5 top degrees for a career in banking
Ian Cooper
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Now, the banking industry as a whole covers an enormous amount of ground. Depending on your skills, aptitude, personality, and passions, you could find yourself doing anything from working on the front lines with customers as a retail branch manager to conducting high-dollar asset trades as an investment banker or portfolio manager to analyzing market trends and writing detailed reports to guide your firm’s investment strategy. The possibilities may not be endless, but they are considerable.
You could, for example, work for one of the so-called Big 4 Australian Banks: Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac Group, or NAB. Each of these companies is an ecosystem unto itself, supporting divisions like consumer, corporate, and investment banking, credit card and debt financing, private equity, wealth management, and insurance.
You could work for a financial services firm like Suncorp. If you’re interested in the possibility of living and working abroad (or just want to take your shot at the big time), you could find a role with international investment giants like BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, or UBS. You’d also have the opportunity to move into a career as a trader working for a smaller, more nimble fund like Maven or Flow Traders.
Now, if you’re working with money, you can expect to make a decent chunk of it yourself, right? Well, perhaps. Because banking is such a broad sector, the average graduate salary is only about $59,000. That’s roughly what you can expect to earn as a fresh hire in retail banking or in many entry-level corporate customer service or analyst roles.
However, if you’re lucky enough (and motivated enough) to score a coveted position in investment banking or trading, your compensation will rise considerably. Some grads working at firms like Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Optiver earn starting salaries that reach north of $200,000.
Some of the lower-salaried positions may come with their own perks, though. If you’ve ever heard of bank holidays or working bankers’ hours, then you may understand that retail bankers traditionally work consistent 40-hours-a-week schedules with plenty of holidays mixed in. Not a bad life for the right personality type.
However, investment bankers and others working in high finance can expect to put in closer to 50-60 hours a week — and sometimes up to 100 hours per week!. Markets never really sleep, and you’ll typically have to keep up as best you can. If you have the energy and ambition, investment banking can be a great fit, but if you need 8 hours of rest every night and prioritize your free time, you’ll probably want to steer clear.
Grads who work in banking do seem to appreciate the opportunities that arise. Marian Emmanuel, an analyst with UBS’s investment banking division, says that he “love[s] the variety and constant challenges the job brings. Each day is very different, and I'm often dealing with different clients, ideas and projects on a daily basis. This creates a steep learning curve which can at times be challenging but is something that I also find deeply rewarding.”
Now, if you’re still in school and eager to pursue a career in banking (or just want to keep your options open), is there a specific major you should pursue to maximize your chances? Yes and no.
There is no one degree required to become a banker (unlike, say, becoming an accountant, where you’ll need to have a strong accounting background to earn your CPA). However, people who work in banking do tend to come from certain academic fields that lend themselves to developing skills or knowledge that can be useful within the industry.
We surveyed 788 grads who were working in the sector. Not surprisingly, almost 28 per cent had majored in accounting, commerce, and finance. Computer science was also popular, accounting for 12.1 per cent of grads.
Take a look at the full results, plus our thoughts on 5 of your top options.
Most common degrees for grads working in the banking sector. Based on a Prosple survey of 788 grads employed in banking.
Want to work in banking? Try snagging one of these 5 degrees.
1. Accounting, commerce, and finance
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Studying accounting, commerce, and finance will give you a strong background in the basics of the financial system as well as the ability to dive into the nitty-gritty details. That’s a good launch pad for a career in investment or retail banking.
For example, you’ll be well-positioned for a career as an analyst, financial advisor, or strategist. You could also pursue trading or working at a consumer bank. Many grads with an accounting background gravitate toward risk, using their skills to help their companies navigate the unexpected.
This can open some interesting doors. One grad who joined BOQ as a risk analyst works in the financial crimes division, where he helps prevent and investigate fraud. “I respond well to work that involves pattern-recognition and prediction,” he says. “And this is something I do most commonly. Profiling customers' spending habits and identifying transactions that may be outside of that profile is a significant part of my role.”
2. Computer science and IT
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You may think of a computer science background as a better fit for a high-flying tech startup than the more conservative banking world. You would be wrong.
Computer science experts play an essential role in everything from cutting-edge investing to securing a bank’s systems against crime or cyber-attacks. As an IT grad working in banking, you may find yourself working on a trading algorithm that can react to changes in the markets far faster than even the most experienced human traders, developing an improved online experience for consumer banking clients, or combating hackers and potential fraud.
For one grad who works at Commonwealth, his computer science background led to a role as a cyber intelligence engineer. He describes his job as “security engineering and automation work to enable security operations functions to be more effective and efficient in their job.” He says that he enjoys the fact that his work makes an impact on a large scale, although like the Westpac grad above he complains about having to deal with a cumbersome bureaucracy at times.
3. Economics
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Not a shocker. As an economics major, you’ll learn how the economy functions as a whole — a useful knowledge base for anyone interested in working in banking.
While you’ll be qualified to apply for most entry-level roles within the banking industry, you may do especially well working in a position that asks you to analyze or understand economic trends. This could include working as a market analyst, a trader, a researcher, or in anything involving big-picture strategic questions.
One economics grad who now works at Westpac as a risk and governance analyst generally enjoys her job, although she does get frustrated when having to navigate the bureaucracy that comes along with working for such a large firm. “Great opportunities, [I’m] treated well, given a lot of responsibility and flexibility,” she says. “Great culture, people, and teams.”
4. Mathematics
Like computer science majors, mathematicians are unexpected stars in the investment banking world. A background in complex, high-level mathematics can be enormously useful for firms seeking to develop trading algorithms that can give them an edge — any edge — against their competition.
That means that if you want to maximize the value of your degree and expertise, you should gravitate towards the investment and trading side of the industry. There, you’ll find considerable opportunities await once you prove yourself.
For example, one grad working as a trader for Maven says that he “started with a mixture of group training exercises, classroom sessions, and simulation training during grad training.” Now, though, “I trade live on the market throughout the day and am in control of my own book. I spend time during the day thinking about ways to optimize my setup and improve my strategy via analysis.”
5. Business and management
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A business and management degree gives you an understanding of how companies and markets operate. For an aspiring banking industry professional, that’s a good general skill set.
While you could jump into many banking roles, grads we surveyed were largely working in retail banking, customer service, compliance, and risk. Several were also in positions training them for a future in management.
One of the later grads, a management trainee at ANZ, says that her job involves “managing the financial accounts of a portfolio of commercial and agribusiness clients, meeting with customers to review current business performance and growth objectives, attending industry events, researching industry benchmarks and insights.” She is enthusiastic about her work, sharing that she finds her company culture to be “inspiring, progressive, and supportive.”
Starting your journey into banking
If you’ve got one of the degrees on this list, you may be ready to begin a career in banking. If you don’t but are still interested in getting into the sector, then think about the skills we’ve talked about above.
Do you have a passion for business, an understanding of how markets operate, a good head for details, and a strong work ethic? Or do you have a skillset that one might not immediately associate with banking (like computer science) but that brings valuable perspectives and capabilities to the table?
If so, you might be a good fit for the industry. Browse some of our open banking roles and see what piques your interest!
Have one of these degrees? See banking job openings looking for you!
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