The best finance course for high school students like you will vary depending on many factors.
For example, basic-level classes are available for your needs if you’re interested in improving your savings and avoiding common financial pitfalls. However, more advanced subjects, such as stock market trading and FinTech can help teenagers like you start a fascinating and exciting career in multiple fields. Here’s what you should know about finance as a teenager.
Defining Finance and Its Uses for Teens
Finance is the study of money management and acquiring needed funds. During your courses, you’ll learn how money is spent and budgeted, how investments are managed, and how financial systems operate. In practical terms, finance involves investment, saving, lending, budgeting, and forecasting. Even if you don’t join the finance market, learning about these topics can help you improve your life in so many ways.
For example, learning better spending habits can ensure you don’t fall into the terrible pattern of debt inflicting so much of your generation right now. Knowing how to stretch a dollar during college can save some cash and stay financially strong. As importantly, you can use these skills later in life as an adult after buying cars, homes, and other major investments. Knowing what you can afford to buy is important to your financial stability later in life.
Popularity and Benefits of Learning Finance for High Schoolers
Learning finance is increasingly popular among high school students due to its direct impact on personal and professional life. Many teens see the mistakes that their parents or older siblings make and want to avoid them. By mastering these important finance skills, you can give yourself the foundational skills needed to thrive economically. Learning these skills help you::
- Manage Personal Budgets: Understanding how to manage personal finances effectively is a crucial life skill. By avoiding unnecessary expenses and finding better ways to use your cash, you can learn to save money while still getting what you love out of life.
- Understand Investments: Learning finance lets you gain insights into how money can be grown through investments, stocks, bonds, and other vehicles. Even if you invest as a side hustle, it’s well worth building your finances to become a more economically stable adult later
- Career Foundations: Finance skills offer a stepping stone to numerous career opportunities in various sectors of the economy. Becoming a banker, investment specialist, or other professional can provide you with a high-earning career option that will make your life better.
Typical Finance Learning Program for High School Students
A comprehensive finance learning program for high school students typically includes several high-level courses that teach you important theories and practical skills. By building your theoretical knowledge first, you can expand to more hands-on techniques to master finance on a complete level. Expect your courses to take place on three different tiers:
- Beginner Lessons: Learning the basics of personal finance, understanding savings accounts, the importance of credit scores, and simple budgeting techniques can make it easier to master other important skills. Starting here ensures you feel comfortable with later courses.
- Intermediate Lessons: Throughout your intermediate courses, you’ll get an introduction to the stock market, basic principles of investing, loans, mortgages, and insurance. Understanding these more complex techniques helps you prepare for even bigger skills in later classes.
- Advanced Lessons: In advanced courses, you’ll be practicing more complex investment strategies, financial risk management, advanced topics in personal and corporate finance, and get an introduction to international finance. When you’re done, you’ll be ready for college!
Careers in Finance Teens May Enjoy
Studying finance opens up numerous career paths that are high-earning and fascinating. No matter what your abilities, interests, and strengths, taking a finance course for teenagers can prepare you! These include some of the most fascinating and high-advancement careers on the market today throughout industries that are almost always thriving. These include.
- Banking: Taking finance courses can prepare you for careers in commercial banking, investment banking, or retail banking services. Whether you become a bank teller, a retirement planning expert, or even a bank manager, understanding the complex world of finance can help you start a rewarding and exciting career that you’ll love!
- Investing: The field of investing includes exciting roles such as stockbroker, portfolio manager, or fund manager. As one of the most high-risk industries, investing is also one of the higher-end options. As a result, if you’re not afraid to take a risk and understand how to research investments, you can make a consistent wage by getting into investing.
- Financial Advising: As a financial advisor, you’ll focus on helping individuals or organizations meet their financial goals through proper management of financial resources. Often, you’ll work as a freelancer, meaning you can connect with multiple businesses and build a strong and consistent portfolio of effective work.
- Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneur roles use financial knowledge to start and manage a business effectively. However, these positions go beyond simply starting a company. You can also use advanced finance and investment skills to build up other businesses, get them to a higher level, and bring in huge amounts of cash in the process.
NextGen Bootcamps for Teens That Cover Finance
NextGen Bootcamps offers specialized finance programs that are tailored to the unique needs of high school students. Taking place over the summer, they eat up just a few weeks of your vacation time! They also feature fun and innovative hands-on activities that you’ll surely enjoy, particularly if you’re interested in a career in this field. Currently, NextGen has three main bootcamps that may interest you and get you started in mastering finance.
FinTech Summer Program Live Online
FinTech Summer Program Live Online focuses on teaching you important financial tech concepts, such as using Python to collect economic data when planning your investments. It also teaches Microsoft Excel, finance basics, stock market investing, and general budgeting tips. By understanding these topics, you’ll be more than ready to move on to college study and earn a degree. Hands-on exercises make these classes even more enjoyable.
Excel, Finance, & Investing Summer Program Live Online
Excel, Finance, & Investing Summer Program Live Online covers important finance topics, like stock marketing investing, entrepreneurship, Microsoft Excel programs, and more. Taught by real experts using hands-on subjects, this course will help you build a portfolio of great work. Share these activities with college professors or employers as you build on your lessons in more advanced and fascinating classes to fine-tune your abilities in exciting ways.
Computer Science Summer Certificate Program Live Online
Computer Science Summer Certificate Program Live Online might seem like a stretch for finance, but it teaches Java, Python, and other important data science skills. These can help investors interested in tracking their financial goals and figuring out where their money goes. You’ll also learn about machine learning. As one of the most important skills on the market today, it can help you automate data collection and other financial processes.
General Finance College Classes Can Help You
While there is no AP course specifically titled "Finance," relevant college preparatory courses include AP Economics (both Macro and Micro) which can provide foundational knowledge beneficial for a finance-focused academic and career path. You can also learn through general finance classes that can provide many fascinating benefits. These courses help in:
- Boosting College Applications: Demonstrating advanced knowledge in economics and finance enhances your college applications. You might qualify for bigger and more impressive schools and even receive amazing financial aide as a result of your hard work.
- Easing College Coursework: Early exposure to financial principles can make related college courses easier to manage. Most teens transition into advanced coursework more easily after completing their finance bootcamps and can skip those boring early classes.
- Securing Internships: A strong background in finance can make students attractive candidates for internships in financial firms, investment banks, and corporate finance departments. Starting your career at this level is a smart way of getting your foot in the door at a company.
- Launching Careers: Solid preparation through high school and college courses in finance and economics prepares students for successful careers in various financial sectors. By building these foundational skills early, they become a more integrated part of your skill set.
Enrolling in finance courses as a high school student is a wise decision that provides invaluable skills for personal financial management. It also opens doors to rewarding professional opportunities. Whether through specialized bootcamps like NextGen or advanced placement courses, you can gain a real advantage in your academic journey and future career path. Talk with your parents about these and other courses, including digital marketing programs for teens.