Home » Online Degrees in Risk Management

Online Degrees in Risk Management

Risk management is the business of identifying and minimizing risk, whether it be security risk for a corporation's IT sector or the risk of default by a borrower at a bank.

Risks exist in both the public and private sectors and can include any event from weather, blackouts or computer hacking to organized fraud and robbery. Risk management professionals develop strategies for managing risk in all industry sectors--health care, finance, insurance, investments--and in large corporations and small family businesses.

Skills and talents of risk management professionals

Common attributes for risk management professionals include an aptitude for business, strong organizational skills, computer literacy, excellent communications skills, and the ability to analyze the big picture while still paying attention to detail. Maybe the most important attribute is a thick skin. A significant part of the job is having an understanding of company vulnerabilities and "making it OK to talk about them," author and business professional Rick Funston said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal division FINS.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. offers a helpful road map for professional growth and success. It identifies the abilities and knowledge required at all risk management career levels, as well as the necessary skills and talents that can get risk management professionals noticed.

Risk management degree levels

Campus and online risk management degrees can range from associate to doctoral degrees and can also include diplomas and certificates. Degrees can be specifically in risk management or risk management can be a specialization within a more general business degree.

Diplomas and certificates are often designed for management or executive level professionals who want to increase their knowledge of risk management.
Associate degrees focus on general business basics and may have a risk management component; they can lead to entry-level positions or to a higher degree.
Bachelor's degrees are generally the entry-level degree for risk management professionals.
Master's degrees are typically required for management and executive level positions.
Doctoral degrees break out into PhDs for research and teaching or Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degrees for high-level positions in business or government.

Salaries for risk management professionals

The Risk Talent 2010 Professional Compensation Survey reported the following representative total compensation for a range of industries in which risk management professionals work. Salary ranges cover positions from associate to chief risk officer/managing director and include salary plus cash and non-cash bonuses:

Capital Markets: $120,704 through $851,000
Asset Management: $203,564 through $922,174
Software Analytics: $111,000 through $375,000
Energy: $138,000 through $544,000

Risk management should be everyone's business, Funston told FINS. A risk management professional must understand how the business really runs, making risk management positions, "an excellent stepping stone to an executive position." If business is your passion, a career in risk management could take you into the upper echelons.

Risk management at a glance

Job quality: Risk manager/consulting was named the 14th best job in America in 2010 by CNNMoney.
Salaries: Risk management professionals can earn up to the high 6 figures, a 2010 salary survey found.
Growth: Manpower Inc. exec says risk management is an emerging specialty with strong growth potential.

See details