Jenna Brown – The world of finance conjures up images of Wall Street tycoons that we’ve all seen in films. We imagine a life of luxury, grace, and ease. Perhaps, we think, a career in finance could help me own a beautiful home, drive a luxury car, and go on wonderful vacations.
For a few people, it might actually be as glamorous as they envision; after all, many CFOs in big corporations earn more than a million a year. Still, for the rest, it can still be pretty good. While you may not get into the six figure income bracket right away, you’ll be able to get into the high five figures quickly enough. After a few years experience, six figures will be a breeze. And, yes, even seven figures are eventually possible if you’re excellent at what you do.
Let’s look at four finance careers that have a high income and lifestyle upside:
1. Mortgage Loan Officer
The median annual income is about $62,000, and the projected job growth for the next 10 years is expected to be around 10 percent.
This position requires a college degree if you work in commercial lending, usually a bachelor’s degree in finance or economics. Residential lending is slightly less demanding, requiring an MLO License.
Besides a good academic background, what really counts is experience in banking, in lending, or in sales. Someone with the right academic background and enough experience can get an excellent job in either commercial or residential lending.
However, if you don’t have an academic background, you can still work your way up after years experience in banking, rising up through the ranks starting as a teller or customer service representative.
What really counts to be good at this job is salesmanship. Since selling is such an intrinsic aspect of this career, you need to have plenty of interpersonal, communication skills and sales ability. You should also have a strong desire to succeed. Fortunately, these are all learnable skills and organizations like Eagle Home Mortgage can give you the culture of support you need to excel in your field.
2. Personal Financial Advisor
The median annual income is about $89,000, and the projected job growth for the next 10 years is expected to be around 30 percent.
A bachelor’s degree improves your chances of landing a good job, and the best majors are finance or accounting. You may also need to get different licenses by from the SEC if you manage client investments.
Positions include working as a financial planner, investment consultant, or financial advisor.
This is a good job for someone who wants to own their own business because you will be able to advise people on their personal financial goals, helping them make investment decisions, decide on life insurance, and plan for retirement. The biggest skill you will need is in sales, as this will help you build your client list.
3. Financial Analyst
The median annual income is about $80,000, and the projected job growth for the next 10 years is expected to be around 12 percent.
It’s difficult to get this job without at least a bachelor’s degree, and your major should be in statistics, economics, finance, or accounting.
Positions include working as a risk analyst, treasury analyst, and finance analyst.
Essentially, you will be doing in-depth financial analysis, dissecting financial data to guide investment decisions. This is a service that is in high demand by government agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and even affluent individuals. You may work alone or as part of a team.
Using statistical analysis, you’ll be calculating risks and making finance forecasts, as well as look for market trends and review investment opportunities.
Your key strengths will be an understanding of statistics so you can interpret reams of data and provide sound investment advice to your clients.
4. Financial Manager
The median annual income is about $117,000, and the projected job growth for the next 10 years is expected to be around 7 percent.
Again, you will need at least a bachelor’s degree. Preferred majors are finance or accounting. Additional credentials like an MBA or a CFA will improve job prospects.
Positions include working as a treasurer, chief financial officer, controller, or finance manager.
As usual, experience counts for a lot, too, and several years experience will make a huge difference to your income level.
As a financial manager, you’ll be in charge of the financial well-being of an organization. You’ll assist senior management in making important decisions, analyze market trends, and review financial reports. In addition, you’ll manage employees within the finance department and prepare financial statements.
You can earn more than people in other finance careers if you work for a large corporation serving as a treasurer, controller, or chief financial officer. While six figures is the median, with end-of-the-year bonuses, you can be in the seven figure income bracket.
Choosing a Career
When choosing your college and degree, don’t just think about money, but also about what you like to do. If you like selling, then think about becoming a loan officer or a personal financial advisor. If you like statistics and figuring things out, then think about being an analyst. And if you’d like a chance to be part of the upper management of a large organization, then you might just want to look into becoming a finance manager.
Shift Frequency © Jenna Brown 2016 – Job Possibilities in Finance
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