Positions and Responsibilities
Graduate finance jobs such as the positions for investment bankers, fund managers, stockbrokers, traders, investment analysts, finance managers, marketing directors, senior financial analysts, project managers, financial advisors, and many others, can be found mostly in banks, financial institutions, investment firms, and large business corporations. These jobs often have to do with handling corporate and individual investments through evaluation, planning, strategies, research, and portfolio management.
Graduate finance work requires people to be good at reading; analyzing and evaluating financial investments, helping clients plan their investment goals, and create strategies that will help them to achieve these goals. Investment bankers deal with institutions, companies, and governments as their clients who wish to enter into mergers and acquisitions. They also help to raise money for capital markets and advise on the most profitable buyouts and securing business deals.
Other jobs in graduate finance like fund managers handle pension funds, unit trusts, and insurance companies who do long-term investments; and investment analysts who help specific companies such as in retail, energy, or financial services with their investment plans through research and analyses of the investment sectors. Stockbrokers also deal with clients' investments and directly buy and sell in behalf of them, plan as well as advise appropriate company and fund investments and help manage these investments.
Most of these graduate finance jobs earn their keep by "selling" their expertise to the clients, corporate, and also individuals. With their academic background, trainings, and other qualifications, the people who are into investment work also have a better chance at earning more aside from their base pay. Most clients who are satisfied with the performance of their financial analysts or fund managers give out bonuses, incentives, and other benefits. These help to motivate the finance and investment experts to perform better each time.
A career in graduate finance holds better potential for those who go back to school for further studies. This means a better chance at career advancement, stability of employment, and a higher pay. Of the current executive positions held in various companies, banks, financial institutions, and investment firms, a master's degree in business administration was a common advantage. Sixty-five percent of men held these positions while women occupied 35 percent.
These graduate finance careers were held by MBA graduates who are senior financial analysts, financial controllers, project managers, chief financial officers, and chief executive officers. While the career advancement is a clear advantage for those who have pursued further studies, the higher salary is another advantage although the pay range may still differ by industry type, company size, experience of applicant, and location.
Salary
According to PayScale, New York City has the highest salary range for their executive jobs in graduate finance at $75,987 to $137,422. This is followed by Chicago with $68,361 to $124,186, then Houston with $60,976 t0 $111,915. Dallas offers from $61,002 to $111, 851, while Atlanta gives from $63,312 to $114,246. Among the most popular companies that give the highest salary range, Bank of America topped the list with $56,982 to $109,000; International Business Machines (IBM) with an annual salary range from $85,440 to $132,000; Hewlett-Packard Company
with $53,656 to 100,030; Microsoft with $98,519 to $119,001; and Northrop Grunman Corporation with $63,355 to $115,211.People who wish to pursue graduate finance jobs would do well to prepare in advance with a bachelor's degree in economics, accounting, business administration, or any business-relevant course. Since the jobs also require a lot of meetings, financial evaluation and planning, and a great deal of making strategies, one also needs to have good communication and interpersonal skills, creativity, good analytical skills, and loads of confidence. Graduate finance work also requires people to have good mathematical and problem-solving skills since the job obviously has to do with finance and investments portfolios.
Where To Look
A career in graduate finance can be found by browsing through job sites that can provide the list for the variety of positions and companies available. Better yet, check out FinancialServicesCrossing.com and find those options by industry, company name, position, type, and qualifications. At FinancialServicesCrossing.com, the job search will be so much easier and quicker because of these options. What's more, one can try out the one-day FREE trial to get on ahead with the job hunt, so sign up now and find your dream job from among the thousands of graduate finance jobs here!
