Finance Career Options - Career Planning and Placement (2024)

Office of Career Planning and Placement

What is finance?

Finance is the management of money which includes investing, borrowing, lending, budgeting, saving and forecasting. There are four main areas of finance: banks, institutions, public accounting and corporate.

Courses within the finance major provide a solid background in many subjects including:

  • Financial markets and intermediaries
  • Measuring the risk and return of investments
  • Financial management in international money and capital markets
  • Functional areas of bank management and related financial institutions
  • Recent developments in futures and options

Review the finance program page.

Traditional career titles

Entry-level titles in finance

Top industries in finance

  • Stockbroker
  • Budget analyst
  • Credit analyst
  • Financial analyst
  • Financial planner
  • Investment banker
  • Financial auditor
  • Financial analyst
  • Personal financial advisor
  • Investment banking analyst
  • Junior tax associate/accountant

What can I do with this major?

Industries

Suggested employers

Corporate and public finance

  • Treasury
  • Budget analysis
  • Financial analysis
  • Investor relations
  • Risk management
  • Financial reporting
  • Investment management
  • Cash and Credit management
  • DOW
  • DTE Energy
  • General Motors
  • Owens Corning
  • Ford Motor Company
  • Stellantis

Banking

  • Mortgage loans
  • Private banking
  • Branch management
  • Commercial lending
  • Corporate credit analysis
  • Ally
  • Comerica Bank
  • Chemical/TDF Bank
  • Huntington National Bank
  • Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans

Insurance

  • Sales
  • Claims analysis
  • Risk management
  • Travelers
  • Comerica Bank
  • Northwestern Mutual

Personal Financial Planning

  • Sales
  • Customer service
  • Financial planning
  • Portfolio management
  • AXA Advisors
  • Prudential
  • Raymond James Financial

Investment Banking

  • Trading
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Corporate financial analysis
  • JP Morgan
  • AYCO, a Goldman Sachs Co.

Areas of Finance

Banks

Institutions

Public accounting

Corporates

  • Sales and trading
  • Equity research
  • Investment banking
  • Commercial banking
  • Research
  • Private equity
  • Portfolio management
  • Valuations
  • Due diligence
  • Transaction advisory
  • FP & A
  • Treasury
  • Investor relations
  • Corporate development

Career fairs

  • Annual career fairs for Ilitch School students and alumni to meet with employers in various functions for co-ops and internshipsand full-time employment
  • Check Handshake for details

Meet the Accounting Firms career fair

  • Annual career fair held for accounting and finance students and alumni interested in pursuing a CPA or other related certification
  • Engage with employers recruiting for co-ops andinternships and full-time positions in public and private industries
  • Check Handshake for details

Internships and full-time employment

  • Internships occur anytime during the academic year
  • Full-time recruiting occurs during the first three months of the Fall and Winter semester
  • Check Handshake for details

Quick prep tips

  • Apply for jobs, register for Career, Planning and Placementevents, research employers on Handshake
  • Attend meet andgreets, company presentations, career fair prep and mock interviews
  • Attend Ilitch School career fairs
  • Submit resume for review and approval on Handshake or schedule an appointment with a Career, Planning and Placement advisor
  • Prepare for upcoming interviews by meetingwith Career, Planning and Placement staff for one-on-one guidance
  • Research finance companies
  • Purchase business professional attire or borrow attire from theMary Ann Goldsberry Professional Dress Closet located in the Career, Planning and Placement, Suite 229

Get involved

Consider joining one or more of the following student organizations:

Job resources

Finance Career Options - Career Planning and Placement (2024)

FAQs

How to answer why do you want to pursue a career in finance? ›

Tips to answer "Why do you want to pursue a career in finance?"
  1. Showcase your passion. ...
  2. Highlight your analytical skills. ...
  3. Discuss the impact. ...
  4. Emphasize the challenge. ...
  5. Show your understanding of the industry. ...
  6. Link it to your skills. ...
  7. Highlight the potential for continuous learning. ...
  8. Discuss the potential for growth.
Jul 6, 2023

What are the 4 main areas of finance? ›

There are four main areas of finance: banks, institutions, public accounting and corporate. Courses within the finance major provide a solid background in many subjects including: Financial markets and intermediaries.

Is finance still a good career path? ›

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that business and finance jobs will be in demand from 2022 to 2032, with 911,400 openings on average each year. Certain roles within finance, like financial examiner, are expected to grow over six times faster than the rate for all occupations nationwide.

Why are you interested in majoring in finance? ›

A finance degree can open doors to a broad range of dynamic professional opportunities — often with high earning potential in diverse industries. Finance majors learn fundamental business skills that can translate to careers in a variety of organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Why are you interested in a career in accounting and finance? ›

Express your interest in numbers

An accountant's role revolves around working with numbers. Emphasize your fascination with numbers and how they convey a company's financial narrative. Highlight how accounting allows you to decode these numbers and assist companies in making informed decisions.

What are the 4 C's of finance? ›

Character, capital, capacity, and collateral – purpose isn't tied entirely to any one of the four Cs of credit worthiness. If your business is lacking in one of the Cs, it doesn't mean it has a weak purpose, and vice versa.

What are the 5 areas of financial planning? ›

When conducting your financial analysis, we take a look at the five main areas of financial planning:
  • Protection. ...
  • Estate Planning Strategies. ...
  • Retirement Planning. ...
  • Investment Planning. ...
  • Tax Planning.

What is finance as a career? ›

A person in the finance field focuses on stocks and bonds and determines good investment strategies to ensure that their finances grow with the everchanging market.

Is finance a hard major? ›

Finance degrees are generally considered to be challenging. In a program like this, students gain exposure to new concepts, from financial lingo to mathematical problems, so there can be a learning curve.

What is the most common job in finance? ›

Top 10 entry-level jobs in finance
  • Financial analyst. A financial analyst — sometimes called a business analyst — uses financial data to guide business decisions. ...
  • Personal financial adviser. ...
  • Accountant. ...
  • Loan officer. ...
  • Insurance sales agent. ...
  • Budget analyst. ...
  • Auditor. ...
  • Tax specialist.

What is the highest paying finance job? ›

Top 5 Highest Paying Jobs in Finance
  • Chief financial officer (CFO)
  • Investment banking.
  • Hedge fund manager.
  • Private equity associate.
  • Actuary.
Feb 6, 2024

How stressful is finance? ›

They can include high stress, big responsibility, long working hours, continuing education requirements, and, in some cases, a lack of job security—the finance industry is generally quite cyclical.

Do finance jobs make a lot of money? ›

Salaries in the finance industry

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics (BLS), careers in finance pay a median salary of $76,850 — 66% higher than the median salary for all occupations in the nation ($46,310).

Is finance hard to find a job? ›

You don't need an MBA to work in finance, but the field is highly competitive, especially at the entry-level. Internships offer experience, exposure, and a tryout for a full-time gig.

How to ace a finance interview? ›

Six expert tips for your next finance interview
  1. Get to the point. ...
  2. Know your finances. ...
  3. Make yourself the added value. ...
  4. Talk confidently about the industry. ...
  5. Engage with the interviewer. ...
  6. Keep learning.

Why do you want to pursue a career in TresVista? ›

You want to pursue a career in tresvista: TresVista is amazing because of the workplace environment. Everyone here is really helpful and supportive, including the boss and my coworkers. I am motivated to raise my learning curve since the management allows me enough time to instill new ideas.

Why do you want to go into investment banking? ›

Investment banking offers the opportunity to become an expert at building large, complex financial models at the earliest stage of your career. While bankers aren't necessarily great investors, they do spend a lot of time on valuation work, and this can be an excellent way to start your career.

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