Is Finance a Good Career Path
The pros and cons of the finance career path.
You might be wondering, should I go down the finance career path? It’s a very tough decision to decide which path you should pursue. When thinking if the finance path is a good path for you, it’s important to understand the reasons to go down this path, and the reasons to not. It’s also important to know what the best finance jobs are. We created a comprehensive list regarding the Top Five Finance Jobs.
Here Are Four Reasons Why Finance Is A Good Career Path For You:
#1 Ultra-High Pay
Addressing the elephant in the room, Wall Street and finance jobs compensate their employees exceptionally well. It’s obvious why the finance career path is in such high demand: you make a great deal of money. Besides the enormous base pay salaries, the Wall Street bonus is also snowballing. According to CNBC: The average bonus paid to securities industry employees in New York climbed 20% to a record $257,500 for last year, according to state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
#2 Become an Expert Quick
In a finance job, you become an expert in whatever industry you are pushed into and are required to do work. College students enter an internship with the knowledge of 10 points in an industry, but they leave the industry with 1000. In other words, most finance jobs will provide extensive learning experiences that enable you to learn through research, deals, and different learning curves.
#3 Develop Teamwork Skills & Meet People
Finance employees typically work long hours (for example, 9:00 AM to midnight). You’ll work closely with the other people in your team and most cases, develop a tight bond that will last long after your time at whatever entry-level job you decide to join to enter Wall Street. Once you leave, you can leverage these valuable connections in whichever venture you pursue.
#4 Fantastic Opportunities
Investment banking and other entry-level finance jobs are essentially launchpads where employees work for one to two years at their entry-level job, such as investment banking, and then decide to move on and enter another industry that would be nearly impossible to achieve without having done the entry-level finance job. Investment banking, for example, can lead to private equity, hedge funds, asset management, corporate finance, corporate development, venture capital, and dozens of other industries.
While these reasons make the finance career path seem incredible, there are some downsides to working in finance.
Downsides Of The Finance Sector:
#1 Long Working Hours
Employees in finance work exceptionally long hours that usually last 80 to 120 hours. If you are willing to work an exorbitant number of hours, then the finance path may be the right path for you.
#2 High Competition
Almost all firms in the finance sector have an incredibly highly competitive culture that may make it difficult for individuals that aren’t willing to go the extra mile to be promoted. Suppose you’re worried about a highly competitive environment. In that case, it might be worthwhile to check out our Complete Finance & Valuation Course, taught by instructors with experience at Goldman Sachs, Tesla, Bank of America, and more.
#3 Highly Repetitive Work
Entry-level jobs in the finance sector do a lot of repetitive work which can get boring.
Now that you’ve learned the reasons to enter the finance path and why it might not be for you, it’s your turn to make the final decision. Thankfully, there are a lot of resources available to you right now. Here are some free resources regarding how to enter the finance sector.
Video Breakdown: 5 Finance Jobs Explained
Want to learn more about the top 5 finance jobs? Consider watching this video breakdown featuring expected compensation, work responsibilities, required skills, and more!
Additional Resources:
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