Even if you’re not studying finances, you have to understand them as a concept. When you became a college student, your life changed. You no longer depend on your parents’ budget. Independence comes with responsibilities. Finances are a big part of it.
If you’re studying finances, you’ll be taking these courses whether you like it or not. But if you chose a major that has nothing to do with this niche, you’ll still benefit from the great courses that we’ll list. They are useful for any career you plan to pursue. However, they will elevate your personal budgeting skills as well.
10 Finance Courses for Every Student to Consider
Personal Finance Course
If your college offers a course in personal finance, you should take it regardless of the major you pursue. You’ll learn how to interpret financial data and create budgets for yourself and for the business you decide to run in the future. You’ll learn a lot about financial planning based on factual predictions.
If online learning is a more convenient option, you can take the Financial Planning for Young Adults course on Coursera.
Behavioral Finance
This is a theoretical course that requires a lot of studying. The niche studies how human psychology influences the decisions of financial analysts and investors. If you want to invest in a business in the future, you’ll want to understand the psychology behind your behavior.
Economics
Each career deals with effective allocation of scarce resources. To understand how that works, you must study economics throughout college. It’s not a finance course per se, but you have to understand economics if you want to master the concepts of finances.
Accounting
Any student who plans to be involved in a business must understand how accounting works. Sure; you’ll hire accountants to take care of this aspect of business maintenance. However, understanding financial transactions will give you a huge advantage.
Data Visualization
Let’s say you have an important project to complete, and you decide to buy a death penalty essaу for your use. You’ll face a challenge: there’s a lot of data to be presented, so the textual format won’t be enough. A data visualization course will teach you how to handle these challenges.
When you get involved in business endeavors in the future, you’ll deal with a lot of financial data. You’ll have to use graphs and charts to summarize and present the findings. It’s best to learn how to do it as soon as possible.
Business Valuation
All finance students must take at least one course in business valuation. It teaches you how to value a business, so you’ll know how to make decisions. It’s a useful course for those who want to be part of business operations, corporate development, and investor relations in the future.
Financial Modeling
This course will teach you how to forecast the future performance of a company in terms of financial gains.
Corporate Ethics
Maintaining a business is not only about making money. It’s about making a positive impact on society and humanity. If your university offers a course in corporate ethics, take it. If not, you can choose from the nice offer at edX.org.
Financial Statements
Understanding financial statements is mandatory for everyone; not just for accountants. If you take this course, you’ll understand financial statements with an analytical mindset. You’ll know what the numbers and symbols mean when you look at annual reports. However, you’ll also know how to make decisions based on that analysis.
Investing
To become a professional investment planner, you’ll need to gain at least a BA in a field related to economics and finances. But to start making personal investments, you don’t need to get a specific degree. You’ll only need to understand the principles of investing, and analyze Google Finance on a daily basis.
A specialized course in investing will set a good foundation for these endeavors in the future.
Finances Are More Fun Than You Assume
Do you know why most college students avoid finance courses? They think they won’t need those skills in the future. If you’re studying computer science, you don’t want to bother with this extra class that’s not relevant to your future. Oh; but it is! Everyone should understand how finances work on a personal and on a business level.
Some students avoid these courses because they assume they would be boring. They won’t be! Finances are fun when you realize how they determine your personal satisfaction in the future.
At college, you have a chance to explore different subjects that benefit your chosen career path. Use those opportunities as well as possible!
BIO: Elizabeth Skinner is a freelance writer, who covers topics related to economics and finances. She loves writing and numbers, so she combined her two biggest passions into a career. Elizabeth uses every opportunity to travel in exotic countries that haven’t been attacked by tourists just yet.
