7 Jobs You Can Do With A Finance Degree In 2024

A finance degree allows you to prepare for a broad range of careers. In fact, with over 1.1 million finance professionals working across the United Kingdom, it's possible to find a job that fits your interests and skills [1].

What can you do with a finance degree?

A degree in finance opens up a wide variety of opportunities for those who enjoy working with numbers and analysing data. With a finance degree, you can pursue a career in accounting, corporate finance, and more.

Here are some of the most popular career paths available to graduates with bachelor's degrees in finance. 

1. Commercial banker

Commercial bankers offer a broad range of financial products and services designed to help businesses succeed. They provide companies with capital, lend money for property and equipment purchases, help businesses manage risk, identify strategic growth opportunities, and connect with other advisors that can guide business owners through the complex financial terrain they may face. 

Commercial bankers can also help companies establish relationships with suppliers, explore new markets, and handle mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Commercial bankers are responsible for processing loans and deposits for banks. Commercial bankers also work directly with customers to open new accounts, review their budgets and offer financial advice. 

Skills of a commercial banker

• Greeting and assisting customers who visit the bank or call for assistance; answering any questions or concerns that they may have

• Answering phone calls from customers and identifying needs

• Completing loan request forms and evaluating credit information to determine eligibility and risk involved in each request

• Attending meetings with bank officials, management, or other departments to discuss financial issues

• Conducting market research to identify potential business opportunities

• Making recommendations on policies, procedures, and strategies based on financial research

Average Salary: £53,543 per year [2]

2. Impact investing analyst

Impact investing analyst is a position that exists within an impact investment organisation. Impact investment analysts are responsible for generating ideas for investment, analysing viable opportunities for investment, and managing current portfolio positions. These analysts often call upon their knowledge of social and sustainability issues to identify new areas of opportunity for their organisation.

Impact investing analysts help analyse social, environmental, and ethical aspects of investments to ensure they meet certain standards of sustainability or improvement for the long-term benefit of all stakeholders. 

Skills of an impact investing analyst

• Knowledge of the impact investing world

• The ability to spot promising emerging market opportunities (e.g. for clean energy, for health care) and to understand the potential of a business model enabling these opportunities

• The ability to translate this analysis into a cogent presentation to convince investors of the potential of the business model

• A strong understanding of financial markets

• An ability to explain finance language in terms of impact investing (eg: NPV, IRR). This will allow you to explain your analyses to non-financial specialists, who are not used to seeing financial metrics.

• An ability to work across borders and cultures—ideally with at least some foreign languages skills—in order to be able to develop your network and meet with investors globally

Average Salary: £43,577 per year [3]

3. Fintech business analyst

A Fintech business analyst uses their financial knowledge of both the business and technical aspects of technology to help organisations work smarter through improved operational efficiency, reporting capabilities, and data-driven insights. They also have a strong understanding of the industry, organisations, and their customers which allows them to work effectively with both C-level executives and junior employees in an organisation.

Fintech business analysts analyse financial transactions, payments, and other opportunities within the financial technology sector. They also examine how these technologies can be applied to broader changes in areas such as big data analytics and online security. 

Skills of a fintech business analyst

Not to be confused with a "financial analyst", the role of a "fintech business analyst" is to evaluate and implement new technology for financial services firms. This position requires both technical and business skills, as well as a sound understanding of financial markets.

Tasks performed by a Fintech Business Analyst include:

• Evaluating fintech solutions

• Structuring data flows and querying databases to obtain relevant information

• Prescribing the most appropriate software or hardware to solve a problem, based on cost, security, reliability, and other factors

• Designing, developing, and testing software applications for the company's internal use, or for clients

• Supporting the company's existing IT infrastructure and network systems

• Maintaining documentation and records of all activities performed

As well as technical expertise, business analysts also need creativity and innovation skills so that they can come up with solutions to problems that arise during their work.

Average salary: £50,000 per year [4]

4. Accountant or auditor

Accountants and auditors are financial professionals who make sure that businesses use their money properly. This involves checking how businesses spend their money, collecting and adding up figures on how well the business is doing, and producing reports that are used in making decisions about the business. 

Accountants and auditors work for different kinds of businesses, from banks or manufacturing companies to SMEs. In addition to having formal training in accounting or auditing rules, accountants and auditors also have to have a talent for finding problems quickly and making them as easy to understand as possible.

Skills of an accountant or auditor

To succeed in a job as an accountant or auditor, you need a combination of technical skills and problem-solving skills. The technical skills involve working with numbers and financial information. 

• Collect and interpret data

• Understand financial information and make judgements based on this

• Communicate effectively with clients, colleagues, and other parties involved in an audit

• Evaluate a company's financial status

• Work under pressure

• Think logically and analytically

Average salary: £40,356per year [5].

5. Financial advisor

A financial advisor is a professional who helps individuals and families to manage their personal finances by preparing a financial plan. The plan includes investments in equities and/or bonds, savings or retirement planning, tax planning, insurance, or banking.  

Financial advisors may work for banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions, or as independent agents to help investors pay for education, basic needs or prepare for a comfortable retirement.

Skills of a financial advisor

• Understanding of the process of investing and how the financial markets work

• Ability to read and interpret financial reports, such as balance sheets and income statements

• Understanding of investment theory, including working knowledge of portfolio theory and risk management

• Working knowledge of tax law and estate planning rules, so that you can advise clients on how to minimise their taxes while preserving the value of their investments during their lifetimes, passing them on intact at death, and minimizing estate taxes in both instances

• Understanding of the insurance industry, including coverage options and how they are priced, so that you can counsel your clients on the best way to protect themselves from unexpected financial emergencies

• Familiarity with property investing so that you can recommend the best ways for your clients to invest in property investments

• Experience in structuring financial products such as annuities, life insurance, long-term care insurance, college savings plans, and commercial mortgages

Average salary: £35,100 per year [6]

6. Grants analyst

A grants analyst is the person responsible for all the paperwork involved in the grant process, including helping to secure grant funding, particularly through government programmes. The role can be performed in a number of sectors and at varying levels within organisations. A key part of the role is keeping on top of new developments and outcomes that can help deliver organisational strategy and initiatives.

Common tasks of a grants analyst

As a grants analyst you will be responsible for:

• Reviewing and evaluating applications to see if they meet programme requirements and are complete and accurate

• Analysing budget requests to ensure they align with federal, state, local, or private resources and funding availability

• Developing, updating, and maintaining funding proposals using various software platforms

• Monitoring deadlines to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations

• Working with applicants and other agency staff to resolve questions about applications and/or awards

• Preparing reports on programme activities for internal use or for external dissemination

• Scheduling meetings as required for monitoring programme developments or performing cost/benefit analyses

• Answering questions from the public about programmes or policies

• Conducting research on issues related to health care policy and legislation

• Understand both short and long term goals of the organization

• Read between the lines of proposals and set realistic expectations for the project's outcome

• Provide feedback on grant applications

• Do a great job communicating with the public about the programs being funded and why funding is needed

• Identify funding opportunities, including those that are not open yet or those that are hidden in plain sight

• Develop relationships with a range of funders and become familiar with their needs and processes

• Analyse trends in funding sources, priorities, and requirements so they know how best to target their efforts

• Performing other duties as assigned

Average salary: £48,232 per year [7]

7. Financial analyst

A financial analyst is a person who researches the market and analyses stocks using accounting, finance, economics, and mathematical models. They are employed by banks, investment companies, and large organisations, which often have large asset bases and cash management needs.

Financial analysts conduct in-depth research, analysis, evaluate, and create strategies and recommendations to assist businesses, government organisations, and individuals to make financial decisions. The responsibilities of financial analysts vary depending on the specific role, industry, business sector worked in, geographical location, and specific requirements of clients.

Skills of a financial analyst

The main skills of a financial analyst are:

• Ability to do thorough research and draw conclusions from the facts

• Ability to analyse and interpret data in order to make accurate predictions about trends

• Excellent command of finance and accounting principles, including international accounting standards

• Understanding of financial markets and their behavior, including an ability to predict future market trends and their effect on various asset classes

• Strong grasp of business management practices and the factors that affect profitability, such as cost control, revenue generation, trade, and supply-chain management

• Analytical skills that enable them to forecast expenses, assess risk factors, and make better decisions regarding investments or divestments

Average salary: £35,067 per year [8]

What’s the difference between a finance degree and an accounting degree?

Accounting degrees cover the ins and outs of keeping financial records. The curriculum includes things like auditing, UK tax law, and HMRC regulations. It’s also likely that you will take classes in personal finance as well.

Finance degrees are broader than accounting degrees. You can use your degree in finance for a variety of different jobs. Some of the modules you may take include:

• Business law

• Investment analysis

• Corporate finance

• Financial modelling

• Estate planning

Why get a finance degree?

A degree in finance can open up many career opportunities. But what are they? And how to get there? With a finance degree, students learn the theories, frameworks, and tools they need to manage money responsibly. They also gain exposure to the world of global finance—which is an increasingly international field. 

Financial degrees can help you in many ways:

• Credibility: If you have a degree in finance, it maywill help you build credibility in the job market.

• Variety: The finance field is always growing and changing, with new industries popping up every other day.

• Career paths: With a finance degree, there are many different career paths you can take. From being an analyst for a company to working for a bank, there are plenty of options for those who want to make their way in the world of finance.

Getting started in finance

The finance sector is changing at a rapid pace—careers have evolved to include emerging technologies, allowing you to build a career in a specific industry while continuing to learn.

Consider finance, accounting, or business degree on Coursera. Alternatively, learn how to analyse big data and drive better business decisions with the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate.