How a Master’s in Finance helped launch my investment career

An investment career is a popular choice for business school graduates, offering strong earning potential, opportunities for global impact, and clear pathways for professional growth. Investment banking is also one of the fastest growing industries, projected to grow by 7% from 2022 to 2032, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics—outpacing the average growth rate for all occupations.

Studying a Master’s in Finance can provide the technical expertise, analytical skills, and industry insights needed to launch an investment career, equipping you with a solid foundation in areas such as valuation, portfolio management, and financial markets.

We spoke with Julia Messina, who graduated from the Master of Science in Finance (MSF) at Villanova School of Business in 2025, about how the program prepared her for a career as an equity research associate at BTIG, a global financial services firm specializing in investment banking and institutional trading. 

Building key financial skills

A Master’s in Finance can help build the technical literacy and financial knowledge essential for a challenging investment career—from financial and data analysis to understanding different markets.

The MSF at Villanova focuses on core financial theories and principles, alongside offering the opportunity to complete electives in areas such as statistics, analytics, investment management, and quantitative finance.

“The program helped me develop skills in financial statement modeling, business writing, and presenting stock pitches,” explains Julia (pictured). “Although I had experience through my accounting major, the program helped me tune those skills up and really apply them in valuing companies, which has been helpful with my role now in working on models.”

Preparing for a career in investment is about more than just building financial knowledge—it’s also essential to build key cross-functional skills, such as communication, teamwork, and even writing.

“The program allowed me to become a better writer, too,” Julia continues. “The portfolio management class consisted of writing different kinds of reports for stocks, which gave me experience in understanding the format and how to convey what’s important to investors.”

Gaining experiential learning opportunities

As well as learning important financial skills, one of the most beneficial elements of earning an MSF are the practical learning opportunities. Through experiential learning, students can apply the skills and knowledge they have built to real-world business situations, strengthening their ability to solve problems and work as part of a team.

“The program is hands-on, which gave me the experience that has helped me in my career so far,” Julia says. “For example, the portfolio management class was an introduction to equity research, which allowed me to find the exact area of finance I truly enjoyed."

Other classes allowed her to participate in group projects that included valuing real deals, creating and analyzing portfolios using code, and devising hedge fund strategies.

As part of the Villanova MSF, students can work on the Haley Large Cap Fund—a student-managed fund that runs as part of the portfolio management class.

“We were given the opportunity to choose which sector and industry we wanted to cover, then we started analyzing companies within these sectors to eventually do a stock pitch,” explains Julia. “These companies would then represent our industries within the fund.”

As part of the fund, students write initiation reports, analyze earnings calls, create models, and run valuations for their companies.

“The role really reflected the day-to-day of an equity research analyst,” Julia adds.

How to launch a career in investment

Through developing key skills and building experience during practical learning opportunities, MSF students gain a natural pathway toward a career in investment.

“Villanova’s program is only a year, which goes by very quickly, but teaches you so much within finance,” says Julia. “Each class involved some type of project that allowed me to really understand what that area of finance looked like in the real world, so I would recommend the program to anyone who wants to narrow down their interests or simply gain more experience.”

By making the most out of your business school experience—beyond just the curriculum—you can expand your professional network, gain valuable industry insight, and refine your skills.

“My advice would be to be open to learning and finding something new to learn everyday,” Julia says. “Everything you learn will be added to your toolbox [which] you can bring with you in your career, so I really recommend using your time to add to that.

“From networking with professors and others in the field to hearing about what the day-to-day looks like to watching YouTube videos on how to sharpen my Excel skills, I tried to make sure I was using my time in a way that would help me learn.”