Having a finance career doesn’t mean you will deal solely with money, but it is prerogative, naturally. You have to consider many things once you start working in the financial industry, the psychology behind it, dealing with clients, etc. Having a degree should be something to have, but sometimes it isn’t necessary (we will explain when). Getting a business degree is the first step towards a career in finances, and sometimes you’ll even have to be able to invest your finances. Any serious company wants to have professionals. What’s important is to consider what your goals are, see what you would enjoy in the long run, and excel. From a financial consultant to investing in your finance, there are many possibilities, and we are here to tell you about the most common ones.
The Financial Services Industry
Thet type of industry offers a variety of positions where you need to continually improve your skills and stay interested in it to have the drive to succeed. You can tailor your search within the financial services industry, so it suits your skills, and the same goes if you are already at a professional level but are stuck in a rut. Changing career is okay if you want to dive into a new sector and feel like you could contribute to it. These are the basics once you start researching, and below, we will list some of the joint finance careers you can explore.
Financial Planning
People often turn to financial planners to better sort out their finances and create a sustainable money management plan. Financial planners are ideal for helping people sort out a list that will help ensure financial stability, now and for the future. It involves saving and investing, and it’s tailored to the client’s needs. Clients want to save up for a house, tax planning, or preserve the wealth they already have.
Financial planners rarely work alone. They are usually part of a company, and some will charge the client’s asset percentage under their management (AUM), meaning they receive a commission on what they sell. It is very similar to mutual funds.
CFP
This abbreviation stands for Certified Financial Planner. Financial planners who have this certificate are the most wanted, and the training is rigorous for getting CFP. What you need is 6000 financial planning experience hours, including exams and a two-day case-study exam. They need to educate themselves continually, so their knowledge isn’t outdated at some point.
Corporate Finance
Corporate finance means finding and managing the capital for a specific enterprise. This is usually done within a company to be an employee, and your job should be to reduce financial risk while maximizing corporate value. There are many positions in corporate finance. For example, you can create the company’s financial strategy, negotiate lines of credit, coordinate with outside auditors, prepare financial statements or forecast profits and losses. Once you are capable enough to do them, there are more serious positions, such as M&A activities (mergers and acquisitions).
Commercial Banking
This is something most of us know about, and it includes everyone and everything – from large companies to local institutions where you can offer a variety of financial services. Usually, these are savings accounts, checking accounts or IRA (individual retirement accounts), and of course, loans. If we look at most common bank positions, there are loan officers, marketing, bank tellers, etc. There is always an opportunity to advance. For example, you can go from a local branch job to a bank’s corporate headquarters. It can later lead you to international finance if you show good performance.
Investment Banking
Investment banking is more intense, and it can become a job if you can bring new issuance of corporate securities to the market where investors can invest/purchase them. Trade securities and advising wealthy investors and corporations are also a part of investment banking.
Hedge Funds
Hedge funds can be tricky because they are private investment funds. The biggest “problem” is they are unregulated, and managers can buy and sell many assets and financial products. There is a sort of glorification around hedge funds because they are private and unregulated. Jobs within hedge funds include traders, marketing managers, financial analysts, quantitative analysts, portfolio managers and regulatory compliance officers.
In Conclusion
Whatever you are of interest within the finance industry, it is essential to have a degree to represent yourself as a person of trust from the very beginning. CFP is excellent if you are serious about your finance career, and whatever you choose should be something you are sure it won’t bore you after a year. Good luck!
