College Crunch

Overview

A background in quantitative finance opens up career opportunities in traditional areas such as banking and investment, in addition to a number of related fields such as insurance and trade. The most common career field is for financial analysts who help grade credit including loans based upon credit history, risks and the larger market environment. Often working as consultants for clients, the process of rating debt has becoming increasingly important and complicated in the global credit environment. At the larger end of the spectrum are investment bankers who work in corporate finance by helping to arrange for financing to help fund growth of acquisitions.

This segment of the field is saturated with workers due to the global contraction in markets, but students with specialized skills in certain markets and areas are still in high demand, especially students with backgrounds in science, technology and foreign languages. On the personal segment of the market, students can often find jobs as financial advisors to individuals and businesses, which is largely a commission and sales based job that depends on building up a portfolio of clients after earning a chartered (CFA) or certified (CFP) license. While this field is competitive, it can always be lucrative and rewarding.

Salary Expectations

Starting salaries vary widely, but finance majors generally earn above $40,000, with much higher premiums going to those who are placed in investment banking jobs, where incentive based salaries can reach into the high five figure range.