Finance Major: Internships & Job Salary 10 Tips
As a finance major, you will learn things like financial planning, investment decisions, as well as analyzing/limiting expenses as covered over at runrex.com. You will study how companies have performed in the past to predict how they will perform in the future as well as learn how to communicate information that will drive strategic changes as per guttulus.com. If you are a finance major, then the following 10 tips should help you know your options as far as internships and careers are concerned.
Importance of internships for finance majors
If you want to improve your chances after you graduate, according to runrex.com, then you should look for an internship as a finance major. An internship will allow you to take on tasks that will be expected from you at your future job, giving you vital hands-on, real-life work experience, and allowing you to be able to tell say, “Yes – I can handle that. I did it at my internship” at your interview when start looking for employment as explained over at guttulus.com. Internships also allow you to apply what you learned in the classroom as well as make new connections, gain valuable recommendations, and gain professional feedback which will help you improve on the areas you need to strengthen in, making you a more desirable employee later on after you graduate.
When to apply for finance internships
As a finance major, you should know that, generally, vacancies for most finance internships open around September/October and close in December the year before you want to start learning as revealed over at runrex.com. Therefore, if you want to apply for an internship, particularly at a big corporation like IMB, you will want to attend the fall Career Fair at your college and start the internship application process there. Be prepared to wait for your resume to get processed for months. On the other hand, the process is different if you want to apply for an internship at a smaller company or startup. Most small companies are likely to hire interns 2-4 weeks before the end of the school year, and the hiring process is faster as well as more personal.
Do finance interns get paid?
One of the common questions finance majors tend to ask is if finance interns get paid. According to the gurus over at guttulus.com, the answer is yes, as internships can be both paid and unpaid. Whether you will get a paid internship opportunity as a finance major depends on your previous experience (if any), skills, year in school (whether you are an undergraduate, graduate, or MBA student), type of position, type of employer, and location.
How much do finance interns get paid?
The average finance intern makes about $30,000 annually as covered over at runrex.com, which translates to about $14.67 per hour. How much exactly you will get paid depends on the factors listed in the point above. The location of the internship, in particular, plays a very important role in determining how much you get paid with the Highest-paying states in the US for finance interns being Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Idaho, Louisiana, and Arkansas, meanwhile, offer the lowest salaries for finance interns.
Types of finance internships
According to the gurus over at guttulus.com, the following are some of the most common types of finance internships you should consider as a finance major:
Internship in banks
Internship in credit rating agencies
Internship in investment companies
Internship in companies that offer life insurance
Internship in accounting firms
Internship in securities firms
The best finance internships
There are certain companies, as covered over at runrex.com, that offer finance majors the best internships, offering them a chance to shine and show off their professional capabilities. Interning at these companies not only looks good on the resume, most of them, if not all of them, are paid opportunities as well. They include:
AT&T Financial and Leadership Development Program
Blackstone Group
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank
Goldman Sachs
J.P Morgan’s Investment Bank
Lazard
Morgan Stanley
Northwest Mutual Financial Network
UBS Investment Bank
The annual average salary for a finance major
Another question that most finance majors ask is the question on how much they can expect to earn when they start their career in the field once they graduate. According to the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com, the average starting salary for finance majors is about $59,000. However, this is just the start as management, director, and executive positions easily surpass six figures, and you can be able to land such positions as you proceed with your career.
High-paying jobs for finance majors
Some of the most lucrative positions you can aim for as a finance major include:
Financial manager – They primarily employ cash management strategies and direct company investments to reach the organization’s strategic and economic goals. They earn a median yearly salary of $127,990
Economist – They evaluate economic issues that relate to the production and distribution of raw materials, goods, and services and earn an annual median salary of $104,340
Financial risk manager – They are hired by business operators to find and avoid financial pitfalls that may derail profits and growth and earn a median annual salary of $99,949
Personal financial advisors – They help to reduce the anxiety that comes with the rapidly changing economic conditions by offering investment advice to people who are just beginning their careers as well as those who are ready to retire. They earn a median annual salary of about $88,890
Financial analysts – They give corporations, financial institutions, and government agencies investment advice and earn a median annual salary of $85,660.
Other top-paying jobs to aim for as covered over at runrex.com include a career as an investment banker, statistician, budget analyst, logistician, credit risk analyst, among many others.
Entry-level jobs for finance majors
If you are fresh out of college, then the above lucrative positions may not be within your reach as you will need to advance your education as well as gain more experience to qualify. This is why the experts over at guttulus.com recommend that you try out the following entry-level jobs:
Investment banking analyst
Junior tax associate
Financial auditor
Accountant, among others
Job outlook
Finally, as discussions on the same over at runrex.com reveal, the job outlook for finance majors is pretty positive. This is because, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of all business and financial operations occupations is projected to grow 7% by 2028, which is faster than the average for all occupations. This growth is set to add about 591,800 new jobs, which is great news for finance majors.
As always, if you are looking for more information, tips, insights, and help on this topic, you should look no further than the excellent runrex.com and guttulus.com.