Good morning.
Right now, in an uncertain economy, a career in finance looks good to many Gen Zers who may want to make sure their bills are paid and still have a personal travel budget.
The 2023 Global Graduate Outlook Survey, released by the CFA Institute, a global nonprofit association of investment professionals, found that among almost 10,000 current university students and recent graduates, 24% considered finance to offer the best career prospects—a 9% increase from CFA's 2021 survey. Finance rose in the ranks from fifth place, replacing education at the top spot.
The findings are based on a global survey of 9,437 respondents age 18 to 25 who are studying for a bachelor's degree or higher, or who have graduated with a bachelor's or higher within the last three years. They represent 13 key global markets including North America, Europe, Brazil, and India.
Post-pandemic, finance is considered the most stable career, followed by STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), both up from 2021, according to the report. Meanwhile, graduates say their greatest fear is low pay, and more than half (62%) say a good salary is important in an employer.
'A shift in mindset to now seek younger generations'
The banking industry, in particular, has struggled for a long time to attract younger employees, and the preference has been to hire experienced individuals, according to a recent survey from Crowe LLP, an accounting and consulting firm with a financial services practice.
“There has been a shift in mindset to now seek younger generations to fill these positions to increase technical proficiency and bring more diversity to the position,” Crowe's research found. In 2022, the average salary increase for nonofficers was 5%, an increase from 3.4% in 2021. The increase surpassed the 2022 projection of 3.1%, which is expected to increase to 3.8% in 2023. The findings are based on a survey of 429 financial services organizations representing a cross-section of the industry by geographic location and asset size up to $10 billion, with some banks well above $10 billion.
The Association for Financial Professionals compensation report released in May found that treasury and finance professionals realized a 5% increase in their 2022 base salaries. Management-level employees, like FP&A, had the largest bump, at 5.3%, followed by executives, 5%, and staff, 4.8%, according to a survey of 1,408 financial professionals.
Although more Gen Zers are turning toward the finance industry, most graduates say they don't intend to stay in their first jobs longer than four years, with 37% saying they’ll stay only one or two years, according to the CFA Institute’s survey.
Another finding: 91% of graduates say they want to make a positive social or environmental contribution through their careers, naming health care, science, teaching, and nonprofit as the most promising sectors for that. An improving economy could see more recent graduates make the switch even sooner.
I recently spoke with CPA Barbara M. Porco, a clinical professor and associate dean of graduate studies in the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University, who said she’s preparing her students to understand the connection between finance and accounting and ESG. From freshman year through MBA programs, ESG literacy is infused into the curriculum, Porco told me.
“You're creating not only an awareness of ESG through the SDGs [sustainable development goals], but you tie it in at the end with ESG reporting and disclosures, and suddenly now, you know what—accounting might be interesting,” she said. "Students may begin to think: ‘So you mean to tell me that if I go into the accounting profession, I need to understand environmental and social issues?'”
Getting students and recent graduates interested in finance is only the first step. Companies must then keep them interested.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
