Landing a good role in the corporate world requires some skills and if yours is business you need a business degree. For the purpose of this article I will focus more on Finance Major students who have to hone their financial accounting skills, perhaps get savvy with capital and money markets, investment and risk assessment and the likes.
Further, we will delve deep into what laptops they need hence the topic, best laptops for Finance Majors. Admittedly, I was a business school student myself but never pursued it further than the degree. However, if your dream is maybe someday to become a Chief executive officer, financial manager or credit analyst, you have to prepare as a Finance Major student.
Best Laptop For Finance Majors
Because of the nature of the course work as Finance majors, which involves a lot of online research some campus library webpage research and textbooks, the work bulky. And because it sometimes has to be done simultaneously, it can be tedious for both the student and the laptop.
That means multiple tabs open at any one time. So you need a laptop that can handle multi-purpose workloads and multitask fluidly. That brings us to today’s question; What is the best laptop for Finance Majors?
Here’s our full list of best laptops for Finance Majors:
1. Best Laptop For Finance Overall: Apple MacBook Pro
The Apple line of laptops needs no introduction and neither does the Apple MacBook Pro. Even while controversy dogs the MacBook Pro, it still remains an exquisite laptop with high-end components and performance to match its price.
From the get-go, the MacBook Pro is attractive and screaming fast, a good combination for finance majors students and professionals. It easily makes it to our best laptops for finance majors list.
Inside, it fits powerful components such as a Retina display, Touch Bar, and Touch ID, 8th Gen processor, 8GB memory, and plenty of solid-state drive storage (256GB SSD). Anyone that fell in love with the previous designs of Apple’s laptops will appreciate the touch bar and vibrant display.
- Brilliant Retina Display with True Tone technology
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- Radeon Pro 555x or 560x Graphics with 4GB of video Memory
The Touch Bar acts a simple button shortcut to help speed up your workflow. Meanwhile, the display is bright and vibrant and images are striking thanks to a 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and 220 ppi of pixel density screen.
The bright screen is great for mainly working with word processing, spreadsheets or assessing financial assessments. It can also handle some photo and video editing.
Ports and Performance
The port system is simple but sufficient. Because of its thin design, there are only four USB-C ports and one headphone jack. These are all Thunderbolt 3 which means they can transfer data extremely fast. This feature is essential if you are a photographer and need to transfer photos from your memory card. But it can also be a bonus if you want to transfer huge amounts of records in a short time.
On to performance, Apple made it easier for users to engage in CPU intensive tasks thanks to an updated processor, 16GB of memory and 512GB storage. The processor is a brilliant performer which makes day-to-day use feel snappy.
If you’re in the market for a laptop that can handle graphics-intensive tasks such as video editing and image editing, or even 3D rendering, the AMD Radeon Pro 555X (4GB GDDR5) memory available should handle it. It is a powerful GPU that should be capable of muscling through intensive programs such as Photoshop. As a result, it’s also great at handling business software and accounting software.
Apple MacBook Pro Specs
Display | 15-inch Retina Display with Touch ID |
Refresh Rate | 50Hz to 60Hz |
Processor | 8th Gen Intel Core i9 (6-core) |
Memory | 16GB memory |
Storage | 256GB SSD |
Graphics Card | Intel UHD Graphics 630/ Radeon Pro 555x |
Measurements/ weight | 2.75 pounds |
If you can afford the price, the Apple MacBook Pro is a laptop like no other. It promises more than just a great design, battery life, and sophistication. Under the hood, the MacBook has a set for features that render it a reliable performer for casual home and office tasks and student workloads.
It’s a perfect fit for creatives and the professional audience. That’s because it brings an unrivaled level of performance (and price) unlike its more consumer-oriented devices. The MacBook Pro (2018) is a dramatic leap forward in technology and certainly one that’s fit for our best laptops for finance majors.
2. Best for Battery Life: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is yet another premium laptop meant of the business-minded users. It’s soft-touch chassis, premium design, incredible battery and price tag make it more of a status symbol than a workhorse.
The laptop market is filled with ultraportables with almost vanishing bezels like the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre 13 ( which users love). Lenovo, however, went for a slightly chunky design with its carbon fiber black chassis giving the laptop an elegant touch and durability.
- Processor Manufacturer: Intel
- Processor Type: Core i7
- Processor generation: 8th Gen
Standing at 12.7 x 0.6 x 8.6 inches, 2.49 pounds, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon doesn’t fall too far away from its predecessors in terms of size. If anything, the 2018 model is thinner and smaller in design for portability. That aside, what we absolutely loved is its battery capacity. It holds its charge for nothing short of 15.5 hours which makes it a great productivity machine for classwork and professional office workloads.
Also, thanks to a rapid charging feature, the battery can charge to 80% in an hour. Lenovo also fit in their legendary keyboard that ThinkPads are commonly known for. That means if you’re one to write your class notes on your laptop, the keys should be comfortable enough for long typing hours.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Laptop Specs
Display | 14 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 ) IPS Touchscreen |
Processor | Intel Quad-Core i7-8650U (8M Cache, up to 4.00 GHz |
Memory | 16GB DDR3 |
Storage | 512 GB SSD DDR3 |
Graphics Card | UHD Graphics 620 |
Measurements/ weight | 12.7 x 0.6 x 8.6 inches / 2.49 lbs |
When all is said and done, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon makes a lightweight option for finance major students. This ultraportable is lightweight making it easy on your back during the daily commute to college. Lenovo threw few features making it a more pleasant laptop to own.
You also get a touchscreen display, bright screen (matte or glossy – depends on your choice), plenty of memory for multitasking and ample SSD storage. Because it’s SSD storage, it will boot faster and retrieve data quicker. But you will have to save only your most important documents and games on the measly 512GB SSD.
The 8th Gen processor is great for heavy workloads and combined with the other features can handle intensely graphics tasks and programs. The bright side is that you can upgrade the memory and hard drive storage in the future, or opt for a higher-end configuration. For this reason, it can handle most common computing tasks with aplomb so we recommend it as our go-to-laptop for finance majors and finance professionals.
3. Best Budget Option: Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop
You don’t necessarily need to break the bank to get a good laptop for finance studies. There are a few budget options that will still help you finish tasks faster while also enjoying a bit of entertainment. The Acer Aspire 5 is a good example.
While its low price attracts some few performance compromises, the Aspire 5 does not throw everything to the dogs. You will still get plenty of power, a bright display, long battery life, and a killer design for a lenient price tag.
Unlike most underpriced laptops, the Acer Aspire 5 sports a premium design reminiscent of high-end models. The silver and aluminum hood gives it classy aesthetics with a surprising dose of portability. Although it’s bulkier than some recommendations in this guide given its big screen, we still bill the Aspire 5 fits the bill for a travel laptop.
- Amd Ryzen 7 3700U dual-core processor (Up to 4.0 GHz) | 8GB DDR4 Memory | 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED-backlit IPS display | AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 mobile...
- 1 - USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, 2 - USB 2.0 Ports & 1 - HDMI Port with HDCP support
The 15.6-inch Full HD IPS panel is satisfactorily bright with rich colors and plausible clarity. This is not something you see with most budget laptops. You will be able to clearly see the screen content while crunching numbers in Excel or using financial analysis software.
On top of that, the display is also great for enjoying some high-resolution movies in your spare time. You can also play a few midrange titles thanks to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 graphics coprocessor.
Performance-wise, the Acer Aspire 5 will be able to tackle most finance software such as Microsoft Money or Google Spreadsheets without any performance hiccups. This can be attributed to the competent AMD Ryzen 7 3700U mobile processor and 8GB DDR4 RAM.
Although the AMD Ryzen processor still has a long way to the top, it performs exceptionally with this model making it a good choice for finance majors looking for more power for less.
It also performs decently when browsing. You can have several tabs open without slowing the laptop down. This way, you can operate cloud-based finance software in case you don’t want to download them to your laptop. Additionally, you can do your research and take part in online classes in an efficient and enjoyable manner.
While the 512GB SSD storage is good news for finance majors who are only looking for faster performance and enough to store their files, multimedia, and necessary educational tools. These could be software, applications, or study materials.
Any laptop for finance purposes needs to have a good keyboard. The Aspire 5 Slim Laptop doesn’t disappoint in this regard. The keyboard has a number pad for quickly entering digits while filling spreadsheets or analyzing numbers. The keys are well-spaced out, relatively clicky with decent travel. The keyboard is also backlit so you can easily use it in dim places without crippling your typing speed.
One of the most noticeable downsides is the short battery life. The best you can get if you are using the laptop actively is four hours of battery time. This might force you to carry your charger even when going to class. You may also experience some issues with the pre-installed Windows 10 Home.
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop Specs
Display | 15.6 inches |
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 3700U |
Memory | 8GB DDR4 |
Storage | 512GB SSD |
Graphics Card | AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 |
Measurements/ weight | 14.31 x 9.74 x 0.71 inches / 5.84 pounds |
4. Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 Laptop
For the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 laptop, it’s a classic case of luxury meeting power. The Dell XPS 15 is considered one of the most premium laptops in the mainstream laptop scene. Even while still at the top of its high tide, in 2018 Dell took the Dell XPS 13 and redesigned it to the Dell XPS 15 making it convertible. So why does the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 laptop fit as a suitable laptop for finance majors?
Well, on top of fitting other niches like gaming and as a business laptop, the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 (Dell XPS9570-5632SLV-PUS ) is a great laptop for finance students too. That’s owing to a host of updated features including an 8th Gen processor with AMD Vega graphics, plenty of memory (8GB) and storage (256GB SSD).
All these features make it a formidable foe in daily office and classwork duties. Moreover, it has one of the most important aspects needed for business and students’s laptop…great battery life.
- 8th Generation Intel Core i7 8750H Processor 9MB Cache, up to 4.1 gigahertz
- 16GB 2666 megahertz DDR4, 2x8GB
- 512 GB M.2 2280 [PCIe] SSD, No Optical Drive
Performance
Moving on, with such remarkable features, the Lenovo Yoga 920 with 8th Gen Intel i7-8550U, 4K display, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD is one of the few laptops that can compare to this unit. But I digress.
The processor and memory are more than capable of handling anything thrown at them. That means a couple of tabs running simultaneously shouldn’t cause any hiccups. Also if you’re running software like Quickbooks, while multitasking on other apps, the system won’t be bogged down. In essence, one can run Ms.Office while listening to music and browse the web with little to no trouble.
We also loved the plenty of ports available given the laptop’s size. Dell fitted two Thunderbolt 3 and two USB-C 3.1 – all of which support charging and DisplayPort. There is a microSD card reader and headset jack too. Other aspects you might love are the nearly bezel-less screen and full HD display.
The one caveat we found though, was that the price might be a bit high for some. And the lack of touchscreen, like the one found on the 15-inch MacBook Pro, might be a concern for some users. However, for finance majors students or generally any student looking for a budget laptop, stay off touchscreen laptops…they drain off your battery.
That renders it unusable for the 8 hours in class it’s meant to take you through in the first place.
Dell XPS 15 2-in1 Specs
Display | 15.6 inch Full HD |
Processor | 8th Gen Core i7-8750H |
Memory | 16GB DDR4 |
Storage | 512GB SSD |
Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti |
Measurements/ weight | 9.3 x 14.1 x 0.66 inches/ 4.41 lbs |
Considered as the smallest and thinnest 2-in-1 laptop of its size, the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 laptop is an impressive laptop. It packs enough oomph to power it through most tasks such as photo editing, photoshopping, and gaming. Thanks to its modern 8th Gen processor, 16GB Ram, and storage, it qualifies as a great option for the best laptops for finance majors.
Again, its battery life is impressive and makes the laptop a great choice for your four-year period in college. The one gripe you might have to contend is the loud fan noise as the laptop runs. Good thing playing some music muffles it down.
5. Lenovo Yoga Book
If you’re on a budget, the Lenovo Yoga Book is a laptop from the future here to solve your financial tasks. It packs the most advanced design we’ve seen in a laptop lately. The virtual HALO keyboard and the ingenious writing surface are a clear indication that Lenovo is still leading the way of pushing boundaries.
There is no physical keyboard, just a fancy virtual one with illuminated, futuristic-looking keys that look as though they’ve been pulled straight from a sci-fi movie. But the chief highlight better yet is that the display doubles up as a virtual keyboard, an electromagnetic resonance (EMR) writing surface, that allows you to draw or scribble down notes.
Simply put, you can write all your class notes or scribble just as you would on a notepad.
- THINNEST AND LIGHTEST: At less than 2 lbs, it's the world's thinnest and lightest 2-in-1 windows...
- HIGH PERFORMANCE: This portable computer has a 64GB SDD hard drive and 4 GB LP DDR3 of RAM, plus an...
- PRODUCTIVITY: Instantly digitize your notes with the Real Pen stylus or transform your device into a...
Users who appreciate small form factor systems will also appreciate the diminutive design of the Yoga Book. In essence, the entire system measures 10.1 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches and weighs a lightweight 1.71 pounds. With such dimensions, it easily is an incredibly thin and light Windows laptop that can be hurled into a backpack every day for college.
Brilliant display
As much as the display is brilliant at Full HD (1920 x 1200), it still isn’t the most visually arresting part of the Yoga Book. The keyboard still keeps that title intact. Our unit is Full HD but you can opt for a 2560 x 1600 resolution display.
Performance
As mentioned before, the keyboard shines above anything else on this laptop. The Yoga Book comes with a pressure-sensitive drawing surface that doubles up as the keyboard and palm rest. There are no physical keys so you might have to get used to the absence of key travel and click sound.
The keys are flat and virtual with remarkably fast response time and haptic feedback. However, you wouldn’t want to write a novel on the Yoga Book. It’s best for typing a few sentences and making short notes or even a few sketches. The really sweet thing about the keyboard is that the keys vibrate on touch and you can choose to minimize the keyboard to make room for the touchpad.
Moving on, the other highlight of this system is the processor and memory. The Lenovo Yoga Book brags of an Intel Atom x5-x5-Z8550 processor, and 4GB memory which unfortunately is its two major downsides.
As it stands, these components force this laptop to only be capable of light-duty tasks such as taking notes, web browsing, and office productivity. What this means for users is they will have to live with lackluster performance. With that, you can rule out gaming or any graphics-intensive task and application. However, it’s not such a bad thing if you’re a student on a budget.
Lenovo Yoga Book Specs
Display | 10.1 inches Full HD (1920 x 1200) |
Brightness | 220cd/m2 |
Processor | Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Processor |
Memory | 4GB RAM |
Storage | 64GB SSD |
Graphics Card | None |
Measurements/ weight | 10.1 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches/ 1.52 lbs |
Battery life | 7 hours 22 mins |
If your taste for laptops is futuristic and 22nd century, the Lenovo Yoga Book is a brilliantly crafted and forward-thinking concept of a laptop. Honestly, it could very easily create a subcategory of its own because there is none at the moment. Inside, it packs middling features that hold it back against tablets.
Nonetheless, if you don’t mind the sluggish components (Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Processor and 4GB RAM), the Lenovo Yoga Book is a great companion for school. It should allow you a snappy Windows experience, switching between apps and feature-rich websites. You will also appreciate its note-taking capabilities, extremely thin and lightweight body, and affordable price.
It’s a unique machine which you will love for its diminutive form factor.
6. Huawei MateBook X Pro
The Chinese made Huawei MateBook X Pro offers several compelling reasons to buy it: a great display, a good keyboard, terrific audio, and even an included USB-C dock. But among its features, those that make it join the best laptops for finance majors ranks, are the sturdy polished build, lightweight body, 8th Gen processor, and memory.
To say the least, the Matebook X Pro comes in a complete irresistible package. You’ll find it for a budget price and with plenty of ports for connecting your devices.
- World's First FullView Display: Immersive 13.9-inch 3K touchscreen with 91% screen-to-body ratio,...
- Powerful Inside: Windows 10 Home Signature Edition with no bloatware. 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U...
- Home Theater: 3K touchscreen with 3, 000 x 2, 000 resolution, 1500:1 contrast ratio and 260 PPI...
Performance
For those who have no idea, the Matebook X Pro is a refresh last year’s flagship Huawei X Pro which made it to our best laptop 2018 list. Although the sequel fails to improve on its predecessor, it still packs enough to wow a crowd. This new entry laptop includes an 8th generation Intel Core i5-8550U processor with Intel UHD Graphics 620, 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD of storage.
The MateBook X Pro comes with a gorgeous display, rich and vibrant with colors. It brags of a 3000 x 2000 screen resolution which is a boon for just about any digital professional and anything in between. The story gets a bit rosier when it gets to performance.
The MateBook X Pro flaunts an Intel i7-8850U processor, a reasonable upgrade from the Core i5-8250U from the flagship laptop. All the components come together to make a laptop with a good balance of function and form. That’s not forgetting the healthy port system which has the futuristic Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port.
If you’re looking for a high-end slash classy laptop that can handle your finance projects and anything in between, the MateBook X Pro makes a veritable bargain.
Huawei MateBook X Pro Specs
Display | 13.9-inch 3K touchscreen IPS display Panel |
Processor | 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U processor |
Memory | 16GB DDR4 |
Storage | 512GB SSD |
Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce MX150 |
Measurements/ weight | 11.97 x 0.57 x 8.54 inches/ 2.93 pounds |
There are more than one welcoming aspects of the Huawei MateBook X Pro. The aluminum body with nice finish touch and diamond-cut edges is certainly one of them. The slim and lightweight figure another, and the high-end components the third.
But the MateBook X Pro’s performance puts it on the same playing field with Apple’s MacBook Pro. No matter what you use it for, you will be happy about it. But it takes a top spot as a productivity machine for finance major students and other professionals.
Update: There are other finer details that we did not mention about the Huawei MateBook X Pro. And we wouldn’t be doing it justice if we don’t mention them. Just so you know, the MateBook also features a deep-and-punchy keyboard that’s great for typing and a large sensitive trackpad with Microsoft’s Precision Touchpad technology.
For sound, there are four down-firing speakers with excellent sound quality and a fingerprint sensor available for all your biometric secure logins.
7. Dell XPS 13 (Dell XPS9360-5203SLV-PUS)
The Dell XPS 13 is a top tier laptop that wears many hats. It’s a perfect fit for our best laptop for finance majors list among other uses such as a laptop for video editors and music production. It manages all these tasks thanks to its main attraction the Core i7-8550U processor and numerous other internal enhancements from other previous generations.
In our list, we’ve featured a couple of high-end and budget laptops. The Dell XPS 13 is not among the budget. No, it’s a sleek top-tier laptop, not built for playing games but one that crunches productivity tasks without breaking a sweat. It comes with an awesome slim and trim design and a case only comparable to the Apple MacBook series in attractiveness.
I’m talking the lightweight carbon fiber design that makes it easy to carry around all day.
On opening the case, you are greeted by a 1920 x 1080 non-touch display. Although, that was our test unit. You always have the option of a better-defined display with the 3200 x 1800 resolution touch screen. The display is InfinityEdge which helps Dell achieve a thin and smaller frame 13.3 inches. At 0.6 by 12 by 7.9 inches, the Dell XPS 13 is barely bigger than the 11.6 inches MacBook Air (0.7 by 11.8 by 7.6 inches).
- 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U Processor (6M Cache , up to 3.4 GHz)
- 8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3,
- 128 GB (SSD) , No Optical Drive
Performance
The highlight of the performance section is none other than the processor and the memory. The Dell XPS 13 comes with an 8th Gen Core i5-8550U processor and 8GB of memory. It’s a shame there is no dedicated graphics card, other than an Intel HD Graphics 620 card.
The lack of a GPU knocks the stamina off of the XPS 13 and for that reason, it’s not a gaming machine. Even so, the combination of processor and memory gives the system a serious punch without necessarily requiring a lot of power consumption. That way the laptop has power but enables longer battery life.
Also, with 8GB memory, the system is capable of handling heavy software which is great for finance students.
Dell XPS 13 Specs
Display | 13.3 FHD (1920 x 1080) Touch display |
Processor | 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U Processor |
Memory | 8GB 1866MHz |
Storage | 128GB SSD |
Graphics Card | Intel Graphics 620 |
Measurements/ weight | 7.9 x 12 x 0.6 inches/ 2.7 pounds |
To sum it all up, the Dell XPS 13 is a stunning machine, certainly among the best premium laptops in the market. The Dell XPS 13 (2019) comes with a spectacular boost in muscle performance and battery life which means if you get the newest model, you’ll have more power for productivity.
Otherwise, even with the 2018 model, you will still have a laptop with a great balance of performance, battery life, and price. If you’re looking for the best laptops for finance majors, you will be hard-pressed to find a stronger price-per-part proposition laptop. It makes it to the top of our finance major laptop list.
8. Microsoft Surface Laptop
Like most laptops we’ve in this article, the Microsoft Surface laptop should get you through most, if not all, of your workday tasks, finance assignments among other workloads. And that is inclusive of financial tasks for students and finance manager roles. I’m talking about the whole shebang; creating a business plan, assessing financial accounts, and reporting financial reports.
As a matter of fact, according to Microsoft, the surface laptop is a superb laptop for students and finance professionals on the go.
But best of all, the Surface laptop comes in a clamshell that’s more stylish than most laptops in its price range. Its polished magnesium body adds to the already elegant and sleek design so you will be proud of carrying it around campus or office. What’s more, is you can choose from four hues to find your best matching color.
- Microsoft Surface Laptop features a 7th generation Intel Core i5 processor, 256 GB of storage, 8 GB...
- Backed by the best of Microsoft, including Windows and Office
- Four tone on tone color combinations. Exterior has aluminum casing
Display
Moving on, the Surface laptop comes with all the frills hardware of a high-end laptop. That means that right out of the box you’ll be able to notice screen 13.5 inches with a subtle touch bezel profile. Inside, the palm rest is cushioned with Alcantara fabric giving the system a warm inviting feel.
That’s more or less what Dell’s XPS 13 did with carbon fiber and we love it. The display serves a resolution of 2256 x 1504 or 201 pixels per inch (PPI). For the most part, this is enough resolution to provide satisfying sharpness. The HP Spectre x360 can pack in up to 330 PPI with its optional 4K panel. Also, the display is bright and brags of nearly perfect gamma scores.
At 13.5 inches, the Surface laptop invites comparisons to other 13-inch laptops like the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360. The Huawei MateBook X is also a close comparison at 12.5 inches. The Surface laptop weighs 2.7 pounds which is a comfortable weight for your back especially for users commuting or workers on the move.
Ports and Performance
You need a healthy port system on your laptop to make your system complete. But Microsoft failed to please us here despite there being a great room for connectivity. There is a USB 3.0 port, paired with mini-DisplayPort and a headset jack. Also, there is the usual pairing of 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.0.
Ports aside, the Surface laptop flaunts a Core i5-7200U processor, 8GB memory and 256GB solid-state drive. While these aren’t going to pulsate your pulse, they provide a great balance of performance and battery life. Also, it lacks a dedicated graphics card so it’s no surprise it’s not for gamers.
It will, however, open and run 3D games like osrs allowing you to buy osrs gold easily, but more often than not, the experience won’t be ideal. On the bright side though, you should be able to do some web browsing, stream 1080p video, run software, and boot up pretty fast. In terms of battery, the Surface laptop stands out compared to the competition. It beats Spectre x360 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 but the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 remains the most outstanding in battery longevity.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Specs
Display | 13.5 inches (2256×1504 pixels display) |
Processor | 7th generation Intel Core i5-7200U |
Memory | 8GB DDR4 |
Storage | 256GB SSD |
Graphics Card | Integrated Graphics 620 |
Operating System | Windows 10 S |
Measurements/ weight | 0.6 x 12.1 x 8.8 inches/ 2.76 pounds |
Battery life | 9 hours 3 minutes |
There is a host of progressive offerings that the Microsoft Surface laptop comes with. You get a remarkable display, great design and weight, top-rated battery life and finally performance. The 7th Gen processor coupled with 8GB memory provide snappy performance and the 256GB SSD makes booting fast.
Additionally, a good battery life makes it easy to use over long periods of time and the price point comfortable for the pocket. Simply put, the Surface laptop is a great choice. It’s security features (fingerprint logins) and fuzzy Alcantara fabric coating makes all the difference in terms of quality.
If you’re looking for an elegant laptop for your 4-year financial major’s life, that won’t break the bank, the Microsoft Surface laptop certainly fits the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
Finance Major Definition
The finance major is a college degree that deals with the management of large amounts of money for companies and organizations. That means planning for the future today, answering the tough financial questions, and managing cash wisely for the company.
A finance major would have to advise the company whether it can afford to give employees a raise or whether the company should spend less or more in raw material this year.
Salaries in the Finance Industry
The median salary of a finance major is $61,000 (half earn less, half earn more). Do a bit more research, however. It will be apparent that some finance-related careers rake more than just the average salary. Finance graduates can work for employers on Wall Street, to insurance firms, to banks.
Financial analysts, for instance, can rake in a minimum of $100,000 in the first few years of their work experience. That makes them among the top well-paid finance career professionals in the industry.
Finance Major Careers
There are a couple of finance major careers available for graduating students. As earlier mentioned graduates can take up a career as a financial analyst. Financial analysts make informed recommendations for an organization based on market trends, the financial position of a company, and predicted outcomes of a certain type of deal.
- Financial planners: Financial planners advise individuals, banks, insurance brokerage firms, and make a commission on sales based on sales they make. Speaking of individuals, there are those planners that work as independent advisor representatives (IAR). Their scope of work might vary a bit from other planners as a result of a broader range of services, such as budgeting and tax guidance, in addition to offering investment advice. On average a financial planner can make $88,890.
- Investment Banker: Just as the name suggests, investment bankers advise the banks and organizations on how to raise capital for investment as well as acquiring or merging with other businesses. It’s a demanding career that requires commitment and long working hours. But for those who work for wall street firms like J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, the pay is great. They can make a pretty penny. According to info from Wall Street Oasis, analysts who are on the lowest rung, start at anywhere from $70,000 to $150,000. Once they make it as an associate, they actually bring in between $150,000 and $350,000 a year
- Accountant: This is among the most common, if not obvious, routes students take. Accountants ensure organization books and ledgers are balanced, they open and close reports, prepare timely journal entries among other tasks. Accountants with a CPA are more recognized as CPA is an accreditation that leads to higher pay.
If any of these don’t appeal to you, don’t fret. There are other financial career paths I haven’t discussed like corporate financial professional, wealth manager, financial analyst, and management consultant.
Which is the Best Laptop for Finance Analysts?
Financial analysts are busy for half the time as a result of their crazy schedules. As an analyst looking for a laptop for productivity, you’ll want a business laptop that’s durable, powerful, and easy-to-use. Great business laptops stand out of the crowd for having a few features that their counterparts lack.
I’m talking about better security, stronger build quality, and a superior typing experience. For the busy financial analyst, we recommend the Dell XPS 13 because it offers a bit more oomph than other traditional business laptops. We initially recommended it for finance majors, but it wears many hats. It’s been featured as a choice for video editors, music producers and now the laptop for finance analysts.
Frankly, it manages all these tasks thanks to its main attraction the Core i7-8550U processor, 8GB memory, 128GB SSD and Intel UHD 620 graphics. The combination of processor and memory gives the system a serious punch without necessarily requiring a lot of power consumption.
That way the laptop has power but enables longer battery life which is great for long hours at the office. So whether you’re reconciling transactions, comparing and correcting data, maintaining a client’s database (by entering, verifying, and backing up data), the laptop will handle it.
Also, since you’re going to need to keep your client’s data secret or private, the Dell XPS 13 comes with a Noble security lock slot so that no one steals the laptop from your table. But best of all, it packs a fingerprint scanner so no unauthorized person can access your private data. Overall, the XPS 13 makes a great, portable, powerful laptop with a fair budget that won’t break your bank.
Finance Coursework
While the course work doesn’t require using heavy applications or software like engineering or architectural coursework does, but it still would be helpful in finding what laptop fits this niche.
We’ll start off with our best list of premium laptops then later some options of the more mainstream laptops finance student majors can own on a budget. While compiling this list our general rule of thumb in choosing these laptops was a slimline design, long battery life and value for money.
Most of these listed laptops bring a tasteful design into the mix, have cutting edge features for fast and reliable modern workplace workloads and great battery life. All of them come with the professional version of Windows 10.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, if you’re focusing on finance major degree you will want to get your hands on one of these laptops. As you start learning about creative ways to solve problems, you will want a reliable laptop to help solve problems in a numbers-driven way. Don’t be afraid to go for a MacBook if you have the cash for it. If not get yourself a budget option like the Acer Aspire 5 which should handle most of your workloads.