This Week In Finance

"Careers in Finance -- Information to Pass on to Your Students"

I don't know about you, but I continue to be (pleasantly) surprised by the strength of the job market for our Finance majors, as well as by the steadily increasing interest in the study of Finance by those in other areas. It seems that a week doesn't go by that another student is asking me for information on starting salaries, career paths, etc.

As a result, I have begun to develop a list of information sources I can point students to, apart from that available at the campus placement office. As in so many other areas, the web has become a godsend for seekers of employment-related information. Below are some sites that I have found to be particularly useful.

First, the venerable Wall Street Journal has an excellent site at careers.wsj.com. I urge you to investigate the "College Connection" and "Salaries and Profiles" links; the latter is of particular worth in terms of information for prospective Finance majors. (Did you know, for example, that the median value of total cash compensation for financial executives in Finance/Banking ($187.5K) exceeds that of financial executives in all other categories?)

Alternatively, www.jobprofiles.com provides students with a wealth of information about job requirements, challenges, and skills needs via surveys of working professionals. And, while some information appears a bit sketchy, the insights from the respondents are priceless. (Sheila, a venture capitalist notes that her job requires creativity, persistence, and social skills.)

Finally, Kansas State University's "Academic and Career Information Center" offers answers to the age-old question: "What can I do with a major in (blank)?" by provided dozens of weblinks covering industry, employment, and salary information, among other things. (This site is far and away the broadest, in terms coverage of the topic.)

So, if you haven't been doing so regularly, I urge you to investigate these and other sites so that you will have answers to those questions that students so often ask!

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