Having a hard time selecting your Major? MyMajor.com offers free guides and resources aiming to help prospective students select the right major for their career goals.

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• Double Major: A Good Idea or Too Much Stress?
• English Major: Yields Great Communication Skills
• Sociology Major: Utilizes the Teachings of Other Disciplines to Highlight World Issues
• Finance Major: Excellent Choice for People With an Affinity for Numbers
• Computer Science Major: Solid Choice for Analytical & Imaginative Individuals

English Major

Double Major

Finance Major: Excellent Choice for People With an Affinity for Numbers

A finance major prepares the graduate for many exciting career opportunities. With the completion of a finance degree, you will be qualified to competently manage money for others – a field that is often lucrative and allows you to help the financial dreams of other people become a reality. During their studies, finance students develop their analytical skills and become familiar with many different financial concepts. They balance theory with practice, and learn the precepts of responsible financial management.

Most students in a finance major program will focus on:

• Business finance
• Investments analysis
• Security analysis
• Financial management

Upon the completion of a degree in finance, the student is prepared to work in:

• Corporate financial management
• Government financial management
• Portfolio management and analysis
• Investments
• Banking
• Financial planning
• Insurance
• Risk management
• Financial analysis

While completing a finance major degree program, the student learns to collect and interpret financial information for the benefit of their employer or clients. They also develop the ability to make sound financial decisions based on a variety of factors including market volatility, the environment, and legal and regulatory changes. They also learn to describe and analyze monetary systems around the world and how they can affect financial planning decisions.

Most students who are in pursuit of a finance degree will be required to take a variety of classes. These may include:

• Introduction to Business and Management
• Finite Mathematics
• Principles of Accounting
• Expository and Research Writing
• Principles of Macroeconomics
• Introduction to Computer Based Systems
• Business Statistics
• Foundations of Speech Communication
• Management and Organization Theory
• Investments
• Marketing Principles
• Business Finance
• Business Ethics
• Money and Banking
• Financial Management
• International Finance
• Security Analysis and Valuation
• Global Business Management

Of course, the precise curriculum will vary from one institution to the next, so you should thoroughly review the descriptions in the course catalog and the requirements for degree completion before enrolling in any degree program. Some finance major programs will ask the student to select an area of concentration, while others have only a general major. Students with a particular interest in a certain area should check into schools that offer the opportunity to specialize their education.

In general, you can expect to learn to prepare budgets, understand and work with complex computer systems, become familiar with the inner workings of the stock markets and the economy, and make sound investment decisions. People who have a natural affinity for working with numbers, have great communication skills, and enjoy performing research should be successful in the world of finance.

Essentially, a degree in finance prepares you to help either an organization or individuals to become financially successful over a long term. Financial solvency is important to all businesses and to people as well, so as you might imagine, there is a great deal of demand for graduates who have skills in the financial arena.

Although no finance major is guaranteed to become wealthy during the course of their career, it is not unusual for individuals in the financial industry to earn an enviable income. As more private citizens become interested in the economy and making investments, they are becoming increasingly drawn to financial professionals to help guide their investments. Consequently, the demand for qualified financial professionals is only expected to rise in coming years. Job prospects should be bright and plentiful for anyone choosing to enter this field.