Finance is an industry that’s filled with numbers, money, and returns. People who work in the industry are always looking for new ways, angles, or strategies to generate more returns. It’s an industry that’s filled with a lot of different companies, subsectors, and areas within it. Over time, the amount of different strategies, funds, and companies has truly grown to include an incredibly wide diverse mix of niches within finance.
Finance Industry
The industry itself is centered around making money and maximizing the money you have. Whether that’s through investment, returns, or capital appreciation, companies are looking for different ways to grow their capital. A lot of companies are creating and utilizing a specific strategy, then going to large scale institutions to supply them the capital to put it into action. To make a significant return in finance nowadays, you need a large pool of capital. Most of the time, people go to endowment funds, pension funds, or institutional level capital to help them raise the necessary funds to pursue their strategies. This means a type of profit-sharing, or a piece of the profits they are able to produce for the institutions supplying the capital.
Breaking into the industry is tough in its own right. A lot of people try to get in through the financial analyst position. The financial analyst position is the entry level or starting level position within finance. A financial analyst is someone who’s tasked with executing and completing the lower level tasks needed to be completed. They are the ones who have to input data, format documents, and research whatever information is needed.
Being A Financial Analyst
The financial analyst position acts as a steppingstone in the world of finance. It’s part of the process and industry hierarchy that’s built. Companies want to teach you the industry by having you learn on a low level. Over time, the more projects, deals, or transactions you work on, the more expertise you’ll gain. It’s a tough task to really understand what’s going on within finance, and understand how everything is interconnected, but it comes with time and practice.
Understanding how to become a financial analyst is tough, because of the heavy amount of competition there is to get each position. Often times, you have thousands of applicants for a select few spots. This means trying to figure out a way to separate yourself or prove to companies that you are worthy of one of the select few spots they have to offer.
Getting the first position in finance is one that begins to open doors for you. It’s often the most challenging position to get, but once you’re able to get your foot in the door, gain some experience, and have some expertise to provide, it gets easier. Companies who play at a higher level of finance prefer not to train individuals and have to put in the work to teach them everything about finance. They are looking to shape or mold someone into the type of professional or employee they’re looking for. Instead of teaching them the basics and helping them build a foundation, they want to show you how they do things, and explain to you why they do it their way. In order to understand everything, you need a knowledge base, which often comes from a previous position, or a few years of experience.
Career In The Finance Industry
Once you’re able to get the first position, then it’s time to work in the industry. Working in the finance world is an interesting one to say the least. Odds are you’ll be handling tight deadlines, tough personalities, and lots of pressure. This means that it’s going to push you and force you to adjust and adapt to the people around you. Learning how to navigate the people you’re surrounded with, and the people you’re interacting with is an incredibly valuable skill and ability most people overlook. If you’re able to understand and put each person in the right place in your mind, you are 10 steps ahead of everyone else. It’s a lot easier said than done, especially when it comes to the workplace, and the work you do on a daily basis, but if you’re able to put it in the right perspective, you are in golden.
Building a career in finance has the ability to be one of the more profitable and fulfilling career journeys out there. There’s a lot of opportunity to build long standing relationships, and also produce very large checks for yourself. The pay is something that attracts a lot of people to the industry, with the hope that there able to receive a portion of it throughout their career. The people at the top of the industry, with the most experience, and expertise often get the largest sums of money produced by the finance industry.
All in all, finance is an industry that’s filled with a lot of ups and downs and takes years to learn how one small tiny sector or niche truly operates. The world of finance is always evolving, and has had a incredible shift in the last few years with the emergence of the internet. The industry has been forced to adjust and adapt to the needs of their consumers, and will be a fast changing, fast paced industry for years to come.