5 Great Jobs for Finance MBAs
If you want your MBA to produce a maximum return on investment, consider specializing in finance — a concentration that pays lasting dividends. The market for high-paying jobs has been on a bull run for years, with thousands of six-figure positions available in financial services, banking, insurance and ancillary industries.
Lucrative, High-Growth Specialization
Consider the economic outlook for financial services managers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many of the positions for which finance MBA graduates qualify appear poised for exceptional growth.
Financial advisors earn a median pay of $99,580 per year with an expected 13% job growth between 2022-2032. Financial managers earn $156,100 per year with a projected 16% job growth. These figures do not account for the stronger compensation MBA graduates earn relative to bachelor’s degree holders, and those with a specialization in finance are in even higher demand because of their industry-specific skills.
Monster recently declared finance to be one of the most lucrative MBA specializations.
Demographic trends, such as aging baby boomers, are driving demand for more knowledgeable professionals across a wide range of careers. In addition, the proliferation of big data and technological solutions to financial needs, both personal and corporate, are increasing demand for qualified professionals.
Other growth drivers include emerging economies, multinational organizations, ongoing digital transformation in financial services, and changing regulations for financial entities, both in the United States and abroad.
Three Main Fields, Each with Excellent Prospects
Countless webpages and books have been compiled detailing lucrative careers for graduates of finance MBA programs, and you can access this information with a simple Google search. Careers can generally be divided into financial services, banking and insurance. A simple filtered search of six-figure financial services jobs on Salary.com produces hundreds of unique titles. Similarly, a few hundred six-figure job titles in banking show up, with another 100+ in the insurance industry.
Let’s take a look at popular positions representing the three main industries.
Financial Services
Corporate Financial Management: $142,222 average base pay (Glassdoor) — Financial managers typically source and manage capital in order to run and grow an organization. This position has many responsibilities, among them producing financial reports, forecasting profit and loss, and developing investment strategies. The challenge for corporate financial managers is to balance risk with reward and produce consistently strong outcomes.
Financial Advisor: $93,069 average salary (Salary.com) — This title covers a widely diverse set of positions encompassing personal financial advisers as well as financial analysts, reporting directors, accountants and CFOs.
Banking and Investing
Banking and investing services include accepting deposits and issuing loans and offering a range of investment products like certificates of deposit. Career options include loan officers as well as operations, marketing and branch managers, or management and executive-level positions in the corporate office.
Business Banking Manager II: $189,019 average salary (Salary.com) — Promotes portfolio growth by implementing marketing and business plans, while also growing loans, deposits and fee-based services.
Commercial Loan Manager: $172,176 average salary (Salary.com) — Manages commercial loan officers to build the business within a designated market. Delivers operational guidance and approves requests for loans beyond the officers’ approval limits.
Insurance
Demographic factors are also driving the highly diverse insurance industry. Finance MBA graduates can work with individuals or businesses to plan for potential risks and protect against losses. Functions include management, actuarial work and sales.
Actuarial Services Director: $280,562 average salary (Salary.com) — Develops mathematical analyses and financial principles to solve insurance problems. Calculates premiums, designs insurance plans and creates probability charts.
There may be tens, if not hundreds, of available positions in the financial sector in your desired city. A specialized MBA can be your key to entry.
Learn more about the University of Louisiana Lafayette’s online MBA with a concentration in Finance program.