If you want a career in financing, you have to get a college degree. To be more specific, you have to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in math, business, statistics or economics since you will be dealing with numbers and using these skills to make decisions and recommendations.
One study shows that there are currently 230,000 financial analysts and financial advisors in the US. You might think that there is no more vacancy in the market but there are because new businesses are established while old ones are still growing.
With a college degree, one thing you can try is financial consulting. Here, you are tasked on providing advice to business valuation, economic forecasts and analysis, treasury management, strategies for creating shareholder value and securities pricing.
Later on, you may be promoted to finance manager and instead of providing advice to clients, you will have the opportunity to invest their money in order to make a profit. Those who do well here earn somewhere around $73,000 to $145,000 annually and with the amount of money that is given, you better deliver.
Another field is corporate financing in which your job is to manage the client’s assets and if the opportunity presents itself, make acquisitions.
Those who want to serve their country may issue securities, enforce the law, manage assets and offer financial advice to people.
Similar to the finance manager are the money managers because they hold stocks and bonds for clients and at the same time buy stuff off Wall Street. For this job, you need to be proficient in various technologies as well as the latest qualitative methodologies. You will also need to be CFA certified.
Working for an insurance company is also a viable option. Here, you help prepare clients deal with catastrophes before they happen. It is a trillion dollar industry that is still growing so you can still get in the game.
Among the various opportunities, many find their way to commercial banking. You could be a bank manager, teller, the one in charge of approving loans or looking for new accounts. This accounts for the majority of those employed in the financial services industry.
In any of the positions mentioned, you must be good with numbers and have excellent interpersonal skills. Why? Because you are dealing with people and if the client doesn’t like your personality, chances are they will bring their business elsewhere.
After working for a few years, you can work for another company or be daring and start up your own company.
Aside from banking, the real estate industry is also looking out for finance graduates. This is because their training is useful when it comes to property management, real estate appraisal, brokerage and leasing, construction and real estate development. On one end, they sell property while on the other find ways to make it possible for the customer to invest depending on their budget.
A college degree is the starting point of your finance career because no company out there will hire someone who just graduated from secondary school or does not have the proper training when you are dealing with other people’s money.
So, if you are still considering what to take up in college or lost in your current course, shift over because this is very rewarding.
