I suppose the obvious answer is working in banking and finance.  But what does that actually mean?  Well not all bankers are the same. You might see yourself as a Gordon Gecko character drawn to the pressure and high rewards of investment banking and trading on one of the world’s stock markets or courses.  Most of the major international banking and finance houses offer graduate training schemes, competing intensely for the best young talent to feed their global operations.  Expect numeracy and technical skills to be high up on the list of the corporate recruiters.

If the thought of a high pressure city environment does not appeal, many banking and finance graduates find their way into key roles as analysts and into research departments exploring key metrics on market performance, investigating competitors and designing new financial products.

You may yourself be more attracted to High Street Banking, preferring to work more with individual and personal banking and finance, rather than companies and corporate finance.  A degree in banking and finance would help to prepare you for a role as an in-house or branch expert, perhaps specialising in investment advice or personal finance, including mortgages. Equally, there are opportunities to go into general management and the prospect of managing a team of finance professionals and client focussed customer support teams at branch level and beyond. Again major high street banks offer impressive graduate entry schemes for good quality candidates.

For many in the banking and finance industry a degree is just the entry level criteria, with many staff going on to study for specialised banking and finance related qualifications.  Kaplan Business School students are very fortunate in this way as Kaplan Financial Markets offers a wide range of specialist banking and finance qualifications, including the Chartered Financial Analyst qualification, IMC and CAIA.  Kaplan is therefore able to offer its students total support, extending from undergraduate learning though to professional qualification.

But… you don’t have to work in banking and finance at all if you don’t want to!!  A degree in its broadest sense is a badge of ability.  It tells potential employers about your intellectual abilities and level of learning.  Many employers just look for graduate level skills – get a degree in banking and finance and you can demonstrate that you have them.  More specifically, banking and finance graduates are able to demonstrate a high level of numeracy, an ability to be analytical and to work with complete ideas and information. These are qualities sought in many professions including accountancy, actuarial work, business planning and general management.

Tim Harris, Dean of the Faculty of Business