Is Finance a Good Career Path? | Top 8 Secrets to a Successful Career in Finance

Is Finance a Good Career Path? – Make the right choice now and see if a career in finance is good for you, as we have given some tips to help you decide.

This question has been frequently asked in most group discussions. This article seeks to provide an answer and also provide answers to related questions about finances like;

Do Finance careers pay well?
Is it hard to get a good job in Finance?
Is Finance a career path for the future?
What are the lists of careers in Finance?

What is Finance?

Talking about Finance, finance is a broad career path, it includes the way money is managed as well as the process of how funds are acquired.

Finance is broken into three aspects namely; personal finance, corporate, finance, and public finance. The level of skill and mindset in handling each aspect of finance differs even though they’re governed by the same Principles

The source of money is actually the management of it. The management of money can be done personally, through a bank, or through corporate funds. Having known all that you would agree with me that a career in finance would require not just understanding accounting principles, but having a clear understanding of the best measures for raising and investing capital.

list of financial career options

Corporate finance
Financial planning
Commercial banking
Investment banking
Public accounting
Hedge funds
A private entity, venture capital
Insurance
Financial service industry

Arguments for and against a career in finance (Is Finance a Good Career Path?).

1. Flexibility

A lot of job opportunities out there offer excellent balance in work/life. Accountants, for instance, are usually very busy with things like tax season, over time with experience the stress that comes with it reduces.

Although, some Finance careers like financial advisors may have few independent clients, which allows them the privilege to enjoy very flexible work hours.

2. Diverse Opportunities

Accounting is usually the first thing that comes to the mind of people each time Finance is mentioned or thought about. Other Finance careers include banking, financial analysis, insurance, hedge funds, enrolled agent.

Each of these careers offers its own education and benefits that come with it for your enjoyment. Note that each of these jobs has different requirements and skills to enroll in the field. An accountant, for instance, is required to pass the CPA in other to become certified as against a CFA certification for a certified financial analyst.

3. Awesome Salary

You would agree with me that individuals building careers in finance make a lot of money. In the United States, for instance, Google search would place a financial manager at number sixteen of the highest paying jobs. In fact the more you gain experience, your chances of earning higher salaries increases.

Another sweet salary on finance I like is that of the financial advisers. A lot of Financial advisors actually work on commission. The commission rate is a system where the amount of clients that are brought in and kept by the analyst determines the income. A lot of financial analysts have gotten six digits in revenue for themselves.

4. Utilize your Critical Thinking Skills

No doubt that critical thinking is paramount to any job in the finance industry. An inherent ability to use critical thinking, however, gets you lots of rewards. The Finance job requires that you think and plan ahead, not just think but do it quickly after analyzing financial information.

Arguments against careers in Finance; Is Finance a Good Career Path?

Anything that has advantages, usually have disadvantages

1. Continuous Education

This career will require you to continuously learn and implement new knowledge in the ever-changing market. Even though to some people, continuous learning wouldn’t be a problem for them while some will have a hard time putting up with that. You will be mandated to take yearly (annual) courses that will update you with new information. I personally consider this very important both for your integrity and for the protection of the client, because, in finance, any little mistakes can have unpleasant consequences.

2. High Stress

Tight deadlines are usually associated with a career in finance. The career requires analytic skills, high pressure while paying attention to details. When it comes to pressure, a lot of people find it very difficult to adjust to the lifestyle of pressures that seem unending.

Relating to both global and local economy is one pressure Accountants usually face, with clients dropping in and out depending on the market.

Clients can be highly emotionally reactive to the ups and downs of the stock market. You will find yourself most times monitoring and managing the emotions of the client so that they do not make rash decisions.

3. Meeting Quotas

This is actually one of the most stressful parts of a Finance career. The jobs within finance are required to meet certain quotas within a certain period of time, this leads to stress.

The demands in Finance job are very high that some people find it difficult to adjust. Considering the multiple sleepless nights involved, the assigned quotas from some firms with the deadline given, you will affirm that indeed the stress involved is much.

4. Cyclical Industry

Here is yet another disadvantage that comes with building a career in finance. It is job security for certain jobs. Understand that Financial services are a cyclical industry, usually, you find banks hiring when markets are rising, but they end up laying off a huge number of their staff during an economic meltdown.

Not all staff are usually affected by the Economic meltdown anyway, some senior financial analysts and product sales agents are rarely involved in this huge number of layoffs. It’s only a few jobs in the financial services industry that are really secure in a severe economic recession. Talking about economic contraction, the covid19 pandemic is one of such economic contraction.

Simply put that the finance industry is not for lazy and faint heart individuals even with them are numerous benefits that come with it.

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