Shortage Leads to Higher Finance PhD
Salaries and More Jobs

Often graduates of undergraduate and master's degree programs in finance go on to careers in banking, investments and other financial service industries. However, a Finance PhD prepares students to work as professors and/or researchers. After six years of schooling to complete a doctoral program, Finance PhDs are then qualified to seek tenure at the college or university of their choice.

Newly graduated professors are often hired as non-tenured assistant professors with no long-term guarantee of job security. After several years of teaching and research, graduates may be promoted to the position of either associate or full professor and, depending on the quality of their work and relationship with the school, be granted tenure. Tenure is a lifelong career appointment that is highly coveted by those who work in academia.

The heavy emphasis on research and analysis in most doctoral programs has made Finance PhDs attractive to employers outside of academia. Government agencies and private financial firms are recruiting doctoral candidates to help with a variety of research and data projects.

This area is increasingly becoming a steady source of employment for Finance PhDs. Some common employers of Finance PhDs outside of traditional academia include:

• Wall Street
• Federal Reserve
• World Bank
• Securities and Exchange Commission

_{*Source: "Academic Finance as a Career," Don Chance, Louisiana State University, 2007}