Top List of Careers in Banking and Finance with Attractive Pay| Greatcrackers.com
Are you thinking about which career you (or someone else) can explore and earn attractive pay in the banking and finance industry? In this article, you’ll discover a top list of careers in the banking and finance sector.
But before we delve into this top list… let’s briefly look at what banking and finance mean?
Banking and finance
Banking and finance as a phrase is something you’ve probably heard hundreds of times in high school, college or varsity. Whichever is the case, banking and finance are adopted to capture the services and operations of both banking and non-banking institutions.
Also, the prevalence of the term banking and finance shows the overlap between the functions of banking institutions (activities of banks) and those of other finance companies (non banking institutions).
As you know, banking encompasses the various activities banks perform, ranging from protecting the deposited money of their customers to giving out loans and other financial services.
Non-banking institutions include insurance companies, private equity firms, pension funds, brokerages, investment funds, and venture capital firms, among others.
Now, here are the professions on the:
List of Careers in Banking and Finance [Most popular and with attractive pay]
1. Personal financial advisor
Median annual salary: $70,216
Finance is so essential to the life of every individual. Yet many still find it daunting to manage their funds to achieve their short and long-term financial goals. Fascinatingly, that’s what you help your client(s) to do as a personal financial advisor.
You help them plan for different money matters in their lives. Ranging from plans on children’s tuition and other educational expenses and retirement plans to fiscal issues such as taxes, amongst others. That’s because money management is an important life skill many don’t have today.
2. Accountant
Median annual salary: $58,600
This is one of the most prestigious job roles in the list of careers in the bank and finance industry. Why? The answer is simply because of its significance- and how it influences the business and economic decisions of the management team of any company.
And the job involves recording, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting a firm’s financial statements regarding income, expenses, liabilities, and assets. And to get started in this role, you need a bachelor’s in accounting (or accountancy). But then, some demanding and more senior job roles require professional certificates, depending on what’s obtainable in your country or region.
3. Financial Analyst
Median annual salary: $61,949
Both individuals and businesses make investment decisions. Some of which lead to enormous losses. But as a financial analyst, you use your expertise to help them make the best decisions.
That’s why many companies employ competent financial analysts. But to qualify for the post of a financial analyst in any business organization, you need a Bachelor’s degree for a good start.
Yet some companies have a preference for a master’s degree, as well as related professional certificates.
4. Bank Teller
Median annual salary: $99,126
Bank Tellers are those customers make first contact with when they walk into a banking hall. They accept deposits, and process withdrawals for customers and cash checks.
Thus, as a bank teller, you must be good at counting money and dealing with figures with maximum carefulness. Aside from paying attention to detail, you need to be able to multitask without that affecting your speed and accuracy.
Also, while you need problem-solving skills to be effective as a teller, you need nonverbal communication skills to be able to relate with customers very well. [Learn how to career objective for a bank teller job]
5. Auditor
Median annual salary: $62,541
Auditing is another well-paying profession on the list of careers in banking and finance. What do auditors do? You’d ask.
Auditors are professionals who crosscheck the work of an accountant(s). In other words, they double-check the financial records and statements already prepared by an accountant(s) to determine their accuracy, how true and fair they are, and how they comply with statutory regulations. Either at the state or the federal level.
So your job as an auditor is to prevent fraud by spotting any irregularities in preparing and presenting financial statements. But then you need a BSc in finance or related business courses. Depending on the job role and responsibilities, your employer may request professional certifications such as CPA accreditation, or as the case may be at the point of recruitment.
6. Branch Manager
Median annual salary: $61,956
Getting a job in the bank can be somewhat taxing. It’s even more demanding when one is trying to get the position of a bank branch manager. But with the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience, you have a higher chance than your competitors.
What does a branch manager do? He oversees the business operations of a particular branch of financial institutions. Branch managers make plans and see to their proper execution. And some of these plans have to do with budgeting, hiring and training of staff, and sales, amongst others.
A bachelor’s degree (preferably in banking and finance) is the least educational requirement. But other jobs may require professional certifications and experience in the banking or finance field.
7. Bank Statistician
Median annual salary: $63,286
A statistician is a trained professional that gathers quantitative data, analyzes them, and interprets them to enhance good decision-making. And interestingly, while carrying out statistical procedures and analyzing and interpreting results may not be a fun role for many, it is significant to different sectors of the economy.
So, as a statistician in a bank or finance company, you engage your knowledge and skills in data collection, analysis, and interpretation of results arrived at to stakeholders and ultimately the management team for informed economic decision making.
But to get started in the job, you need a degree in Statistics, economics, or mathematics, as the case may be.
8. Loan Officer
Median annual salary: $70,044
Loan officers are individuals hired by financial institutions who give loans (either personal loans or mortgages). And they help people in the process of identifying and applying for loans, even as they examine the capacity of these applicants to pay back. By carefully assessing factors like their job history, income, credit history, and others to help determine their credit worthiness.
Becoming a loan officer requires a good level of self-confidence, communication skills, and interpersonal relationships. It’s a good career choice if you like dealing with people and helping them solve their financial challenges through loans.
9. Relationship Manager
Median annual salary: $59,325
Every business or company needs a good customer base to thrive. In other words, no customer, no business. So as a relationship manager in the finance or banking sector, you help your company to establish and sustain trusting relationships with its clients. Both new and existing ones.
But to do that, you need excellent communication skills, coupled with a solid knowledge of your company’s products and services. That will allow you to use some essential qualities and skills of customer service.
10. Collector
Median annual salary: $37,344
A collector is an officer that identifies outstanding debts by keeping track of the assigned account. He contacts debtors and negotiates payment plans with them. In other words, as a collector, you create and implement strategies geared toward the recovery of outstanding payments of debtors.
A collection job is quite a high-stress job as it usually involves working with light deadlines and targets. However, you’ll need negotiation and communication skills to succeed in this job. Most companies only require a high school diploma in their job posting for the role of a collector.
This job title often gets raised eyebrows from many, but then that doesn’t override the significance of their role to financial companies, especially lending institutions.
11. Asset Manager
Median annual salary: $88,985
Asset management is one of the professions on the list of careers in banking and finance. And it involves building, organizing, and managing the portfolios of clients.
Thus, as an asset manager, you help your clients to minimize risks by giving them recommendations concerning asset acquisition and investment. And some of these assets include bonds, stocks, precious metals, real estate deals, and others.
Aside from a degree in business, finance, or related discipline, being an excellent asset manager requires good analytical and problem-solving skills. On top of that, you need strong interpersonal relationship skills.
12. Bookkeeper
Median annual salary: $45,816
Why is a bookkeeper in this list of careers in banking and finance when the job title “accountant” has appeared? You may want to ask. The answer is simple.
While the role of a bookkeeper and accountant in a company may overlap, they perform distinct responsibilities.
As a bookkeeper, you ensure the accurate day-to-day recording of a firm’s financial transactions in the ledgers as they occur. Some of these ledgers include sales ledgers, purchase ledgers, and cash books, amongst others.
In other words, you provide background information that the accountant will work on, neatly summarized in the trial balance. At this trial balance stage, the accountant takes it up from here to prepare the financial statements of the company in question. A degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business Administration is a suitable educational requirement for the job role of a bookkeeper.
13. Foreign exchange trader
Median annual salary: $79,593
Foreign exchange traders are also known as currency traders or forex traders. And they are professionals hired by financial companies or a group of clients to trade currencies on the foreign exchange market, the world’s largest financial market. However, some of these trade for themselves.
14. Risk Manager
Median annual salary: $120,512
A risk manager is a professional employed by a company or an organization to identify and ascertain the financial, safety, and security risks inherent in their business operations. It doesn’t stop there.
With his in-depth knowledge of the business operations and industry, a Risk manager maps out actionable plans that are then carefully implemented to reduce these risks already identified.
But there are more things to know about risk managers and their job descriptions.
15. Economist
Median annual salary: $90,251
Economists are experts with sound financial backgrounds and with analytical and problem-solving skills. Their role involves examining and analyzing market trends based on financial aid socioeconomic data gathered from research surveys.
And through this data, they provide informed and expert advice to businesses and the government. In any case, there’s more to what an economist does.
Other lists of careers in banking and finance
There are hundreds of careers in banking and finance since it has a broad nature. Thus, the careers we’ve considered above are just part of this long list of careers in banking and finance.
However, below are others:
- Bankruptcy/Foreclosure Coordinator
- Business Analyst
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Common Trust Fund Accountant
- Consumer Credit Analyst
- Escrow Manager
- financial planner
- Investment Management Operations Analyst
- Investment Management Specialist
- Junior Analyst
- Lending Manager
- Loan Support Specialist
- Mortgage Consultant
- New Accounts Banker
- Portfolio Manager
- Quantitative Analyst
- Securities Trader
- Trust Asset Manager
Common skills jobs on this long list of careers in banking and finance
1. Analytical skills
Many careers in banking and finance require one to be able to analyze data for sound decision-making.
2. Attention to detail skills
This is the ability to pay attention to detail. Because a little mistake arising from negligence to an essential detail in a term of the contract can cause an individual or a company fortune.
3. Calculative skills
Calculative skills are simply a knack for figures. And since the banking and finance sector purely deals with money, everyone that wants to pursue a career in this field must have numerical competence. Take, for example, as a bank teller you need calculative skills to count money and do other calculations.
4. Communication skills
Communication skills include both writing skills, speaking skills, and nonverbal communication skills. These skills altogether will make one be able to distill complex financial information and disseminate it to relevant stakeholders.
5. Critical thinking and Problem-solving skills
The list of careers in banking and finance requires the ability to think critically and come up with solutions to situations that may pose one challenge, or the other.
6. Customer service skills
Customer service skill is the competence to relate with customers to ensure they derive maximum satisfaction from your product or service.
7. Emotional intelligence
This is the ability to take charge of your emotions and manage stress at work without it affecting your level of productivity.
8. Negotiation skills
Different business meetings and various types of bargain occur in the corporate setting. This makes it paramount for you to possess effective negotiation skills if you’ve decided to pursue a career in banking and finance.
9. Self-confidence
Your self-confidence usually affects your motivation to work, directly or indirectly. And this comes from building a strong self-esteem.
Top institutes in the world that have a list of careers in banking and finance
As said earlier, banking and finance have broad disciplines and have many career options, which one can study in formalized institutions. Thus, the following includes some of the top schools in the world where you can learn these courses (in no order of significance):
- Columbia University
- Esade Business School
- ESSEC Business School
- EU Business School
- Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
- HEC Paris
- IE Business School
- Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
- London Business School
- MIT Sloan School of Management
- Rey Juan Carlos University
- University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management
- University of Dundee
- University of Fraser Valley
- University of Kent
- University of Oxford, Said Business School
- Yorkville University
Conclusion
Choosing a career in the banking and finance sector shouldn’t be based only on the size of the pay. Though it’s a crucial factor to consider, the reason for the long list of careers in banking and finance, which has been presented and explained to you. And since most of these jobs involve money and figures, you must possess attention to detail skills to avoid making mistakes at work.
Note:
Information about the median annual salary of each profession on the list was obtained from Salary.com except that of the Relationship Manager, which was extracted from Ziprecruiter.com.
