The truth is finance education prepares workers for all sorts of jobs within business which means an opportunity to find stimulating jobs.
Finance is one of those business fields that isn’t for everyone. Most finance students enter the field in the hopes of taking home significant salaries - which they absolutely do - but not everyone finds it as stimulating as they had hoped. The truth is finance education prepares workers for all sorts of jobs within business, which means those left-brained finance geeks can secure a job that pays well and provides interesting challenges every day. Here are six stimulating jobs for those looking to put their finance degrees to good use.
1. Investment Banker
Investment banker is one of those job titles that sounds glamorous - and if you do it properly, it certainly is. However, investment banking is a complex job that requires a fundamental understanding of capital markets, which means market-minded finance grads are the perfect fit. In short, an investment banker is responsible for advising corporations and governments on raising money in their capital markets. This takes many forms, from financing corporate expansions to arranging mergers and underwriting deals, but when the economy is healthy, investment bankers tend to really profit. Though Sandton is the most famous destination for ambitious investment bankers and finance graduates that hold advanced online degrees in finance, this profession can be practiced from anywhere - even overseas.
These are the latest Investment Banker jobs in South Africa right now!
2. Nonprofit Analyst
Nonprofit work is rewarding for all graduates, even those with practical degrees like finance. If giving back to your community seems important, you might consider lending your considerable talents to a nonprofit organization or charity. Nonprofits desperately need professional help balancing their incoming and outgoing funds, and financial planners and analysts are highly prized in this sector.
Unfortunately, many nonprofit organizations lack the deep pockets of corporations to pay finance grads as much as they might make elsewhere.
Read: If you want to save the world work in finance
Business leaders do outrageous things in the pursuit of money, and financial examiners are tasked with ensuring all finance-related business actions remain legal and ethical. There are two main focuses in financial examination: risk scoping and consumer compliance. Those within risk scoping aim to guarantee the safety of our financial system by evaluating the health of financial institutions. The latter group, those in consumer compliance, is dedicated to safeguarding borrowers. More specifically, compliance monitors attempt to reduce the rate of predatory loans, which are loans banks do not expect borrowers to be able to pay back.
Most often, financial examiners are associated with banks and similar financial institutions. On average, a financial examiner can expect a salary of R775 067 per annum.
These new jobs prove that Financial Analysts are always high in demand.
Not all finance grads are committed to the idea of using “hard skills” to maintain their careers. If this sounds like you, you might be interested in the field of business development. Business developers (see all new jobs right here) must understand markets, which might draw upon finance experience, but they must also be in-tune with products and customers, which requires a significant amount of communication, teamwork, and creative problem-solving.
Business development isn’t an entry-level job, but it isn’t a top-tier position, either. Though the typical salary for this job hovers around R716 980 per year . This position opens doors to other, non-finance-related leadership positions, even chief executive officer.
Such a job title should make any leadership-minded finance grad excited, but the truth is “controller” is more often being replaced by the more descriptive (and less thrilling) “chief accounting officer.” Still, CAOs have stimulating and satisfying responsibilities, as long as you enjoy the accounting aspects of finance. Typically, controllers spend their days reviewing profits and losses and writing financial performance reports that other chief executives can use to move corporations in more profitable directions.
Every business with a C-suite has a controller - even if the position does claim the slightly less exhilarating title of CAO. The average controller makes R859 435 per year.
Ready to take the leap? Visit the Finance section on Careers24 to browse the latest finance jobs in the market.
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Tiffany Rowe is a writer for Seek Visibility, contributing regularly to Careers24’s career advice section, with a focus on the finance sector. She is passionate about developing content and relationship across multiple platforms and audiences.
