Finance Degrees
The level of finance degrees you pursue all depends on what type of position you want in the financial sector and how far you desire to advance in it.
An associate's degree allows you to get your foot in the door of the financial industry in clerical positions, such as bank tellers, bookkeepers, auditing clerks, junior accountants, loan officers, and claims agents. With experience, an associate degree could also possibly lead to more responsible positions, such as bank branch managers, although many companies prefer employees in these jobs to have at least a bachelor's degree.
A bachelor's degree in finance is usually considered the minimum requirement for most entry-level jobs in the financial industry, such as financial analysts, accountants, auditors, credit analysts, personal financial advisors, treasurers, and budget analysts. Most companies expect employees in these positions to acquire additional degrees and/or certifications if they wish to advance further in their careers.
A master's degree in finance is usually a prerequisite for most mid- and senior-level positions in financial analysis, investment management, and corporate finance, such as specialized financial analysts, management and financial consultants, corporate financial officers, and financial planners. In fact, many employers in the financial industry are increasingly placing more emphasis on advanced degrees. Some employers often prefer and sometimes even require a master's degree for jobs that previously required only a bachelor's degree, such as treasurers, accountants, financial planners, credit analysts and budget analysts.
A Finance MBA (Master of Business Administration) has been an increasingly popular choice of concentration for people who pursue this degree. Employees with this degree are commonly found in such positions as financial analysts, corporate controllers, chief financial officers, investment bankers, investment sales associates, investment traders, credit managers, and cash managers.
More advanced degrees such as a doctorate (PhD) in finance can lead to more specialized careers such as market risk managers, quantitative analysts, proprietary traders, investment research analysts, and finance professors.
Associate Degrees
Associate finance degree programs can be found at most community colleges and technical schools as well as some colleges and universities. As with all associate degrees, it usually takes about two years to complete all required course work. Associate programs are designed to quickly prepare students for entry-level jobs or as a foundation for further education.
Particular associate programs will vary from school to school, but the usual requirements for enrollment include a high school degree or its equivalent, such as a GED (General Educational Development) credential, and passing grades in any prerequisite courses that might be required. High school courses that are commonly needed as prerequisite courses for an associate degree in finance would be mathematics, economics, introductory business, recordkeeping, and accounting. Many associate degree programs do not require SAT or ACT standardized test scores, but minimum scores on these tests could exempt a student from taking the placement tests in reading, writing, or math that many associate programs also require.
Once enrolled in an associate program, typical classes for a finance degree might be general principles of finance, banking and insurance, elementary statistics, personal finance, microeconomics, business statistics, financial accounting, cost accounting, tax accounting, and commercial credit. Requirements for graduating with an associate degree in finance would usually be satisfactory completion of all courses and a minimum GPA.
Associate degrees can be categorized as an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science, or Associate of Business Administration, depending on the particular school, the courses taken, and whether the student intends transferring to a four-year college for further education or intends to immediately enter the work force. These degrees can help you land entry-level clerical financial jobs, such as bank tellers, processing clerks, customer service representatives, financial accounting clerks, bookkeepers, auditing clerks, claims agents, junior accountants, junior analysts, or loan officers.
Advantages of earning an associate degree include significantly less expensive tuition and fees than four-year colleges; less stringent enrollment requirements; the fewer number of prerequisite courses that are usually required; smaller classes; the shorter amount of time needed to earn a degree; the opportunity to enter the job market sooner than with a four-year degree but with the option of acquiring further education; more immediate job opportunities in the local community; and higher earning potential than with a high school diploma.
Disadvantages of an associate degree can include problems with transferring credits to a four-year school; the remedial courses sometimes required before study for a degree can begin; and most importantly, the limitations to job opportunities and career advancement that lack of a bachelor's degree usually brings in today's job market.
Bachelor's Degrees
A bachelor's degree is considered the basic required level of education for most jobs in the professional world. It is also a prerequisite for attending all graduate schools. It demonstrates that you have the discipline and motivation to succeed beyond the high school level, and that you have mastered the particular skill sets and background knowledge needed for your chosen field of study.
Most bachelor's degree programs are designed to be completed in four years, although there are also accelerated programs in which students can graduate in three years by taking double-credit courses or carrying a heavier course load. Many students also attend college on a part-time basis in order to work and earn some of the money necessary to pay for their degree, in which case graduation will be delayed until all requirements have been met.
The basic conditions necessary for entering a bachelor's program are a high school diploma or its equivalent, and acceptance into a college based on grade point average and admission test scores.
For earning a finance degree, students should also have successfully passed such courses as mathematics, economics, business, recordkeeping, and accounting while in high school.
Since the field of finance encompasses many concepts, the range of courses required for a bachelor's degree in this industry will also be wide-ranging. These classes usually include advanced mathematics, economics, accounting, business management, statistics, microeconomics, marketing, investing, banking, security analysis, risk management, financial computer models, and global economics.
Successfully earning a bachelor's degree in finance (also known as a BBA -- Bachelor of Business Administration -- in Finance) requires that the student complete a certain number of credit hours (usually 120) with a minimum grade point average (usually a 2.0 or “C”, although a higher GPA is typically needed if the student intends going on to graduate school).
Upon graduating, students with this degree will be knowledgeable in business and financial skills such as comprehension of financial data; effective communication of financial concepts to employers or clients; investment; financial planning, advising and management; risk assessment and management; and devising resourceful solutions to financial problems. These degrees prepare graduates for jobs as accountants, auditors, bank managers, budget analysts, treasurers, credit analysts, personal financial advisors, and financial analysts.
The main benefits of a bachelor's degree are the greater earning potential it confers; the advantage it gives you in the job market against non-degree holders; and the greater personal confidence gained upon successfully accomplishing a difficult goal. The disadvantages of this degree include the greater time and expense involved in obtaining it, as well as the more rigorous enrollment requirements. There is also the perception that a bachelor's degree is often just the first step of a successful career, with higher levels of education often required for some positions.
Master's Degrees
Obtaining a master's degree is a way to enhance your career and increase your earning potential by keeping your job skills and training up-to-date or by acquiring new in-depth knowledge in a particular field. A master's degree can also make you more competitive in the job market as employees with specialized knowledge become more in demand.
The basic requirement for entering any graduate program is a bachelor's degree, which does not necessarily have to be in the same field of study as your proposed master's degree. Most graduate programs also require satisfactory scores on a standardized admission test such as the GMAT or GRE; letters of recommendation from professors, employers, or colleagues who are familiar with your achievements; personal essays that explain your reasons for choosing your particular field of study and how your individual skills and accomplishments are relevant to it; and college grade transcripts. Most graduate programs like to see college GPAs of at least 3.0 (“B”), although it is possible to offset lower GPAs with outstanding test scores or strong essays and recommendations. Some graduate programs may also require work experience if students hold an undergraduate degree that is not relevant to their chosen field of study.
Master's programs come in two types: professional or academic. A professional (or terminal) master's degree is intended to prepare graduates for successful jobs in a particular field, and suggests that no further education is required. Degrees from academic master's programs focus on intensive research in a very specific area within a field of study. These degrees are for students who intend to continue their education to the doctoral level and specialize in a very narrow area of their field.
Prerequisite classes for a master's finance degree often include those in accounting, economics, and quantitative methods, such as time value of money and statistics. Some graduate programs require students to have already successfully passed these subjects in college. Others may allow students to take any prerequisite courses early in the graduate program or exempt students who can demonstrate background knowledge acquired through work experience.
The curriculum of study for a master's degree in finance usually includes investment analysis, corporate finance, financial management, and managerial accounting, with special focus on advanced topics such as mergers and acquisitions, portfolio management, real options, and financial modeling. General knowledge of financial risk management, financial economics, managerial economics, and/or quantitative finance is also often included in the coursework.
Successful completion of a certain number of semester hours of credit (usually 30), and sometimes a master's thesis or comprehensive final examination as well, are typically required for graduation. It customarily takes most graduate students two to three years of full-time coursework to complete the program.
Master's degrees are categorized as a Master of Arts or a Master of Science, based on the area of discipline in which you earned your degree. A master's degree in finance is known as a Master of Finance (M.Fin.) or Master of Science in Finance (MSF). These finance degrees are held by most mid- and senior-level executives in corporate finance, investment management, and financial analysis.
The advantages of a master's degree include a more flexible academic schedule; more freedom in choosing courses and planning goals; increased professional opportunities; and the high salaries that specialized knowledge of a subject usually command. Disadvantages of this degree include the additional time and expense involved; the strict entrance requirements; and the time-consuming and difficult nature of the coursework and theses.
Finance MBA Degrees
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) finance degrees may have some similarities to a Master of Science in Finance (MSF), but there are differences in the depth and focus of the topics covered in each. An MSF degree concentrates more on a student's understanding of finance and financial markets. An MBA in Finance is more diverse and covers general business managerial concepts, such as human resource management, marketing, and operations management, which are not dealt with in an MSF. Some students seek a dual major of an MBA/MSF or pursue an MSF later in order to gain more in-depth knowledge.
An MBA basically ensures that you are generally proficient in all of the major management roles that are available in most corporations. It is, therefore, a degree most often pursued by people who are already gainfully employed in the business world but want to increase their responsibilities and pay. Since all businesses are based on finance, this is one of the most popular choices of concentration for employees who decide to obtain their MBA.
Requirements for acceptance into an MBA program are similar to that for any master's program: a bachelor's degree, satisfactory test scores on the GMAT or GRE, academic transcripts, references or recommendations, essays, and personal interviews.
However, an MBA program also puts great emphasis on work experience (often two to five years), extracurricular activities, and community service. These last two can include such things as participation in a professional organization, club or charity, self-improvement activities, public speaking, volunteer activities, community projects, etc. Activities like these show that the student is a well-rounded, multi-dimensional person who contributes to the good of the community as a whole, not just the business world. Many MBA programs also give consideration to the diversity of their student body by making efforts to include more female and international students. International students may also be required to show that they are fluent in whatever language the program is conducted in by taking a language proficiency test, such as the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language).
Students usually study a wide variety of classes in the first year of an MBA program, and then choose an area in which to specialize in their second year. Coursework in an MBA in Finance will most likely be a mixture of business and finance classes such as managerial and financial accounting, managerial statistics, capital budgeting, financial reporting, global economics, operational audits, leadership communications, operations and marketing management, and ethical leadership strategies. The purpose of this variety is to give students a thorough grounding in financial systems and how they affect a company.
Requirements for graduation from an MBA program vary according to the school, but usually include successful completion of all core courses, a certain number of credit hours, and a minimum GPA. It usually takes about two academic years for students attending full-time to complete the program. However, since MBA candidates are usually actively working adults, many schools offer alternatives to the full-time MBA program such as accelerated, part-time, executive, and distance learning programs.
The advantages of earning an MBA include a competitive edge in the job market and opportunities for managerial positions and increased pay. Disadvantages include the expense of tuition and the stress of attending classes while working. There is also no guarantee that an MBA will land you the job you desire, although you can increase your chances by looking at smaller organizations and boutique banks.