<p>I've been told that unless you go to a top school/target, getting a degree in finance isn't anything special. I don't necessarily want to go into IB, I just want a job that would allow me to work up to a six figure income within a few years. Right now I attend a fairly reputable state school, if a finance degree isn't worth much then what degree would serve my goals better?</p>
<p>This is just not true. There are many successful professionals in finance that are not from “top/target school”. It really depends on you more than your school. Just need to apply yourself and do your best and you will be ok.</p>
<p>there are a lot of other jobs that pay 100k+ besides finance…</p>
<p>what do you actually like to do? have you considered this?</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I’m aware that you can be successful without going to a top school, my point was that I’ve heard in general that a finance degree will NOT lead to the path I stated in my post. That is, without quite a bit of luck.</p>
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<p>Well out of the available options at my school finance has looked the most attractive, and I’ve always been good at the kind of math used in the business world (quick calculations, working with graphs). I have no interest in engineering or law, aside from those I’m not quite sure what other jobs there are that you speak of.</p>
<p>I mean, if you like finance, then absolutely you can pursue that. Just that you said “I just want to get a job that will allow me to earn X” and I am saying there are lots of jobs that allow you to earn that, though perhaps not as quickly as finance.</p>
<p>So absolutely look at finance if that is what you like. I was just trying to get across that if you don’t like finance, it’s probably not a good idea to go that route just for the paycheck, since this is a job you will be doing 5 days a week for the next X number of years.</p>
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<p>if only this were true…</p>
<p>A 100K income is meaningless in SanJose and NYC.
A 100K income is quite good in Seattle, PDX,
A 100k income in the midWest pretty good.
A 100k income in the South is very good.</p>
<p>well if you choose to work more, that is your choice. Most jobs are 5 days a week, 40 hours a week. Obviously working more comes with benefits and drawbacks. Only an individual can decide what is right for them.</p>
<p>So I guess my question is, assuming one enjoys their field of work, for someone who majors in finance and is competent and smart what is a realistic estimate as to the number of years before they hit 100K? I don’t like to think about just money, but I’d by lying if I said it was unimportant.</p>
<p>There are a lot of different types of jobs in finance but assuming you are talking about IB, S&T and other front office roles you will most likely make over 100K (including bonus) as early as your first year.</p>
<p>But you WILL NOT work 40 hours/week as an investment banker, it’s more like 80-100 hours/week on average. Even as a trader you will be close to 60 hours/week.</p>
<p>Are there any jobs in the business world besides IB, trading, PE, Hedge Fund and all that good stuff, that one will crack 6 figures in, say, 6 years or less? We’re not talking millions here, I"m talking like 150K or more.</p>
<p>*I just want to point out that yes this thread is just about money. In no way is this thread going to determine what career I choose. If anything it’s just for my own knowledge.</p>
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<p>Either you missed the word finance or you are childishly naive.
There may be a job somewhere, far far away from any sort of financial hub, with a 40k starting salary in finance that has a 40 hour work week, but particularly at entry level, it is ridiculous to assume this is going to be the case. </p>
<p>Highflyin
You seem to be looking for a job with easy hours, that’s not competitive or difficult to get that pays a high salary.
This will not happen.
The average mid career salary of a finance major is something like 90,000/year. If you don’t go to a great school, don’t go to grad school and aren’t towards the top of your class, this is about what you can expect, maybe 5-10 years down the road.
If you want an easily attainable position with a decent salary, become a nurse (though to be fair, the way government regulation is heading, the decent salary part will not be true in 5 years) or an accountant at the big 4.</p>
<p>I completely agree with angryelf, </p>
<p>Most people, in salaried positions, regardless of major/industry, work more than 40 hours a week. That type of Work-Life balance is not really part of the American culture :). </p>
<p>Also, to expect that type of salary (100K) anywhere near graduation, is likely just setting yourself up for dissapointment. </p>
<p>“So I guess my question is, assuming one enjoys their field of work, for someone who majors in finance and is competent and smart what is a realistic estimate as to the number of years before they hit 100K?”</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer to this question. However, there are ALOT of smart and competent people out there. My guess, the very large majority of which, don’t hit 100K after 4 years, if ever. So based on the minimal information you’ve given us a “realistic estimate” is probably decades after your graduation if ever. However, like angryelf said, it depends on your grades, school, region, interview skills, networking skills, work skills, luck, and so many other factors that we (and you, for the most part) can’t possibly know.</p>
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<p>That is not what I’m looking for. This is more for my curiosity than anything, of course any job that pays well is not going to be easy to get into. My main questions of the thread were these:</p>
<p>-from a non target, is a finance degree held in lower regard in a degree in say, math or econ
-are there any finance jobs besides IB that pay similar and/or require less hours for good pay for someone coming out of college or MBA. Not everyone wants to work 90 hours a week.</p>
<p>Neither of these had really been answered until whatdidyoudo responded. Again, this is just for my general knowledge. The responses in this thread are not going to dictate which career I choose.</p>
<p>-from a non target, is a finance degree held in lower regard in a degree in say, math or econ</p>
<p>Intuitively, I would say that a math degree would be held in higher regard than other degrees from an “average” school because in general (rightly or wrongly) people think a math degree is more difficult. Although, a finance degree would probably be more useful for breaking into business, yes? no? </p>
<p>-are there any finance jobs besides IB that pay similar and/or require less hours for good pay for someone coming out of college or MBA. Not everyone wants to work 90 hours a week.</p>
<p>idk. I assume not, because if there were jobs that paid similar in which you worked equal or less hours, I’d think i, and you, would have heard about it since IB is talked about ALOT among finance students. but what do I know? I’m not a finance major. </p>
<p>"The responses in this thread are not going to dictate which career I choose. "</p>
<p>It’s perfectly acceptable to base your career decisions off of, in a large part, salary and hours.</p>
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<p>I said that “most jobs” are 40 hours a week. That is exactly what I meant. I did not miss or fail to include any words in my response. I did not mean to write “most finance jobs are 40 hours a week” which seems to be how you read my post. Then I said “working more comes with benefits and drawbacks” which I believe is true. If you work 60-70 hours a week obviously you will earn more money. But there are downsides too.</p>
<p>Since the OP wants to specifically know about the finance field, then I will back out of the thread, as that is not my field. I posted in the thread because the OP seemed to be only concerned with money, and I wanted to mention that there are multiple paths in multiple fields to obtain a six figure salary. That is all.</p>
<p>Hitting 100k isn’t that hard in any decent F500 company after a couple years. Most managers will make around that much with all in compensation, all senior managers should make that much (in my industry anyways)</p>
<p>“Hitting 100k isn’t that hard in any decent F500 company after a couple years.”</p>
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<li>2 years to get to 100K? Whoa! What F500 company are you talking about?! and in what region?</li>
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<p>I don’t see two years anywhere in my post … please point it out because I must have missed it</p>
<p>“a couple years = two years” couple = two</p>