Careers in Finance
Explore different finance careers, and learn which one is the best for your skills and goals.
Choosing a Finance Career
Finance is the lifeblood of the business world. Raw materials aren't processed, factories aren't built, goods aren't shipped and customers aren't satisfied unless the money that makes it happen is present at the right time and place.
It is an understatement to say that the finance industry is large, diverse and incredibly important; people in finance careers, after all, are the people who create, broker and track nearly every monetary transaction.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly three in ten jobs are in the finance and insurance industries; finance is essentially the foundation of all business endeavors.
Finance Career Paths to Follow
If you're considering a finance career, you'll find that industry jobs roughly break down into four general categories. Investment bankers raise capital for businesses and governments by creating securities, such as stocks and bonds, to be sold. Corporate financial analysts and financial planners direct businesses and individual investment portfolios toward growth by supervising and allocating assets and managing risk. The subfield of insurance seeks to protect assets from loss by redistributing risk. Commercial bankers—the most common of finance careers—lend money to individuals and businesses.
Within each of these categories there are myriad finance career paths suited to individual interests and specializations, such as salespeople, analysts, account executives and more. Those who excel in their fields usually gain responsibility for larger pools of assets and often become corporate officers or board members.
Finance Career Growth
In its 2007 career guide, Robert Half International reported that finance salaries, "are expected to rise an average of 3.8 percent in the coming year." More specifically, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects job growth for financial managers to keep pace with the rest of the economy through 2014. Payscale.com reports that the industry's median salary was $81,880 as of 2010, with the middle range between $61,421 and $112,320.
Necessary Skills
All finance careers are built upon a solid mathematical base. Employers expect candidates to be precise—these jobs do deal with money, after all—but also to be able to think abstractly and analytically, especially when dealing with risk. Many finance jobs require employees to stay current on complex, changing laws, regulations and government reporting requirements. You will also need to be competent in areas relating to general business: working well both individually and within a team and having strong communication, problem solving and time management skills.
Some skills and interests may open the doors to even more specialized finance careers. According to the University of Chicago Chronicle, Uday Shirahatti, a graduate of the university's Financial Mathematics Program, applied his interest in advanced math to the weather derivatives field. "This is a multitrillion-dollar industry," Shirahatti said. "It's probably the biggest industry you can think of. It's global and it affects everyone."
