The right degree will ensure you’re a strong candidate for both public and private financial services jobs. While a background in accounting and/or business is important, financial services positions involve more than a clear grasp of numbers, bookkeeping, and/or management skills. Financial service experts must have an in-depth understanding of how money is acquired, as well as how that money is actually managed and used to build current and future financial health.
This list is a sampling of the financial services jobs available with the right degree and career preparation:
- Financial Consultant
- Investment Officer
- Financial examiner
- Banking Center Manager
- Lending Manager
- Financial Manager, Branch or Department
- Certified Financial Planner
- Investment Advisor
- Budget Analyst
Completing your degree in Financial Support Services from Bryant & Stratton College will place you in prime position to obtain a financial services job. Here is what to look for when choosing the right degree for jobs in financial services.
Basic Accounting and Business Principles. The cornerstone of your financial services career is a fundamental education and understanding of accounting and financial operations. You will want to excel in both basic and advanced accounting courses. You should also take classes in business, management and operations principles. These foundational courses will help you determine if your academic interests and acumen are aligned with your professional goals.
Analysis and Application. Make sure your degree program offers courses providing both macro- and micro-views of business and personal finance. As a financial services expert, you will need to both analyze and apply your knowledge and skills in order to improve your clients’ financial viability. You will acquire these skills by taking courses focused on macro and micro economics, finance principals, and strategic management. These courses will ensure you are able to see the whole picture, diagnosing where a company or individual is at, and then providing the products, services, or plan to keep them moving forward, with increasingly healthy financial prospects.
Financial Planning. In some cases, you will work directly with a company or individual(s) to create and implement a sound financial plan. In other cases, the products or services you offer will improve their future financial goals/plans. Either way, your financial services degree should incorporate courses exposing you to all areas of financial planning, including insurance, investment, income tax, retirement and estate planning. These are interconnected disciplines; the health of one area is directly connected to the health of another.
Experience and Practicum. While a conceptual and theoretical education is important for learning concrete ideas and financial strategies, your ability to apply and execute what you have learned is dependent on your real-life experience. A certain portion of your time obtaining a bachelor’s degree in financial services should be dedicated to simulated practicum and/or bona fide internships in some area of the financial services sector. Not only will this reinforce what you have learned, it will also help you to identify which areas of financial services interest you the most, and will help to build your professional portfolio.
If you are interested in our Financial Support Services degree, please contact the admissions office at Bryant & Stratton College. Our admissions counselors can help you determine which program will be best for your educational and professional goals.
