Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation

What Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, financial forensics and fraud investigation majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in financial forensics and fraud investigation should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation Majors

A major in financial forensics and fraud investigation prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation Majors

As you progress with your financial forensics and fraud investigation degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with financial forensics and fraud investigation:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Criminal Investigators and Special Agents	4.5%	$81,920
Intelligence Analysts	4.5%	$81,920
Police Detectives	4.5%	$81,920
Private Detectives and Investigators	10.6%	$50,090

How Much Do Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $72,390 to $85,020 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation

Some degrees associated with financial forensics and fraud investigation may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to financial forensics and fraud investigation have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	17.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	6.0%
Some College Courses	15.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	12.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	35.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.5%
Master’s Degree	8.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	2.3%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.4%

Is a Degree in Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation Worth It?

The median salary for a financial forensics and fraud investigation grad is $78,820 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 98% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $778,400 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to financial forensics and fraud investigation.

Major	Number of Grads
Criminal Justice Studies	46,895
Criminal Justice	31,754
Criminal Justice & Police Science	20,976
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice	3,988
Corrections	3,042
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General	1,323
Securities Services Administration/Management	797
Security & Loss Prevention Services	685
Law Enforcement Investigation & Interviewing	277
Corrections Administration	143
Juvenile Corrections	97
Protective Services Operations	19
Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.