Money and Capital Markets

Many finance majors go to work for financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and investment banking firms. For success here, one needs a knowledge of valuation techniques, the factors that cause interest rates to rise and fall. the regulations to which financial institutions are subject and the various types of financial instruments (mortgages, auto loans, certificates of deposit, and so on). One also needs a general knowledge of all aspects of business administration, because the management of a financial institution involves accounting, marketing, personnel, and computer systems, as well as financial management. An ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, is important and “people skills”, or the ability to get others to do their jobs well, are critical.

One common entry-level job in this area is a bank officer trainee, where one goes into bank operations and learns about the business, from tellers work, to cash management, to making loans. One could expect to spend a year or so being rotated among these different areas, after which he or she would settle into a department, often as an assistant manager in a branch. Alternatively, one might become a specialist in some area such as real estate, and be authorized to make loans going into millions of dollars, or in the management of trusts, estates, and pension funds. Similar career paths are available with insurance companies, investment companies, credit unions, and consumer loan companies.