Computer science degrees continue to become more versatile as new industries emerge as players in the high-tech world. That’s certainly true of the financial services industry, which has spent the past decade transforming into a fast-paced, all-online industry full of busy traders and fast-paced consumers. For the graduate who has a significant interest not only in computers, but also in the computer’s ability to boost the ease and efficiency of investing, stock trading and more, the computer science degree is certainly an innovative way into a related occupation.
What Does a Computer Science Grad Do in Financial Services?
It’s safe to say that the typical student of computer science won’t be entering the financial services industry as a financial advisor, day trader, or stock broker. In fact, their job within this growing industry may have nothing to do with the stock market or the typical investor at all. Instead, many graduates of these degree programs will find themselves maintaining the systems that make online trading possible, charged with upholding confidentiality agreements, implementing new security procedures, and maintaining the servers that store stock information, consumer data, and investor guidelines.
Computer science graduates will become the “brain” of the operation, making sure that everything goes off without a hitch and that no one’s information, commission, or investments go south due to a technical glitch. That might sound menial, but it’s worth noting a very impressive fact: Simple computer glitches have already caused temporary downturns in the New York Stock Exchange due largely to investor misinformation or uncertainty. In this regard, computer science experts hold the very integrity of the world’s financial system in their own grasp.
How Does One Become Qualified for a High-Tech Position in the Industry?
Financial services is an industry that has long valued excellent academic credentials no matter the position being applied for. That’s certainly true of computer science graduates, since the stakes are so high once they’ve been offered the job. Generally, applicants need to have at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science in order to even be considered for an interview. Most companies that hire applicants with only a four-year degree will require that they complete additional training within a few years of being offered the job.
Most companies, however, won’t take that chance. They simply require all applicants to have both a bachelor’s in computer science and a master’s degree in a field related to the position for which they’re applying. For this reason, all applicants to a computer-related job in the financial services industry should be prepared to show evidence of their master’s degree, of progress toward a master’s degree, or of their intention to seek such a degree in the very near future.
Fast Growth and a Promising Future for Successful Applicants
Both the computer science field and the financial services industry are growing quite a bit faster than average in the United States, and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates that this growth will be sustained through at least the end of the present decade. When combined with strong annual salary numbers for those with a graduate-level education at the time of their hiring, that makes computer-related work in the investment world a top choice for students across the board. Remember that the stakes are high and the pace is fast, and everything else will quickly fall into place.
Additional Resource: Top 10 Best Online MIS Degree Programs
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