annually. As investment regulations and global financial matters continue to change, these types of jobs may likely grow.
