Investments and Securities

Types of Degrees Investments and Securities Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many investments and securities graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	155
Basic Certificate	93
Graduate Certificate	90
Master’s Degree	36

What Investments and Securities Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to investments and securities and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Investments and Securities Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Investments and Securities Majors

A major in investments and securities prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Investments and Securities Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a investments and securities student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Investments and Securities Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with investments and securities:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Professors	18.0%	$83,960
Financial Analysts	10.8%	$85,660
Sales Agents, Financial Services	6.2%	$64,120
Sales Agents, Securities and Commodities	6.2%	$64,120
Securities and Commodities Traders	6.2%	$64,120

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Investments and Securities?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 87% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of investments and securities majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	3
Black or African American	8
Hispanic or Latino	5
White	119
International Students	12
Other Races/Ethnicities	8

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Investments and Securities. About 7.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Investments and Securities

Some degrees associated with investments and securities may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for investments and securities careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	14.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	2.0%
Some College Courses	2.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	38.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.2%
Master’s Degree	13.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	20.9%

Online Investments and Securities Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	8	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	7	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Investments and Securities

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to investments and securities.

Major	Number of Grads
Finance	50,972
Financial Planning & Services	5,054
Banking and Financial Support Services	1,048
Other Finance and Financial Management Services	395
International Finance	141
Public Finance	25
Credit Management	2
Financial Risk Management	2

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Dave Dugdale under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.