Difficulty
Workload
Enjoyment
Career Prospects
Math Required
Writing Analysis
About this major
Finance majors focus on the management of money, investments, and financial institutions. Students learn about financial analysis, portfolio management, and the principles of corporate finance, preparing them for a variety of roles in the financial sector.
BusinessSTEMAnalyticalEconomicsQuantitative
Student Experience
Satisfaction
Career outlook
67%
Recommendation
67%
Plan grad school
Academic Balance
Math intensity
Writing intensity
WorkloadMedium
DifficultyMedium
Filters
“Don’t choose this major simply based on other’s recommendations such as “IB really makes a lot”. Try it if you are interested in the market or in the practice of managing money and capital. You’ll be learning about financial accounting, valuation, financial management, PE methods, VCs, and derivatives. Should definitely try.”
7/13/2025
“The first 2 years teach you the fundamentals via all the core classes in finance and accounting. The last two years you can DIY based on your interests, or more likely your future interest will emerge from the courses you choose out of serendipity. Best advise would be to take the first two years very seriously because these fundamentals can last decades with you. For the junior/ senior course try to avoid those “popular-by-name” courses but instead go for the professor. This is a field where real experience far outweighs theories, and a good professor who knows what he/ she is talking about from past live experience can make a night/ day difference.”
7/12/2025
“Unlike Accounting or Business Analytics, Finance is a broad major that doesn’t equip students with highly specialized skills for any particular industry. While it does teach essential fundamentals such as financial statement analysis, DCF modeling, and portfolio optimization, the finance industry today has significantly raised the bar for job candidates. As a result, strong grades are now considered a basic requirement rather than a distinguishing factor in recruitment. Therefore, students should aim to get involved in student organizations, network with industry professionals, conduct research with professors, engage in online learning (e.g., certification programs), and, most importantly, cultivate an interest in a specific area of finance, such as investment banking, portfolio management, quantitative trading, equity research, wealth management, private equity, or commercial banking, early on.”
7/15/2025