Which Are The Top 10 Finance Careers
Several financial experts have made gloomy predictions for the months ahead. The series of political flashpoints from Ukraine to Hong Kong – not to mention the crisis in Iraq and Syria is not good news for the financial markets. The emergence of the Eurozone crisis is yet another indicator of low global growth. In addition, the outbreak of Ebola has exacerbated the situation further. Therefore, it won’t be wrong to say that things don’t look too great for associates, who are just starting their careers in finance.
However, every dark cloud has its silver lining. Many finance professionals believe that at their core, markets are about dealing with emotions objectively. They feel that the current situation is similar to the global situation in 2007-08. Financial associates, who were cutting their teeth in the financial world at the time, had a harrowing experience during the global financial crisis.
Yet, many of them feel that they learned more about the markets in those 12 months than they did during the entire course of their CFA programs. At the end of the day, if you manage to make it in the financial world, a career in finance can be highly rewarding both personally and monetarily. You can try out one of our excellent Online Finance Courses and get a deeper understanding of what really happens in the world of finance.
Coming Into Money – Top Financial Careers You Should Know About
If you think you’ve got what it takes to make it in finance, here is a list of careers you should consider.
- The Financial Planner: Financial planners analyze the key financial data of their clients. They look for (and identify) weaknesses based on trends they come across. Then, they help their clients strengthen their fiscal foundations by recommending the appropriate solutions.
Financial planners must be adept in research and critical thinking. In addition, they must possess good communication skills for explaining complex financial ideas to their clients.
- The Relationship Manager (or Financial Advisor): Relationship managers attract new customers to the company, forge constructive relationships with their current customers and ensure that existing clients continue to remain loyal to the company.
To be good at this role, you need strong interpersonal skills. You also need good communication skills for expressing complex financial ideas in an easy-to-understand manner.
- The Claims Adjuster: These professionals ensure that the client’s claims match the company’s eligibility standards. They scrutinize the submitted claims for accuracy. If required, they could even ask for additional information. Occasionally, they might even inspect the evidence concerning the claim personally. Thereafter, they document the entire process of approval or denial.
Claims adjusters need to possess good communication and negotiation skills. They also need to have an eye for detail.
- The Investment Banking Analyst: These professionals provide all the background information that enables companies to make investment decisions. So, they analyze financial statements, construct financial models, research prevailing market trends and manage trades, among other things.
You will need to possess great quantitative and analytical skills in this role. In addition, you need to be well versed in dealing with spreadsheets. Moreover, you will need to possess an extensive knowledge of the latest developments in the industry too.
- The Financial Project Specialist: These individuals support a company’s management by delivering initiatives within the prescribed budgets and timelines. Their line of work is quite vast. It ranges from program or project development to participating in work groups and committees. They also allocate budgets, conduct meetings with project members and deliver presentations to their supervisors.
If this career interests you, you will need good oral and written communication skills.
- The Underwriter: These individuals accept or reject risk on behalf of insurance companies. Their work entails evaluating the type of insurance that various kinds of organizations need. Then, they scrutinize every aspect of the organization’s operations and the coverage it requires. Thereafter, they inform the insurance company about whether or not to accept the proposal of the organization. They also guide the insurance company by specifying the terms of coverage and premiums (if they approve the proposal).
To be an underwriter, you will need to be proficient with numbers and complex calculations. You will also need to be fluent in handling and analyzing large volumes of statistics.
- The Compliance Officer: These individuals help companies understand the regulatory rules and requirements they need to follow, when filing taxes, issuing bonds etc. They ensure that the Board of Directors, the management and the employees of a company comply with the rules and regulations prescribed by various regulatory bodies.
This role requires a vast knowledge and a deep understanding of the various rules and regulations that companies need to follow.
- The Credit Analyst: Large institutions like banks, pension funds and governments often depend on detailed investment advice given by credit analysts. This is especially so when they need to determine whether a specific investment is safe or not. Credit analysts study and research bonds and other financial instruments. This enables them to evaluate whether the instruments will gain, lose or remain stable. They also assign ratings to bonds, from the high (AAA, AA etc.) to the low (BB, CCC etc.)
To be good at this job, you will need to be able to think laterally. In addition, you will need to be good at evaluating current trends and working with large sets of numbers.
- The Market Research Analyst: These individuals do a meticulous and comprehensive study of the market. This enables them to determine the potential profitability of various financial products or services.
To excel in this role, you will need a talent for mathematics. In addition, you will need to possess good analytical skills for analyzing the prevailing trends in the market.
- The Financial Auditor: These professionals review the financial records of various organizations and institutions. Then, they assess whether the financial records comply with the prescribed regulations, in addition to being accurate.
Auditors need to have a vast knowledge and a deep understanding of the various rules and regulations that organizations need to comply with.
Finance professionals receive better compensation for their work than their counterparts in various other work fields do. Situations around the world change with time. Therefore, don’t let the current global situation put you off. Instead, focus on your career and your priorities. Then, go about implementing your plans. Remember, that even during the worst of the great recession, people in the financial sector were enjoying bonuses.
