When we hear the word ‘Finance”, for many of us images of stock markets, investments, balance sheet etc. come to mind. Many of us relate it to titles like CA (Chartered Accountant), CFA (Chartered Financial Accountant). But the fact is, you don't need to be a CFA or CA or any investment bankers to begin your finance research journey. Infact, if you are in grade 6th or in grade 12th and you’ve ever handled your pocket money, you have already taken your first step towards world of finance.
Suppose you get Rs 500 or Rs 1000 as pocket money, you spend a part of it on a movie, new books, maybe a cool T-shirt or any other thing. It may also happen that sometimes you have saved it for something big, or you regret spending it too fast. Now, that's what financial decision making is in real life.
When you convert this simple behaviour into research questions like “How do high school students usually spend their pocket money?”, “Does gender or location affect spending habits?”, “Do students save more when they have a goal in mind?” Your research journey begins there.
When you organize this information, collect some data through a survey or some published reports, record your findings in a table or chart and then analyse “What does this data reveals?” that's what research is. Hence, finance is not about big numbers and calculations, it's about small decisions which can have long-term impacts.
So, if you are passionate about saving money or how companies plan their budgets or what drives people to invest in the share market, draft a project outline and begin your finance research journey. To be a finance researcher, the most important qualification is curiosity, not a title. So, ask questions, gather data and become a young finance researcher.
