When you look at the official job postings of most companies, institutions, and agencies, there is no shortage of open positions that require only an undergraduate degree in finance or a related field (and perhaps one or more government or industry certifications). So in that sense, you don’t really need a Master of Business Administration (MBA) to pursue a finance career.
However, the highly competitive nature of the current business and investment landscape makes landing a job with only a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) incredibly challenging. As the independent finance news and education platform Investopedia puts it, “the inboxes, both digital and physical, of industry professionals and HR folks at banks and brokerages are stuffed with the resumes of students who have dreams of big money, lavish lifestyles, and getting on the path to being Masters of the Universe by the time they are 30.”
For this reason, more and more bachelor’s degree holders are going on to obtain an MBA, even if they are initially applying for entry- or mid-level jobs. Nothing quite catches the eye of a human resources professional or talent scout quite like the prestigious MBA.
What Does an MBA in Finance Do for Your Career?
The clout that comes with an MBA can prove invaluable when it comes to getting your foot in the door. But what about after you’ve entered the professional investment and/or financial services industries? Beyond the overwhelming advantage it can provide early in your career, an MBA is bound to provide outstanding career support as you progress and grow professionally.
Of course, the first thing that springs to most people’s minds when they think about the benefits of an MBA is increased earning potential, and this assumption is well grounded in statistical fact. In a 2021 article for Fortune magazine, business industry researcher and writer Kara Driscoll reported that MBA graduates command salaries that are 75 percent higher than graduates with solely a bachelor’s degree in business. Furthermore, compensation rates for MBA graduates in a finance-related field are likely to be even higher. This is particularly true for the senior administrative positions that MBA holders commonly step into.
And after an MBA graduate accepts one of these high-paying positions, a wealth of evidence suggests that he or she is likely to keep it as long as they want. According to the business graduate school program authority Fortune Education, job security (and the peace of mind that goes along with it) is exceptionally high among MBA graduates. According to a Fortune Education study, 63 percent of MBA graduates regard their advanced degree as a path to more secure employment.
Another tremendous advantage of an MBA is the professional flexibility that it grants. There is an incredibly diverse array of finance-related jobs today, and many of them are currently in hot demand. An MBA (particularly an MBA in Finance) will allow you to grow your financial career in virtually any direction.
Finance Career Paths
MBA graduates are widely employed in both the public and private sectors. Although we tend to associate the MBA with the corporate boardroom, the administrative leadership skills that a graduate business school provides are also incredibly effective in governmental and nonprofit management.
In terms of primary employment areas, industries, and functions, the career path of an MBA graduate tends to fall into one of four categories:
Banking and Related Services
Banks, credit unions, and other savings and lending organizations are the major employers in this area. In addition to serving senior administrative roles in this field, MBA graduates can perform a broad range of analysis and compliance functions.
Business Financial Management
Finance professionals in this area are responsible for developing, instituting, and operating financial processing and accounting systems for businesses. Accountants, auditors, and financial analysts lead the list of job titles in the business financial management field.
Financial and Investment Planning
From commodities brokers to tax preparers, a broad range of finance professionals can find work in financial or investment planning. Advising a wide range of businesses, families, and individuals, professionals in this field must have a strong command of risk management and remain up to date on relevant market trends.
Insurance Services
Providing a special form of financial investment, the modern insurance industry requires the projection, estimation, calculation, and analysis skills of countless finance professionals. This makes finance-focused MBA graduates prime candidates for leadership positions in the insurance services field.
Creating a Finance Career Plan
If you want to get your finance career going in the right direction, you’ll want to begin by making an action plan that identifies precisely what you want to achieve. Because your career goals should evolve and elevate over time, you may want to set various milestones at a year, three years, five years, and/or a decade down the road. After establishing your objectives, you must develop a series of actionable steps to make each of these objectives happen.
When setting both short-term and long-term goals, you may want to use the SMART method. An acronym for “specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely,” the SMART approach stresses the value of incremental progress by dividing major projects into smaller tasks that are clearly defined, diligently monitored, and manageable.
Three In-Demand Finance Jobs in 2023
Although MBA graduates can choose from a broad spectrum of career paths in the current employment environment, finance is a growth sector that you will certainly want to consider. These three in-demand jobs serve as perfect examples:
Finance Manager
Finance managers are tasked with planning, directing, and coordinating financial activities for a particular organization or department. These financial activities might include any combination of accounting, banking, insurance, or investment transactions, processes, and reporting.
According to the employment information and career resource My Future™, the demand for finance managers is expected to increase by 17 percent through 2031. This rate of growth is considerably faster than that of the vast majority of occupations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, finance managers make a median salary of $131,710 per year in the United States.
Business Controller/Financial Controller
Whether they have the title “business controller” or “financial controller,” professionals hired as controllers are responsible for managing and maintaining the financial health of an organization. Their specific duties include developing annual and quarterly budgets for organizations as a whole as well as their various departments. Some controllers are also in charge of employee payroll preparation and management. Overall, controllers strive to create and institute financial plans and strategies that align with organizational objectives.
According to Indeed, the average annual income for a controller in the US is approximately $101,000. Like finance manager positions, controller positions are rapidly on the rise, with a growth rate of 17 percent.
Senior Accountant/Accounting Manager
Leadership accounting positions such as “senior accountant” and “accounting manager” also enjoy a healthy 17 percent growth projection, according to Indeed. That impressive growth rate, plus a relatively healthy salary of just under $81,500 per year make these positions attractive employment prospects in the US.
Going far beyond mere bookkeeping, accounting managers create, instill, and direct accounting systems and policies that organize and store an organization’s financial data. Principal responsibilities of senior accountants and accounting managers include overseeing the daily activities of accounting teams as well as automated accounting processes and other technological finance operations.
How to Get into a Finance Career
After giving considerable thought to the specific areas that you are most interested in exploring as a finance professional, you should conduct a bit of research to determine exactly what university degrees and forms of government or industry certification are required for your chosen career path. However, it is important to remember that you must often go far above and beyond basic requirements if you want to secure a high-paying position in today’s competitive job market.
An MBA from a respected institution of higher learning like the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) is a mark of business knowledge and ability that will certainly capture an employer’s attention. To develop extra skills and present expanded expertise in financial matters, you will want to consider pursuing an MBA with a concentration in finance.
An MBA in finance from the UTC Gary W. Rollins College of Business exposes students to the same general business expertise as a general MBA, but then delves into pointed and practical training in finance. Specifically, the finance concentration requires UTC students to take a total of three finance-based elective courses of three credit hours apiece. Students can choose among the courses “Financial Markets and Institutions,” “Advanced Financial Management,” “International Financial Management,” and “Investments” to fulfill the nine-credit finance concentration requirement.
For more information about our MBA in Finance as well as the other MBA program options at UTC, visit the official UTC Gary W. Rollins College of Business MBA homepage today!
