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Some combination of finance, economics and mathematics, with a heavy emphasis on statistics, will prepare you for a statistics job in the finance industry. Regardless, you should expect to take courses in financial management, corporate finance, business law, microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, mathematical statistics, design of experiments, linear algebra, decision theory and Bayesian analysis, probability theory, global financial markets, regression analysis, applied multivariate analysis, economic theory, statistical quality control and categorical data analysis. If you are at all unsure how you feel about numbers, it is safe to say that you should investigate some alternative career paths. If your passion for numbers is such that you still wish to press on, here are a few of the options that will be available to you.
Financial Management
Investors big and small need responsible financial managers, and it is quite difficult for a financial manager to manage a portfolio prudently without having at least a basic understanding of statistical methods. Statistics play a pivotal role in determining everything from the composition of a portfolio to quantifying and calculating the range of expected rates of return for the investments that are ultimately made, according to Rutgers.
Management Consulting
Management consultants provide creative solutions for firms who need a fresh set of perspectives on their own perceived difficulties. Although many debate the merits of management consulting, there will always be a place in the field for bright individuals who are skilled at performing quantitative analyses. The top management consulting firms regularly make lists of best places to work and top lists of best places to begin a career. As a result, competition for these jobs is extremely heated. You will need to do everything you can to stand out from the crowd in the applicant pool, so be sure to keep your grades up, get involved in as many extracurricular activities as you can manage, attend all your school’s networking events and set up a few mock interviews through the career services office.
Financial Engineering
Financial engineering is a multidisciplinary field focused primarily on applying principles of engineering to the structuring of financial markets and transactions, according to Columbia. Students wishing to enter this sub-field of the finance industry should also have some background in computer science, as a financial engineer’s job description often includes responsibilities that presume familiarity with, if not necessarily mastery of or complete fluency in, different programming languages. Financial engineering’s uniquely variegated focuses also make it an ideal gateway into the finance industry for someone who majored in, say, physics, chemistry or another hard science with major quantitative components.
Related Resource: Become an Investment Banker
Conclusion
If you are mathematically inclined and wish to set yourself up for a secure (not to mention lucrative) career, pursuing one of the many jobs in statistics available in the finance industry could well be the right decision for you.
