Finance — careers, salary and study routes
How money is raised, priced, invested and protected — from a company's balance sheet to the stock market.
Check your fit for Finance →What Finance is about
Finance studies how households, companies and governments decide where to put money and how much risk to take. It covers valuing businesses, pricing shares and bonds, managing a company's cash and debt, and building investment portfolios.
It suits students who enjoy numbers with a real-world story attached and can handle pressure. Entry-level roles in banking operations, credit and financial analysis are plentiful; high-profile jobs in investment banking, private equity and asset management are competitive and lean heavily on the college you attend, internships and qualifications like CFA. Strong spreadsheet and coding skills are becoming a baseline rather than a bonus.
What you'll study
- Corporate finance — capital budgeting, cost of capital, dividend policy
- Financial markets and institutions, including Indian regulation by RBI and SEBI
- Investment analysis and portfolio management
- Derivatives, fixed income and risk management
- Financial statement analysis and valuation
- Banking and credit appraisal
- Financial modelling in spreadsheets, with basic Python or R
- Behavioural finance and personal finance
Studying Finance in India
Commerce or science with mathematics in Class 12 makes the path smoother, though many programmes take any stream. Central universities admit to B.Com and BBA through CUET-UG, the IIM integrated programmes through IPMAT, and most private universities through their own tests or Class 12 marks. The strongest finance careers usually add an MBA through CAT, or a professional credential such as CFA, CA or FRM; SEBI and NISM certifications are required for some market-facing jobs.
Typical degrees
- B.Com (Hons) or B.Com in Accounting and Finance (three or four years)
- BBA or BMS with a finance specialisation (three or four years)
- Integrated programme in management (five years) through IPMAT
- MBA / PGDM in Finance, or M.Sc Finance, after graduation
Entrance exams
- CUET-UG
- IPMAT
Routes in the US and UK
United States
A four-year BS or BBA in Finance, often with internships from the second year, is the usual start; many analysts later take the CFA charter or an MBA. Brokers and advisers must pass FINRA licensing exams such as the SIE and Series 7.
United Kingdom
Three-year BSc degrees in Finance, Accounting and Finance, or Banking are standard, with placement years common. Professionals often add CFA, ACCA or ACA, and regulated roles follow Financial Conduct Authority rules.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need mathematics in Class 12 for finance?
Not always, but it helps a lot. Topics like valuation, statistics and derivatives use algebra and probability constantly, and several top programmes require or prefer mathematics.
Is CFA worth doing during a bachelor's?
Level I can be attempted in the final year of a degree, and it signals seriousness to employers in research and asset management. It is demanding, so it makes sense only if you are fairly sure about investment roles.
Finance or accounting?
Accounting looks backward and inward — recording and checking what happened. Finance looks forward — deciding where money should go next. Many careers need both, and accountants often move into finance roles.
Careers this major opens
The US Department of Education maps Finance, General (CIP 52.0801) to 12 Standard Occupational Classification codes. Salary and employment figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics via O*NET; the AI-durability signal is our own composite score.
Sources: NCES CIP-2020 → SOC-2018 crosswalk · US Bureau of Labor Statistics (via O*NET) · WhatTNext Ai AI-durability score. Careers ranked by US employment volume.