[Introduction] Many people maybe mistakenly think that the employment direction of the finance major after graduation is related to accounting. This article will help you better understand the facts of your career in the financial field. Obtain desirable positions by obtaining a degree in the field and acquiring the skills required for employment.
加拿大金融专业

Analysis of Canadian Finance Programs 1: Program and Curriculum

Introduction to Canadian Finance

Finance is known as one of the most popular of the four majors of "FAME" in the field of busines. The four majors of FAME refer to Finance, Accounting, Management and Economics.
Finance is an ideal career direction for people who like to work with numbers and analyze data to predict upcoming trends.
Most finance-related occupations require at least an undergraduate degree in finance, economics, or other business fields. Some bookkeeping positions may only require you to provide work-related training certificates in place of formal education, but bookkeepers cannot do accounting-related tasks.
Senior positions such as financial planners, financial directors, and chief financial officers usually require graduate degrees in finance, accounting, or business to be competent. Of course, education is not enough. A professional working at the director level will assume more responsibilities, so these jobs require more knowledge and experience.

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Employment Prospects of Canadian Graduates of Finance

For those who like working with numbers, the world of finance is full of attractive opportunities. There is no doubt that the outstanding professionals in the industry hold the unimaginably high annual salaries. Some may imagine the high life of working on Wall Street, with examples of people enjoying a luxurious lifestyle seen in movies or TV, but what does the financial profession look like in the "real" world?
Unfortunately, not everyone will become a famous figure on the trading floor like in the movies.
In real life, those who have just started a career in finance in Canada may often start as a junior accountant, bookkeeper or entry auditor. The regular duties that these positions may include are budgeting, auditing, evaluating the performance of specific products, services, or managing assets.

》 Finance Graduate Salaries: How much can I earn each year?

As a fresh financial graduate, the salaries may vary greatly and depend heavily on the following factors (not an inclusive list):

  • Your diploma
  • The industry in which you are employed
  • The type of duties and responsibilities you have
  • The size and type of company
  • The location where you work
  • Other work experience you have
  • Other skills you may have (such as English proficiency)

》 Examples of income for students majoring in finance

Let’s look at some real data.
According to statistics from Monster.ca, awell-known Canadian application platform, “a financial analyst earns a median salary of C$55,011, while the lower end of the salary average is closer to C$41,000 and the upper end is around C$74,000. This shows that there is a lot of room and potential for growth in the financial analysis industry.”

》 Jobs for financial majors

Studying finance usually brings a variety of possible high-paying career options. Graduates can choose to work for an accounting firm or invest their knowledge and skills in management consulting, risk management and auditing, a wider range of businesses and management, banks or local and federal governments.
Some of the most common financial professions include several types:
》》 Financial Management
Depending on the actual company type and size, the financial management profession may vary greatly. Daily tasks may include monitoring the company’s cash flow, long-term business planning, strategic adjustments, managing budgets, and providing financial reports. The work also includes ensuring compliance with financial regulations and evaluating opportunities to reduce costs and increase profits.
》》 Financial Trade
The financial trading profession involves buying and selling financial instruments, including stocks, shares, bonds and assets. Typically, financial traders are employed by large investment management companies to buy and sell on behalf of the company. It is a particularly stressful job, with tremendous pressure. Remember, keep calm and make quick decisions.
》》 Insurance
Many graduates of finance majors also find work in the insurance field. Their role includes assessing financial risks involving different things, providing advice to clients, processing insurance claims and identifying new opportunities for insurance companies. There is a similar role in the pension field.
By studying finance in university, the knowledge and skills acquired can be a good foundation for various careers. In the following, we have selected occupations that we believe are relevant to finance majors, because the subject of the major is related to the career field, or because the skills required can be obtained in degree program.
This is not a full list:

  • Stockbrokers: Each of the five largest banks has a Risk Management team of more than 200 staff members. Most masters graduates who studied Quantitative Finance (whether are in Math Finance or Finance Engineering) work in this field after graduation, because the real development of Model still requires a Ph.D.
  • Traders: They mainly represent various financial institutions to conduct transactions in the stock market, such as with equity, bonds, derivatives, etc. They also do some fund operations and have certain roles in portfolio management.
  • Credit Manager (Analyst): similar to China, they mainly study the statements of corporate clients to determine their credit. Requirements: MBA, CA, CMA, analytical skills, attention to detail.
  • Investment banker: The top finance job. The main duty is to provide financial market services to corporate clients on behalf of investment banks. There are a variety of financing streams, such as IPOs, bonds,securitization, merging and acquisition. Once a deal is made, the profits are enormous. This kind of work requires high communication skills.
  • Financial Advisor/Planner: provides investment, retirement, and tax preparation services for individuals. Starting salary: hard to say. Most of these jobs are paid base salary plus commission, and some hundreds of thousands more can be earned, which is quite similar to the job of a salesperson.
  • Risk Analyst
  • Pricing Analyst
  • Market Research Analyst
  • International Business Analyst
  • International Trade Analyst
  • Investment Analyst
  • Investment Bank Analyst
  • Investment Advisor
  • Portfolio Manager
  • Investment Service Assistant
  • Financial Analyst
  • Financial Reporter
  • Financial Planner
  • Bank Manager
  • Venture Capitalist
  • Trade Assistant

》 What type of employer hires financial graduates?

Jobs for financial graduates can be found in both the private and public sectors. Most financial graduates start their financial careers in banking, insurance or other financial institutions (such as banks and credit unions).
To summarize, you may find the following types of employers (please note that this is not a comprehensive list):

  • Banks, credit unions and financial institutions
  • Universities and colleges
  • Insurance companies
  • Environmental Protection Agencies
  • Public and private research institutions
  • Financial software solutions
  • Financial and management consulting
  • International aid organization
  • Municipal, provincial / state and federal government agencies
  • National Embassy and Foreign Affairs Department
  • Treasury
  • Newspapers and other media
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Oil, gas and energy companies
  • Trust companies
  • Electricity companies
  • Almost any large- and medium-sized organization in any industry

Please note: Some jobs may require an advanced degree and related work experience.

What do Canadian finance-major students learn?

The financial degree program is designed to prepare you for various careers in the financial field.
With this degree, you can prepare:

  • To work in the financial department of a commercial enterprise;
  • To work in investment management;
  • To work in a bank or other financial institution;
  • To work in government agencies related to private finance

As a graduate of finance, you can choose to pursue various careers, such as investment banker, bank manager or chief financial officer. Alternatively, you can decide to pursue a career outside of your field because you will have acquired transferable skills. No matter which path you choose, you have many career opportunities.

》 Admission requirements for the three financial qualifications: college, undergraduate, graduate

Salary of Canadian financial professionals).

  • Diploma: generally 2 years
  • Undergraduate degree: generally 4 years. The entry requirements for a degree in finance vary from school to school. Although many excellent universities do not have specific qualification requirements for applicants, you will need a good academic record (especially in mathematics) and professional skills in English, communication skills, mathematics and accounting.
  • Graduate degree: generally two to three years

》 What are the employment skills required?

The information and data sets for Canadian consultations and calculations were described earlier.
Finance degree programs can provide you with a set of field-specific skills. These skills apply to occupations directly related to your degree:

  • Understanding contemporary financial concepts, theories and analysis
  • Ability to identify and analyze financial risks
  • Ability to implement and manage resource allocation strategies
  • Ability to collect, analyze, synthesize and report financial information
  • Understand general economic/financial interrelationships as they affect financial markets and business plans
  • Ability to manage the assets and liabilities of public enterprises
  • Ability to analyze and manage financial assets using modern portfolio theory
  • Understand how capital markets work and the financial institutions that operate in them
  • Ability to manage corporate assets and liabilities in an international environment

The Best Schools for Finance

Finance is a business major. According to thelatest ranking of Canadian majors published by MacLean’s, here are the Top 10 schools in business:
1、University of Toronto(&nbspToronto Universities)Rotman School of Business
2、 UBC(UBC) Sauder School Of Business
3、York University(York University)Schulich School Of Business
4、University of Alberta(University of Alberta) Alberta School of Business
5、Western University(Western University) Ivey Business School
6、Queen’s University(Queens University)Smith School of Business
7、McGill University(McGill University)Desautels Faculty of Management
8、University of Waterloo(Department of Finance, University of Waterloo)Faculty of Mathematics
9、Simon Fraser University(Simon Fraser University) Beedie School of Business
10、Ryerson University(Ryerson University)

What do Canadian finance-major students learn?

Summary: UtoCanada’s views on the financial profession

From the available data and income potential, finance graduates in Canada have very good employment prospects. However, many international students majoring in finance are disappointed to find that although they have a degree and have sent their resumes to financial companies recruiting online, they have not received any response. Some international students received many interviews, but none of them were accepted. Why? Because, likeaccountingComputershuman resource managementand other popular majors, the two biggest obstacles for international students to find a job are their English skills and work experience. So, what are the solutions? We will give detailed suggestions at the end of the article.
Including strategies to deal with these two major difficulties, international students can actually do a lot of prep work before graduation in order to find a job as soon as possible:

》 Before graduation, start to accumulate financial work experience

Other graduates with the same academic qualifications gain significant relevant work experience in the competition. Financial graduates with relevant work experience will be in a competitive position because employers will be eager to invest in employees who can conduct business.
It may be difficult to find a job without experience after graduation.

  • Co-op paid internships: Generally arranged by the school and, in most cases, are paid positions.Doing co-op is the best way to get some experience when you are a student. So when you apply for a major, you must choose a school with co-op programs. Here are some。这里是一些schools with Co-op opportunities
  • Internship and Volunteering: Generally, if you find this type of work online, you may not be compensated. Try going to the school's employment centre or related department. Please note that some employers offer internships without subsidies and salary, which is actually a "gray zone." They use students as free labor to perform repetitive and monotonous work.

No matter what kind of job is mentioned above, you have at least one chance to prove yourself. If you impress your employer, the employer may hire you after graduation. If they do not choose to hire you, they will at least write you a reference letter for your good performance.

》 Know more about people who have worked or are working in the financial industry and others who have the same professional interests

If you can meet more people in the financial industry, that would be very beneficial. After all, they are more experienced. Even if you they do help you get a job in the future, they can give you a lot of practical advice in finding one. In my experience, I have met some Canadian locals who also majored in finance. By expanding your social network early, you are not only able to access useful information, but also exercise English.
Suggestions: Through EventBrite, Meetup, Facebook Group, and similar interest groups, it is not difficult to build connections in your area.

》 Take time to learn about Canada’s mainstream financial professional associations

To learn more about occupations directly related to your finance major, you can consult the following professional association websites. They provide career-related information, and many of them have access to student memberships, as well as job placement and guidance opportunities.

》 Take time to improve your English

Whether you plan to go back to China or stay in Canada, having good English skills will benefit you during your job interviews if you practice it well.

Related Articles:12 Fastest Ways to Improve Your English While Studying in Canada

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