You can be ready for a variety of sectors and work environments with a finance degree. All businesses, no matter how big or little, have a budget. To handle those budgets and counsel businesses on how to boost their earnings, competent experts are always required.
Your sector and job title will determine the specific responsibilities you have. For example, accountants gather and examine information regarding a business’s earnings and losses. Financial analysts give businesses and individuals advice on the best investments to make to build a solid portfolio and accumulate money. You’ll probably be assisting businesses or individuals in determining their financial futures in any career that is finance-related. While a bachelor’s degree or beyond is typically required for many professions, you’ll need at least an associate’s degree to get started.
What Are Some Careers in Finance?
Opportunities abound for those pursuing a career in finance across a variety of industries, including Wall Street and beyond. Financial analyst, portfolio manager, securities trader, actuary, financial planner, and quantitative analyst (quant) are among the popular positions in the finance sector. Financial management, analysis, and decision-making are all involved in these professions in different ways.
Whichever path you choose, assisting others in achieving financial success will be the focus of your work. To assist individuals or organizations in making the best financial decisions possible, you will examine financial data and provide solutions to help them get out of difficult financial situations.
Accountant
Accountants gather and examine financial information for businesses or individuals.
- What you’ll do: You’ll have to make sure that all records are accurate and comprehensive and handle a lot of financial data. This information is used by accountants to compile financial records for clients or companies.
- When creating reports like cash flow sheets, profit-and-loss statements, periodic financial reports, and earnings statements, you’ll assess the information you get. Accountants will look for trends in the overall financial picture to identify potential development opportunities.
- Where you’ll work: Many private clients as well as any business with money to manage need accountants.
- Accountants are employed by nonprofit organizations, small local companies, banks, and big enterprises.
Budget Analyst
- Concerning the position: Financial planning and organization are facilitated by budget analysts for businesses, organizations, and governmental bodies.
- What a budget analyst does: They oversee expenditures, gather information to assist in projecting future costs, and ensure that the plans of an organization do not exceed their financial constraints. Reports that will be distributed to the executives of your company will be created using the data gathered. You’ll provide recommendations about how to raise funds or alter plans as necessary.
- Where will you be employed? In addition to working for government organizations and the private sector, budget analysts are employed by the public sector.
Financial Analyst
- Regarding the position: Financial analysts assist companies and people in making investments that will boost their earnings. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, financial analysts are also occasionally referred to as fund managers or financial risk experts.
- Financial analysts monitor the stock market closely and provide advice to individuals and organizations based on their understanding of the market. To assist your clients become wealthier, you will design investment programs. You will also research a company’s total worth and risk by looking at its historical and present financial performance.
- Location of your work: Agencies or financial corporations employ a large number of financial analysts. In addition, some analysts have their businesses.
Financial Manager
- Regarding the position: Financial managers are in charge of an organization’s finances.
- As a financial manager, your duties will include creating, putting into practice, and supervising financial strategy for your business. Reports and the tracking of more significant financial patterns will be made possible by the financial data you gather and examine.
- Based on the data and your reports, you will advise the firm leadership on improvements that should be implemented. You will also build plans to implement those changes. Accountants and budget analysts are among the other financial employees that most financial managers oversee.
- Where will you be employed? There is a need for financial managers across all industries and business models.
Investment Banker
- Regarding the position: Investment bankers offer financial advice to governments, businesses, and other clients.
- What you’ll do: Assisting clients in making significant financial decisions is what an investment banker does. This typically entails assisting businesses with acquisitions, mergers, or consolidations. For customers, you will outline the financial risks and rewards of these significant financial decisions and guide the best course of action. To provide your clients with correct advice, you will need to closely monitor stock and financial market performance.
- Where will you be employed? Private companies or organizations frequently employ investment bankers.
Personal Financial Advisor
What Education Do I Need?
Although associate’s and doctorate degrees are also available, the majority of financial professionals hold bachelor’s or master’s degrees. How much time you can dedicate to studying when you want to start working, what kinds of positions you want after graduation, and other personal criteria will all play a role in choosing the best degree for you.
Educational options include:
- Associate degree
Your chances of landing an entry-level position in a corporation are increased if you have an associate’s degree in finance. Associate degree holders may want to look into careers as bookkeepers, associate financial analysts, loan officers, associate accounting associates, financial clerks, or credit analysts.
- Bachelor’s degree
You will have a strong foundation for your financial profession and a wider understanding of financial matters with a bachelor’s in finance. Jobs like investment banker, accountant, personal financial advisor, budget analyst, and financial analyst will all be open to you.
- Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance
You can progress in your financial profession with an MBA in Finance, a top-tier business degree. You’ll receive a comprehensive business education from your classes, which will cover more than just financial concepts. Positions like chief financial officer, credit manager, controller, auditor, and financial manager will be open to you.
- Master in Finance degree
A Master of Finance degree is a postgraduate program that concentrates on financial education. For those who work only in the financial industry, this degree is extremely specialized.
- Doctoral Degree
You can become prepared for leadership positions, high-level financial positions, or teaching positions in the financial industry with a doctorate in finance.
What About Licensing and Certification?
The type of financial position you pursue will determine whether you need a license or certification. Licensed financial professionals include real estate and insurance agents, who often need to get state licensure to sell properties or policies. In other positions, most employers will want certification even while the state doesn’t. For example, almost all employers in the accounting industry will want a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification, even though it isn’t required by any state or federal agency.
Financial analysts and planners, among other financial positions, have the option of selecting optional credentials. These can have a significant impact on your career but are less likely to be demanded by employers. Professionals with these certificates frequently experience pay increases and career promotions.
Skills for the Finance Career Path
Financial experts with expertise are in high demand. A job in finance is a fantastic way to apply your general interest in subjects like economics and budgeting in the workplace. Your knowledge of the financial sector will enable you to assist clients or businesses in becoming financially successful. You must be a critical, creative thinker with excellent problem-solving and communication abilities if you want to succeed.
“In my field, our employees get promoted on one criterion: how many times did they bring an idea, and how many of those ideas were good?” states Stanford Nix, MBA, managing partner of The Nix Organization and venture capitalist.
To succeed in the financial field, you’ll need to comprehend ideas like money, budgeting, and economics. Strong abilities in subjects like algebra, data analysis, problem-solving, and critical thinking are beneficial in addition to those fundamental knowledge areas. Furthermore, even though finance is often associated with facts and numbers, interpersonal skills and creativity are as crucial. Your financial career will be enhanced by having effective communication skills, the capacity for interpersonal negotiation, and a team-oriented attitude.
You’ll need to know how to handle problems and influence others to succeed. Stanford Nix, MBA, a venture capitalist and managing partner of The Nix Organization, states, “This means knowing how to motivate them and how to build a team.” “Going deep on anything ought to be possible for you. Working on one thing at a time until it’s flawless is known as deep work. A lot of in-depth labor is necessary for success.”
Cliff Auerswald, president of All Reverse Mortgage, Inc., adds, “Know your numbers, and even more importantly, know people.” “Very few areas of finance would not involve working with people in one way or another. As such, you must possess excellent interpersonal and communication abilities. If you want to advance professionally and differentiate yourself from the competition, incorporate negotiating and decision-making into your skill set.”
Salary and Job Outlook
There are many different job opportunities in the subject of finance. As a financial professional, your actual pay will vary depending on several criteria, including your industry, region, job title, degree of education, experience, and certification. For instance, even if statistics indicate that financial managers make more money overall than investment bankers, you might be able to locate an employer who is specifically looking for your qualifications and offer you a very high-paying position as an investment banker. Financial occupations, regardless of job title or industry, offer above-average wages and career pathways that could lead to future pay increases.