Job Description
How do banks, securities firms, and insurance companies manage their money? They are guided by astute financial analysts or researchers who show them where their money should good and when they should invest their money.
Financial analysts are hired by banks, insurance companies and other similar organizations. Do not confuse a financial analyst with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). The CPA keeps the financial books in order but this could also be a function of a financial analysts.
Financial analyst jobs study the money market to identify promising investments for their clients. The main focus of the job is to analyze quantitative information of investment programs belonging to private and public organizations. The career has its fields of specializations. This could involve management of financial activities of public assets and resources, auditing, budgeting, taxation, and mergers.
These specializations involve expertise in risk evaluation and mitigation, financial analysis, forecasting, and consulting. There are finance research jobs that study movements of investments, cash management, and accounts reconciliation. Whatever the role or specialization, the duties range from entry level functions to executive management.
Professionals in this career should have a keen sense of observation and an inquiring mind. They should be able to seek important company details that may affect their clients' investments. They must have a broad and deep understanding of the workings of market stats.
A financial analyst is a busy person. There are meetings all days, reports to submit, company financial books and logs to read and analyze. Working hours can extend beyond the regular hours and most of the times they work on weekends. They must be motivated, creative, and able to keep ahead in a fast-paced work environment.
Educational Requirements
Applicants with years of experience are required for good paying finance jobs. But you can steer your career towards this direction by completing a four-year college degree. Accounting and Business Administration graduates can get into entry level positions in government and private companies. They can also land high profile finance jobs abroad in multinational companies.
A strong foundation of the college course is a basic yet important requirement. As a financial specialist one should be able to multi-task - collect and research quantitative and qualitative data, evaluate information and from these draw recommendations for investments.
The best degree for a career in finance is mathematics, economics, law, business, accounting, and finance. Students must have solid training in statistics and economics. They should also be well-grounded on taxation, estate planning, investment, and estate planning. A master's degree will further increase one's leverage in this field.
No license is required for a personal financial analyst but if one ventures into stocks, real estate and insurance, they have to get licensed. As one goes up the professional ladder, one must take and pass more examinations. Other requirements for the job are strong interpersonal skills, computer skills, analytical skills, sales ability and keen attention to details.
Job Prospects
It is projected that the demand for financial researchers or analysts will continue to until the next decade in 2018. The US Labor of Statistics reports that in 2008 alone, 250,000 jobs were held by financial analysts and most were hired as commodity brokers, securities, and insurance industries. The rest worked for government agencies or smaller private organizations.
The projection reflected in National Employment Matrix shows that 49,600 financial analysts would have been hired. The number represents a 20% increase from the financial analysts jobs filled up in 2008. Whatever state the economy is in, financial analysts will always be hired.
Job Compensation
A yearly package of median annual wage was $73,150 in 2008 according to the US Occupational Employment Statistics. The median group earned $54,930 to $99,100. The lowest annual wage recorded is less than $43,440 a year. Top financial research jobs or finance research jobs provided more than $141,070 in annual wages. The annual performance bonuses significantly increase the wages received by financial analysts.
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