Careers

Employment trends

Occupation Projected Job Growth 2021 Median Salary Entry Education OOH Related Occupations
Political Scientist (b) 9% (As fast as average) $122,510 Master's Related
Economist 13% (Faster than average) $105,630 Master's Related
Certified Financial PlannerTM 4% (Average) $94,170 Bachelor's Related
Statistician 33% (Much faster than average) $96,280 Master's Related
Postsecondary Educator 12% (Faster than average) $79,640 Doctoral Related
Personal Financial Advisor 5% (Slower than average) $94,170 Bachelor's Related
Urban and Regional Planner     7% (As fast as average) $78,500 Master's Related
Economics Teacher, Postsecondary 9% (Much faster than average) $79,540 Doctoral Related
Market Research Analyst 22% (Much faster than average) $63,921 Bachelor's Related
Property Manager 3% (Slower than average) $59,230 Diploma Related
Survey Researcher
3% (Slower than average)
$59,740 Master's Related

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2021 Edition.

a In many occupations certification (such as the CFP(R)) or a higher educational level (graduate degree) can improve one's chances of occupational advancement, attracting new clients, higher salary, etc. See the Occupational Outlook Handbook for information about the value of continuing your education.

b They research political ideas and analyze governments, policies, political trends, and related issues. About half work in federal government. (Occupational Outlook Handbook)

c The Occupational Outlook Handbook does not differentiate between financial planners with and without the CFP(R); this salary from CNN's www.payscale.com-based analysis found at http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2017/01/05/best-jobs-2017/27.html

Recent graduates' employment

  • 2023

    Pan Ju Chen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor at University of Alabama.  Her dissertation titled The Bright Side of Detrimental and Trait-Like Antecedents of Financial Well-Being was supervised by Dr. Dee Warmath

    Marty Cotwright, Ph.D. His dissertation titled Implementing an eLearning Training to Improve Financial Literacy Among Early Care and Education Teachers was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Malika Dhakhwa, Ph.D. Her dissertation titled Three Essays on Parental Health Adversities and Children's Educational Outcomes was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz

    Adriana Garcia, Ph.D  Her dissertation titled Bricks, Bats, and Realty Stats: The Tale of Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta's Impacts on House Prices was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz

    Michael Gawrys, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech.  His dissertation titled A Study fo Adolescent Housing Awareness, Satsifaction, and Preferences was supervised by Dr. Kim Skobba

    Danah Jeong, Ph.D. Her dissertation titled Three Essays on Tax Return Filing Behavior was supervised by Dr. Lance Palmer.

    Eun Jin Kwak, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor at University of Wisconsin Green Bay.  Her dissertation titled Three Papers on Financial Risk Tolerance and Its Relationship with Risk-Taking Behaviors was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Yingyi Liu, Ph.D.  is employed with Morgan Stanley.  Her dissertation titled Antecedents of Long-term Financial Behavior: A Comparative Analysis of Two Young Adult Cohorts was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Yu Zhang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor at Kansas State University.  Her dissertation titled Three Essays on Mobile Financial Technology: From the Perspective of Financial Knowledge, Financial Stress, and Financial Well-being was co-supervised by Dr. Lu Fan and Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    2022

    Megan Ford, Ph.D.  ASPIRE Director & Assistant to the Dean for Applied Interdisciplinary Programs.  Her dissertation titled The Development of a Financial Conflict Measturement for Couples was supervised by Dr. Joe Goetz.

    Aditi Routh, Ph.D. Economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.  Her dissertation titled Effect of Personality Traits on Payment Behavior: Evidence from the United States was supervised by Dr. Sophia Anong

    Muna Sharma, Ph.D.  Data Scientist at State Farm Insurance. Her dissertation titled Behavioral Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic: Three Essays on Mental Health and Financial Decision Making was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz.

    Dyna Ty, Ph.D. His dissertation titled Residential satisfaction: First-time homeownership and common interest developments was supervised by Dr. Andy Carswell

    Jaeyong Yoo, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Property Management at  Virginia Tech.  His dissertation titled Predicting U.S. Migration Flows with Online Search Data was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz

    2021

    Martha Fulk, Ph.D. Researcher at American College.  Her dissertation titled The Description and Application of a New Measure of Financial Decision-maker Risk Aversion was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Portia Johnson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor at Auburn University. Her dissertation titled Homeownership Literacy: a mixed-methods proposal toward consensus, definition, and conceptualization was supervised by Dr. Kim Skobba and Dr. Andy Carswell

    Michael Ryan, Ph.D. - Professor and Dept. Head of Economics and Finance at the University of North Georgia. His dissertation titled Preferences for Defined Benefit versus Defined Contribution Retirement Plans: The Impact of Financial Literacy, Risk Tolerance, and Time Orientation was supervised by Dr. Cude

    Tammy Williams, Ph.D.- Lecturer in UGA Dept. of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics. her dissertation titled Real and Perceived Financial and Financial Aid Obstacles:  An Examination of the Factors that Impact the Completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Transition from Secondary to Postsecondary Education in U.S. High Schools was supervised by Dr. Diann Moorman

    2020

    Jamie Lynn Byram, Ph.D.  Instructor with the Department of Finance, Insurance, and Business Law in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech University - Her dissertation titled Financial and Marital Satisfaction Among Married Couples was supervised by Dr. John Grable.

    Youngjoo Choung, Ph.D.  is employed with Samsung.  Her dissertation titled Depression and the Financial Planning Horizon was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Sae Rom Chung, Ph.D. - Post-doc in College of Public Health, UGA.  Her dissertation  titled The Effect of Income on Quality of Life and Survival Expectation Among Older Adults in America: Evidence From the Social Security Notch was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz

    Timi Jorgensen, Ph.D.- Assistant Professor and Director of Financial Literacy at American College for Financial Services.  Her dissertation titled Inclusive Financial Wellbeing and Empowerment: An Intersectional Analysis was supervised by Dr. Kenneth White

    Seongsu Kim, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor in the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Department at St. Cloud State University. His dissertation titled The mediation effect of indoor air quality on health: A comparison of homeowners and renters was supervised by Dr. Andrew Carswell

    Ebun Odeyemi, Ph.D. - Planning Coordinator, Division of Housing and Community Development in the City of Memphis, TN. Her dissertation titled An analysis of housing affordability and housing quality among rural female-headed households in the United States was supervised by Dr. Kimberly Skobba

    Narang Park, Ph.D.  – Lecturer in UGA Dept. of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics. Her dissertation, A Test of the Association Between Generalized Stress and Financial Well-being was supervised by Dr. John Grable.

    Kristin Short, Ph.D.- Radix Financial LLC. Her dissertation titled “Knowledge is Power”: The Effect of Financial Education on Financial Stress Among Graduate Students was supervised by Dr. Joseph Goetz

    2019

    Michelle Kruger, Ph.D.    Assistant Professor of Finance, in Noonan School of Business, Loras College.  Her dissertation, Three Essays on Financial Satisfaction and the Joint Financial Management of Couples was supervised by Dr. John Grable.

    Jeffrey Robert, Ph.D. Assistant Collegiate Professor of Real Estate in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech.  His dissertation, The Influence of Privately and Publicly Induced Rezoning on Residential Real Estate Prices was supervised by Dr. Velma Zahirovic-Herbert

    Michael Thomas, Ph.D.  Lecturer in UGA's Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics.  His dissertation, The Impact of Financial Knowledge, Financial Skill, Financial Attitudes, and Social Capital on Financial Well-Being across Federal Poverty Level Status  was supervised by Dr. Lance Palmer

    2018

    Morgan Bryant, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor, Marketing, Saint Joseph's University.  Her dissertation, Commerce, Camille, and Consumption: Three Essays Evaluating Social Commerce Influences on Consumer Purchasing Behavior was supervised by Dr. Sheri Worthy.

    Amy Hubble, Ph.D. Principal Investment Advisor, Radix Financial, LLC.  Her dissertation, The Amalgamation of Professional Judgement: A Mean-variant Approach from an International Survey of Financial Advisers was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Kimberly Watkins, Ph.D.    Assistant Professor, University of Alabama.  Her dissertation, An Examination of Financial Socialization and the Role of Parent-Child Relationship Quality on Financial Well-Being was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    2017

    Judith Aboagye, Ph.D.  Research Content Analyst, Hanover Research. Her dissertation, Provider and Consumer Perspectives on Use of Mobile Money and Microfinance in Ghana was supervised by Dr. Sophia Anong

    Lu Fan, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor, Department of Personal Financial Planning, College for Human Environmental Sciences,  University of Missouri.  Her dissertation, The Influences of Financial Help-Seeking and Other Information Sources on Consumer's Financial Management Behavior was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Ilyar Heydari, Ph.D. His dissertation, Three Essays on The Impact of Child Support Programs on Single Mothers’ Material Well-being, Labor Supply and Children’s Achievements was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz

    Jiyoung Jung, Ph.D.  Lecturer, Sookmyung Women's University and Sangmyung University, Korea.  Her dissertation, The Effects of Framing and Financial Stress on the Saving Intentions was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Aman Sunder, Ph.D.  Chair for the Graduate Program and Head Faculty, College of Financial Planning.  His dissertation, Three Essays on the Comparison of Financial Advice from Different Types of Advisors While Recovering from the Great Recession was supervised by Dr. Lance Palmer

    Lini Zhang, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor, School of Business, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics.   Her dissertation, Factors Affecting Chinese Consumers' Purchase Intentions for Luxury Clothing was supervised by Dr. Brenda Cude.

    Haidong Zhao, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor, School of Business, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics.  His dissertation, The Effect of Financial Incentives on NFC Mobile Payment Adoption was supervised by Dr. Sophia Anong.

    2016

    Stephen Kuzniak, Ph.D. Financial Advisor, Cannon Financial Strategists, Inc.  His dissertation, A Test of the Effects of Biopsychosocial and Environmental, Social Support, and Macroeconomic Factors on Financial Risk Tolerance was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Lekhnath Chalise, Ph.D. Economist, Bureau of Labor Statistics. His dissertation, Extensive and Intensive Margins of Health Insurance Demand, was supervised by Dr. Sophia Anong.

    Wookjae Heo, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer Sciences at South Dakota State University. His dissertation, Improvement of Prediction on the Demand for Life Insurance by Using Artificial Neural Networks Estimation, was supervised by Dr. John Grable.

    Tae-Young Pak, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer Science at University of Alabama. His dissertation, Three Essays on Household Portfolio Choice, was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz.

    Abed Rabbani, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Personal Financial Planning at the University of Missouri. His dissertation, Affective Evaluation of Financial Risk Tolerance, was supervised by Dr. John Grable.

    Jorge Ruiz-Menjivar. Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences at University of Florida. His dissertation, Using Rash Measurement Theory to Evaluate the Psychometric Quality of a Financial Risk Tolerance Scale, was supervised by Dr. John Grable.

    2015 

    Dipesh Gangopadhyay, Ph.D. National Sample Survey Organization, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. His dissertation, Measurement of Multidimensional Deprivation Using Capability Approach and Fuzzy Set Theory: A study on the United States, was supervised by Dr. Robert Nielsen.

    Kristi-Warren Scott, Ph.D. Economist, Social Security Administration. Her dissertation, Obesity in the South: Do Subjective Measures of Food Access Matter? was supervised by Dr. Velma Zahirovic-Herbert.

  • 2016

    Sae Chung, M.S.  Her thesis was supervised by Dr. Robert Nielsen

    Jane Hoeferkamp, M.S.

    Hee-Jung Park, M.S. currently pursuing Ph.D. at University of Wyoming,  His thesis was supervised by Dr. Lance Palmer

    Jessica Parks, M.S. currently pursuing her Ph.D. in FHCE at UGA.  Her thesis was supervised by Dr. Joe Goetz

    2015

    Xuan Chen, M.S. Her thesis, How Does Financial Capability Work? An Exploration of Financial Capability Mechanism, was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard. 

  • 2023

     Jerad Alexander, M.S.

     Steven Barrios, M.S.

    Logan R. Brooks, M.S.

     Katie E. Burcaw, M.S.

     Alastair W. Cairns, M.S.

     Henry R. Chaussee, M.S.

     Tingjun Che, M.S.

     Jimmy H. Cochran, M.S.

     Dakota R. Collina, M.S.

     Christopher W. Craig, M.S.

     Blake M. Croyder, M.S.

    Olivia Dekreon, M.S.

    Kyndal S. Dunbar, M.S.

     Jonah A. Duyvelaar, M.S.

     Jaxon K. Etter, M.S.

     Sloane Fox, M.S.

    Gregory Helck, M.S.

    Gabrion Johnson, M.S.

    William N. Johnston, M.S.

     Ellisha M. Jones, M.S.

    Shawn Kelly, M.S.

    Benjamin Kemp, M.S.

    Garrett M. Klinger, M.S.

    Chaht Kumar, M.S.

    Andy Li, M.S.

    Jacob Lorino, M.S.

    Keith D. Lyle, M.S.

     Spencer A. Maycock, M.S.

    David Metcalf, M.S.

    Justin B. Miller, M.S.

    Brandon T. Nash, M.S.

    Mercy Oloo, M.S.

    Clayborn A. Pender, M.S.

    Sakinah Powell, M.S.

    Jose O. Rosario Laureano, M.S.

     Austin G. Rowland, M.S.

     Kurtis R. Royalty, M.S.

     Andrew G. Russell, M.S.

     Elijah Levi S. Sheffield, M.S.

     Yelena Tarasenko, M.S.

     Timothy J. Tidwell, M.S.

     Sarah Treger, M.S.

     Irina Uncu, M.S.

     James W. Werner, M.S.

     Sofie C. Wood, M.S.

     Eric Yanovsky, M.S.

     Richard L. Zulick, M.S.

    2022

     James H. Adcock, M.S.

     Austin D. Bentley, M.S.

     Patrick Bonilla, M.S.

     Chandler E. Carey, M.S.

     Rebekah D. Carnes, M.S.

     Camryn L. Cobb, M.S.

     Morgan L. Coppoc, M.S.

     Chandler D. Davis, M.S.

     Camryn D. Graham, M.S.

     Jeannie M. Heerlein, M.S.

     Tracy E. Kasing, M.S.

     Audrey B. Kernodle, M.S.

     Sarah R. Madden, M.S.

     Thomas E. Naldrett, M.S.

     Joseph L. Painter, M.S.

     Jillian E. Pehrson, M.S.

     Loyd E. Pyle, M.S.

     Connor S. Reece, M.S.

     Sarah R. Smith, M.S.

     Steven Stembridge, M.S.

     Cheyney R. Stephens, M.S.

     Anthony J. Stoll, M.S.

     Margriet Van De Steeg, M.S.

     Yanping Wu, M.S.

     Savannah V. Youngblood, M.S.

    2021

    Kat Attaway, M.S.

    Erin Bruce, M.S.

    Shiv Chadha, M.S.

    Charles Clark, M.S.

    Carlyn Clevenger, M.S.

    Joel Davis, M.S.

    Carson Fields, M.S.

    Meghan Flanagan, M.S.

    Jard Hadlock, M.S.

    Haris Haq, M.S.

    Richard Hodgkinson, M.S.

    Rashon Howard, M.S.

    Da-Zha Jones, M.S.

    De'Quan Lawrence, M.S.

    Charline Mayo, M.S.

    Anettra Mapp, M.S.

    Ian McGraw, M.S.

    Lindsay McKay, M.S.

    Scott Miller, M.S.

    Matthew Morris, M.S.

    Ana Negron-Lopez, M.S.

    George Ray, M.S.

    Kyle Ray, M.S.

    Braxton Rhone, M.S.

    Leah Ruark, M.S.

    Thomas Schorn, M.S.

    Thomas Schorn II, M.S.

    LaFarrah Smith, M.S.

    Duncan Wheeler, M.S.

    Winnie Williams, M.S.

    Fantong Zeng, M.S.

    2020

    Carl Barwick, M.S.

    Jeffrey Bassler, M.S.

    Angela Berry, M.S.

    William Boswell, M.S.

    Dana Carney, M.S.

    Haley Clark, M.S.

    Joseph Cleland, M.S.

    Taylor Coates, M.S.

    Breanne Coffey, M.S.

    Ethan Crider, M.S.

    Durrell Cullens, M.S.

    Phillip Duckworth

    Albert Erb, M.S.

    Flora Gitichie, M.S.

    John Higgins, M.S.

    Keaton Hineman, M.S.

    Ryan Kelly, M.S.

    Chloe Knoblock, M.S.

    Erin Kunz, M.S.

    Ronald Lotti, M.S.

    Aaron Neeley, M.S.

    Emma Nichols, M.S.

    Juwan Parker, M.S.

    Alexis Smith, M.S.

    Julie Stephens, M.S.

    Mark Strand, M.S.

    Adam Thorne, M.S.

    Charles Toole, M.S.

    Austin Turner, M.S.

    Leland Wallace, M.S.

    Kevin White, M.S.

    Rebecca Wilton, M.S.

    Manuel Zubia, M.S.

    2019

    2018

    Nicholas Bouwman, M.S. Financial Advisor with Edward Jones.  His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Joe Goetz

    Nathan Burcham, M.S. His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    Ashley Collins, M.S.  Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Justin Douglas, M.S.  His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Faith Greene, M.S. Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Joe Goetz

    Quentin Harris, M.S.  Contract Specialist, Missile Defense Agency.  His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Jarrett Hindrew, M.S.  His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Judge Johnson, M.S. Associate Planner with Cannon Financial Strategists.  His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Lance Palmer

    Caroline McHam, M.S. Financial Planning Analyst with Elwood and Goetz.  Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Joe Goetz

    MacKenzie Myers, M.S.  Data & Analytics Consultant with Protiviti.  Her Consumer Economics program was supervised by Dr. Kim Skobba

    Michael Reich, M.S.  His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Charles Robinson, M.S.  Wealth Advisor with Cornerstone Wealth.  His Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Julie Roth, M.S.  Support Advisor with Monterey Private Wealth.  Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Kyung-Hwa Shin, M.S.  Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    Travis Smith, M.S. His Financial Planning Program was supervised by  Dr. Ann Woodyard

    Melissa Visbal, M.S. Financial Planning Associate with Narwhal Capital.  Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Amanda Walker, M.S. Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Nicole White, M.S.  Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Michelle Wolff, M.S.  Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Kai Lun Zhang, M.S. Her Financial Planning Program was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    2017

    Jordan Arave, M.S. His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Kat Attaway, M.S. Her Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Melanie Dabb, M.S. Her Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    Greg Fawcett, M.S.  His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Kesheena Hamilton, M.S. Her Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    Justin Hills, M.S. His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Hattie Hutson, M.S. Partner at Mountain State Analytics, LLC.  Her Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Jesse Jones, M.S. Planning and Production Control Specialist with Raytheon.  His Consumer Economics program was supervised by Dr. Andy Carswell

    Joshua Moore, M.S.  Vice President, Private Client Advisor with U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management.  His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    David Nicholas, M.S. His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    Amanda Standard, M.S. Her Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Joe Goetz

    Colton Strawn, M.S. His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Swarn Chatterjee

    Joel Theis, M.S. His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Brady Yeater, M.S. His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    Mi Zhou, M.S. Her Consumer Economics program was supervised by Dr. Patryk Babiarz

    2016

    Aysha Babb, M.S. Financial Planning Analyst, Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group. Her Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Joe Goetz

    Joshua Bousfield, M.S.

    Javier Diaz, M.S. Associate Financial Planner with The Connemara Group.  His Financial Planning Portfolio was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard.

    Christopher Harvey, M.S.

    Ben Jacobs, M.S. Financial Planning Analyst, Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group. His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. John Grable

    Haley Pierce Moore, M.S. Operations Analyst at Landmark Properties. Her Applied Consumer Analytics program was supervised by Dr. Robert Nielsen.

    Joe Paoletti, M.S. First Vice President with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.  His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Ann Woodyard

    John Pope, M.S.

    William Turner, M.S. PWC Accounting.  His Financial Planning program was supervised by Dr. Lance Palmer

    Ronald Wroble, M.S.

    2015

    Katie Thomason, M.S. Anheuser-Busch Brand Activation Manager. Her portfolio was supervised by Dr. Joseph Goetz. 

    Kevin Valentino, M.S. Private Wealth Analyst, Bank of America Merrill Lynch. His portfolio was supervised by Dr. Joseph Goetz.

    Russell Whitehead, M.S. Apprentice Financial Planner, Gen Y Planning. His portfolio was supervised by Dr. John Grable.

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