business finance degree salary

business finance degree salary

Exploring the Impact of a Business Finance Degree on Salary Potential

1. Introduction to Business Finance Degrees

Finance is a constantly evolving field and salaries change according to a candidate’s experience, type or name of the industry, and the general economy. Companies attempting to solve financial problems, manage projects, or increase revenues experience the demands on their finance, business, and management employees.

Are you interested in pursuing a field that is not only diverse and versatile but also lucrative and in demand? Earning a business finance degree ensures that you open yourself up to many opportunities in diverse professional fields at salaries that may be higher than other business-related professions. What are the starting salaries for positions in the business and financial fields for entry-level candidates? What is the experience of an employee over time and how does a business finance degree impact positions and salary potential? In the following report, we explore the career paths of business finance degree graduates. Whether you are considering pursuing a business finance degree or already have one, this report outlines the many career paths and expected salary potential of candidates in the business, management, and finance field.

2. The Relationship Between Education and Salary in the Finance Industry

It is intuitive that the higher a student’s educational attainments, the higher their earnings will be. In finance, survey evidence indicates that a graduate with a specific finance qualification, such as a degree, did not count, at 30%, quantity as highly as two ‘soft’ attributes recommended by the Russell Group of Britain’s top 24 research universities, by 55%. The hard attribute, mathematics skill, is, however, noteworthy as a qualification for entry into the world of finance, having 24% of the responses. Although education is important, however, there needs to be realism too. With the liquidity crisis in the banking industry in 2009 and the 2009 economic struggle, there were and continue to be fewer jobs available for finance graduates. The tight conditions during the recession have pushed salaries down, as well as decreasing the opportunities available to graduates to gain work experience.

In finance, the significance of education in determining salaries has been well established. A degree in finance, business, accounting, or related careers significantly increases the salary potential of a finance graduate. Such a relationship is understandable given the importance of numerical, analytical, communication, and decision-making skills in the occupation and how these are acquired during students’ undergraduate education. Higher education is the stage where numeracy, decision-making, analytical, and critical thinking skills are improved, and so received wisdom is that considerable increases in wage can be attributed to employers’ willingness to remunerate these newly acquired capabilities.

3. Factors Influencing Salary Potential for Business Finance Graduates

College graduates view employment as an important means of achieving valuable outcomes, including the opportunity to use skills for non-pecuniary objectives, and of making a positive contribution in an organizational context and establishing a secure material foundation on which to build their lives. A fundamental goal of the U.S. business higher education system is to equip students with valuable skills that lead to good jobs. The earnings premium associated with higher education rewards students who invest the time and money required to obtain a college education, and higher salaries are associated with business degrees in particular. For example, business administration and management graduates earn 8% more than non-business graduates, and finance graduates earn 11% more. Furthermore, working people with business degrees generally earn higher salaries on average.

Individuals who pursue degrees in business fields are typically interested in becoming business professionals and in business-related career opportunities, which align with their work interests and values. One reason why business administration or management is so popular is that the skills and knowledge learned in business programs are attractive to potential employers in a wide variety of work settings. Business graduates are generally employed in various sectors, including finance and insurance, health care and social services, and public administration. The attractiveness of business fields for professionals and business students suggests that business studies can enhance graduate employability.

4. Case Studies and Real-Life Examples of Salary Progression

Out of my network of friends and former classes as Head of the Finance Department, I have observed that Danny, a computer science major, started as a Clerk with a diversified Mutual Fund Company. He reported that after about 2 years and with his undergraduate degree, he started in an assistant portfolio analyst position in structured products. Within a month of starting in the position (which used Java and their in-house programming language) and a few days before his 50th birthday, and without telling any of his family, he quit and moved to California to start as a software engineer. At his software engineering job, his company put out an earnings call; his sister listened in her car, recognized the Chief Investment Officer and texted Danny who he had met that day at the structured products desk. Danny’s stock reached 120% over IPO price.

In this section, we look at salary progression over time for specific professionals. I posit that the progression in salary for the professionals in the cases below is heavily dependent on the business finance topics as part of their education and work experience. After all, finance is the study of how we allocate resources over time and under uncertainty. Elements generally addressed as part of finance in a business context are indexes (like inflation and stock exchange), market efficiency, capital asset pricing model, risk and return, diversification, and valuation of future cash flows. They relate to the concepts of time value of money and give insight into why cash today is more preferable to cash in the future. Additionally, I identify that in my real-life connections, entry-level salary in business finance is generally higher than those in the IT (information technology) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Sourcing of data for the clerks and Data Analyst came from my previous research and for the remaining professionals, from Bloomberg.

5. Strategies for Maximizing Salary Potential with a Business Finance Degree

Exploring the impact of a business finance degree on salary potential

In the previous section, we explored the positive impact of a degree in business finance from an AACSB school on salary potential. This raises the question of how much of this impact a student can realize by preparing to do well before graduation in three general areas: coursework, other academic experiences, and accumulating work experiences such as internships. These strategies can add tens of thousands of dollars, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, to lifetime income for a student and should not be neglected.

With careful attention to developing competencies in areas that are particularly valued by employers, such as writing skills and even communication skills, students can significantly improve their chances of finding a well-paying job immediately upon leaving college.

For many grads in non-business areas, finding the elusive high-paying job takes more time than it does for business majors. To alleviate this pressure, many students use their senior year to search for the first post-graduate job. Some of the keys to graduating into that perfect job include:

– Focus on the econ/finance degree, where the biggest advantage is seen by grads. – Develop writing and communication skills, even at the undergraduate level. – Enroll in highly recognized business/finance schools and major. – Internships or work with a professor in your field will add value.

In summary, for undergrads choosing a business finance degree, these elements together may mean a real financial difference, particularly if you plan to live in the states with the fastest growth of business and financial occupations: Colorado, Florida, and Utah.