What are some jobs that involve a Finance major but aren't necessarily sit down all day jobs or are interesting?

Hi Victoria,

There are a lot of Finance related jobs that you don't sit at a desk all day. My advice is to research as many different types of jobs as possible that sound interesting to you and ask questions whenever possible, particularly to people who are in or have had the jobs you are interested in. In general, I would say the bigger the company the more specialized the work you will be doing. Some of that specialized work involves sitting at a desk all day, and some doesn't. You just have to keep looking for the job that fits. To give you an example, I stated my career in Finance and spent most of my time sitting at a desk. I love the work I did, but wanted to expand my skills and get away from my desk more. I have held project management and business operations jobs, neither of which keeps me at my desk all day. I may only spend 10-20% of my work in "Finance" work now, but I still love what I do. Two jobs I would look into if I were you are: Financial analyst (the actual work you do can vary greatly from company to company, so if you don't like one company, you may like another), Business operations/operations (Finance skills are highly valued and often utilized in these jobs). Never give up and keep looking for a job that fits you!

Hi Victoria,
I'm currently working in the Business Architecture field but I am studying for the CPA exam to eventually transition into Forensic Accounting. Forensic Accountants step in when fraud has been detected and they investigate, interview and work with the legal team to ensure the person responsible is held accountable. There are many areas in which they engage (FBI, divorce settlements, etc.) and the need for these types of accountants is growing. I wish I had known about this field earlier in my career and I wanted to share with you since you expressed an interest in unusual Finance opportunities!

Hi Victoria. If you are interested in travel, I would recommend a job at a consulting or audit firm. Within my first year at Deloitte I had the opportunity to travel places such as Philadelphia, Boston, Calgary, etc. In addition, since a portion of your role would be to interview staff about their job functions/processes they support, there is a lot of movement due to the meetings you'll attend in a day. Within my current role at Fannie Mae, which is more of a project manager, I continue to travel a portion of the time which provides me the opportunity to meet with the teams and individuals I support as well as a change of scenery. But, even when I'm not traveling, my position requires that I meet with different groups and stakeholders to ensure that a project remains on target, which results in a lot of interaction with fellow team members.

Good afternoon Victoria:

Even though I do have job currently that I sit down at computer and desk and work on all day as an underwriter, I know they have contract underwriting jobs where you will at least get to travel to see different places while on a contract to underwrite. Another possibility might be getting in on the real estate or sales side of financing homes as you would get to meet people and show them houses that are for sale. If you are a people person and enjoy helping someone find their dream home this could be a good opportunity for you. Financial Advisors also travel to meet people to go over financial plans for their future so it is at least a job where part of the day you wont be at your desk!

Best of luck in whatever you choose!