Finance careers require strong analytical, quantitative, communication and IT skills. Other skills that are preferred by companies across industries are:
-
Strong work ethics
-
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
-
Ability to work in a team
An individual opting for a finance career can choose from the following basic career paths:
-
Managerial finance
-
Financial services: This path offers four routes:
-
Banking
-
Securities
-
Insurance
-
Real Estate
-
Finance Careers: Banking
The employment outlook in the banking industry seems favorable. Banks prefer:
-
Graduates with degrees in finance or accounting with a marketing emphasis
-
Finance graduates with a technical background in management information systems and computers
Credit Analyst: This common entry level job would require you to evaluate business and consumer loan applications made to the bank. You would be:
-
Projecting a company’s future cash flows
-
Evaluating the company’s current financial soundness
-
Visiting and interacting with financial people at businesses
-
Dealing with lenders
Loan Officer: As a loan officer, you might need to specialize in commercial, consumer or real estate loans. The commercial loan officer:
-
Develops and monitors credit relationship between the business customer and the bank
-
Monitors the firm’s financial condition
-
Evaluates the creditworthiness of an individual or a business
-
Negotiates credit terms
-
Cross-sells the bank’s corporate services
-
Acts as a financial adviser to individuals and small firms
Branch Manager: In this position, you would beresponsible for:
-
Overseeing all the activities at your branch office, such as the opening of new accounts, loan originations, resolving customer issues and exchange of foreign currency
-
Supervising programs on installment loans, mortgages and checking, savings and retirement accounts, as well as other financial products offered by the bank to its customers
-
Establishing relations with customers
Many bank managers start as tellers or customer service representatives. Key skills to have for this position are:
-
Customer service skills
-
Empathy
-
Quantitative ability
-
Strong work ethics
-
Solid understanding of banking
Finance Careers: Securities
Some of the careers in the securities segment are:
Financial Planner: A planner advises his clients on budgeting, securities, insurance, real estate, taxes, retirement and estate planning. He also devises a comprehensive financial plan to meet the client’s objectives.
Stockbroker: Stockbrokers or account executives act as agents for people wishing to buy and sell securities. They provide:
-
Advice to customers on financial matters
-
Supply the latest stock and bond quotations and latest analyst reports
-
Respond to customer inquiries