4 answers
Laurel
Student
1
Question
Asked
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How do you get a job in finance?
How do you become a Finance for a job.
Such as colleges that are good for Finance and what courses to take in high school. I am in middle school and am interested in this job.
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4 answers
Jonathan Ostrowicki
Solutions Architect
3
Answers
Pensacola, Florida
Updated
Jonathan’s Answer
Hi Laurel!
To get a job in finance, work through these basic items:
1 - Ask yourself, "what do you want to do?". This might be hard to answer until you try. I like fish but I HATE anchovies! So make sure you experiment. Participate in activities like a math club, working a events where you handle cash, chess club (there is math hidden here!). When you get into high school, look for summer jobs and internships that will let you try more finance related fields.
2 - As you get closer to college, start looking into schools. You might want to wait till you have a better understanding of what type of finance IS your flavor. I myself am going to school for accounting right now, I chose my school based on the fact that I wanted a good understanding of tax law. And I also wanted costs to be reasonable. Better schools usually cost more. You may have a scholarship to certain schools, and it's smart to let that be a factor in your decision. Remember, you want to go into finance. What better way to practice good financial decisions then by weighing a schools cost versus, the education quality!
3 - As an alternate to college, you can look for companies in the financial field that will hire you as an entry level employee and also pay for your education. My company is paying for my degree!
4 - Most importantly, remember the following. You don't know what you do or don't like until you try. It's ok to make a decision and change your mind, that's simply learning outside of a classroom. Everything has pros and cons. You may get your dream job and hate it, but it pays well. Or you may get a job you love but it doesn't pay well. Only you can decide what makes YOU the happiest and why. Me personally, I enjoy helping people. And I can find ways do that no matter what job I do.
Best of luck!
To get a job in finance, work through these basic items:
1 - Ask yourself, "what do you want to do?". This might be hard to answer until you try. I like fish but I HATE anchovies! So make sure you experiment. Participate in activities like a math club, working a events where you handle cash, chess club (there is math hidden here!). When you get into high school, look for summer jobs and internships that will let you try more finance related fields.
2 - As you get closer to college, start looking into schools. You might want to wait till you have a better understanding of what type of finance IS your flavor. I myself am going to school for accounting right now, I chose my school based on the fact that I wanted a good understanding of tax law. And I also wanted costs to be reasonable. Better schools usually cost more. You may have a scholarship to certain schools, and it's smart to let that be a factor in your decision. Remember, you want to go into finance. What better way to practice good financial decisions then by weighing a schools cost versus, the education quality!
3 - As an alternate to college, you can look for companies in the financial field that will hire you as an entry level employee and also pay for your education. My company is paying for my degree!
4 - Most importantly, remember the following. You don't know what you do or don't like until you try. It's ok to make a decision and change your mind, that's simply learning outside of a classroom. Everything has pros and cons. You may get your dream job and hate it, but it pays well. Or you may get a job you love but it doesn't pay well. Only you can decide what makes YOU the happiest and why. Me personally, I enjoy helping people. And I can find ways do that no matter what job I do.
Best of luck!
Simona Zaffaroni-Lucas
Financial Analyst
28
Answers
Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
Updated
Simona’s Answer
Hi Laurel - my personal experience is that I did not train in Finance at school, but I landed a job in finance after joining my company and did other roles before, more operations oriented. These roles naturally progressed and I have been in finance for almost 20 years. If you ask me, do you like it, answer is yes but not just because it's my job. I like it because it gives me the opportunity to test myself, even after these many years, I have no financial degree per se but learned on the job and I continue to learn. Finance stimulates curiosity - so if you like to dig deeper.. this is an area that allows you to do that and investigate trends.. details, and, potentially influence decision making. You definitely support the business, and you an opportunity to keep yourself updated with technical skills but also communication.
But before starting to invest time and discard other opportunities, I would first check if this is what I would like to do and then get with people you know who may be able to recommend and show you examples. The decision ultimately is always yours.. it's important though to gather many facts that help you make a decision, for a career in finance, or any other area.
All the best!
But before starting to invest time and discard other opportunities, I would first check if this is what I would like to do and then get with people you know who may be able to recommend and show you examples. The decision ultimately is always yours.. it's important though to gather many facts that help you make a decision, for a career in finance, or any other area.
All the best!
Jake Farnworth
Financial Analyst
12
Answers
Indianapolis, Indiana
Updated
Jake’s Answer
Hi Laurel,
Having a career in finance can open up numerous opportunities with lots of companies since every company needs to understand their finances. I currently work in corporate finance which I almost stumbled upon since I didn't truly know what I wanted to do for a career until the middle of college.
I've always had a knack for numbers during school but wasn't sure how I could translate it to a career. During high school, I took an accounting course as an elective and enjoyed it which made me decide to pursue an accounting degree (and later decided to get my finance degree too since I only had to take a couple extra college courses). After deciding to get my finance degree on top of an accounting degree, I realize that finance was something I enjoyed more. I know many high schools are starting to offer personal finance classes which could be another option to help you decide if you want to go the corporate finance route or personal finance (help people manage their money which would involve building relationships).
There are many different reasons to go to a particular college for finance so doing some research online for what colleges have excellent finance programs can be a good start. You should also consider other factors that will be important to you (location, price of tuition, opportunities for internships, etc.).
All in all, it is important to truly reflect on if you would enjoy doing finance as a career (working five days a week doing finance for however many years). It doesn't mean you have to enjoy every aspect of a career in a finance, but you should enjoy most of what you would do on the day to day. This could also involve talking to people that currently work in finance and asking what they enjoy about their job and why these chose finance.
All the best,
Jake
Having a career in finance can open up numerous opportunities with lots of companies since every company needs to understand their finances. I currently work in corporate finance which I almost stumbled upon since I didn't truly know what I wanted to do for a career until the middle of college.
I've always had a knack for numbers during school but wasn't sure how I could translate it to a career. During high school, I took an accounting course as an elective and enjoyed it which made me decide to pursue an accounting degree (and later decided to get my finance degree too since I only had to take a couple extra college courses). After deciding to get my finance degree on top of an accounting degree, I realize that finance was something I enjoyed more. I know many high schools are starting to offer personal finance classes which could be another option to help you decide if you want to go the corporate finance route or personal finance (help people manage their money which would involve building relationships).
There are many different reasons to go to a particular college for finance so doing some research online for what colleges have excellent finance programs can be a good start. You should also consider other factors that will be important to you (location, price of tuition, opportunities for internships, etc.).
All in all, it is important to truly reflect on if you would enjoy doing finance as a career (working five days a week doing finance for however many years). It doesn't mean you have to enjoy every aspect of a career in a finance, but you should enjoy most of what you would do on the day to day. This could also involve talking to people that currently work in finance and asking what they enjoy about their job and why these chose finance.
All the best,
Jake
Rebecca Tang
Banking
1867
Answers
Hong Kong
Updated
Rebecca’s Answer
Hi, thank you for your question. I am glad to hear that you have interest in finance.
Below are my suggestions:
1. There are many careers in finance, eg fiance manager, financial analyst, financial planners, fund manager, investment analyst, trader, etc. You can find out more finance related careers online
2. Find out more on these careers and determine what you have interest
3. Speak to someone who are working in these careers. Seek guidance from your mentor, school career counselor, your parents, etc
4. Shortlist 1-2 careers you would like to pursue
5. Explore the entry criteria of relevant subjects in colleges
Hope this helps! Good luck!
May Almighty God bless you!
Below are my suggestions:
1. There are many careers in finance, eg fiance manager, financial analyst, financial planners, fund manager, investment analyst, trader, etc. You can find out more finance related careers online
2. Find out more on these careers and determine what you have interest
3. Speak to someone who are working in these careers. Seek guidance from your mentor, school career counselor, your parents, etc
4. Shortlist 1-2 careers you would like to pursue
5. Explore the entry criteria of relevant subjects in colleges
Hope this helps! Good luck!
May Almighty God bless you!