Finance Salary | Finance Salary Advice + Tips

Finance Salary

Finance jobs are very popular, though it is sometimes very difficult to obtain them.

If you do find yourself in one of those coveted positions, you may be able to collect a huge

finance salary that will do a great job of carrying you through the present as well as the future.

The question however, is which types of jobs are available in today's economy?

Let's take a look:

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As always, financial planning jobs are going strong, even though they claim a much lower salary than say that of an investment banker.

This is a job that requires a a degree, and it requires an analytical mind.

In essence you will be planning out the spending habits of a company for a given year. You will have quite a bit of responsibility and you can expect to make approximately $44,000 per year.

Let's take a look at the investment banking field. As far as finance salary goes, this is one of the better choices because you can expect to start at $60,000 per year and eventually make your way to $100,000 or more per year.

Keep in mind that not everyone will make that high of a salary, but there are many who can reach the upper levels of investment banking and reap the rewards.

Right in the middle of the finance salary ladder we have the corporate finance jobs. This is a variable salary that can be controlled by the number of people employed by the company, as well as the intricacies of the finance reports.

In other words, the harder you have to work in this position, the more you will be paid in the end. You should of course work hard in any position, but the more you put into any company, the more likely you will be to earn that coveted six figure income that a finance salary is known for.

So what we have learned here today is that the majority of finance salaries will start at about $40,000 per year with the potential to raise to $100,000 or even $150,000 per year. One of the exceptions to this rule is the role of a personal financial adviser.

In this job category it is entirely possible for entry level employees to make around $32,000 per year, which honestly isn't that much different in comparison to some work at home jobs. The benefit however is the ability to earn a commission on the work you do.

Finding your way into a job that pays a decent finance salary will of course require a decent education. The degree you attain will depend on which field you really want to join.

For instance if you wish to be an accountant, you would have an accounting degree. Many aspiring finance employees however are pursuing an MBA rather than a basic accounting degree.

If they ever want to move up in their organization, an MBA will not only give them a better grasp on the inner workings of a company and the use of certain data software, it will also give their employers a chance to see what they can really do.

Employees who seek a career with a finance salary and have an MBA are more likely to be promoted and those promotions will come rather quickly. Just remember that getting the best finance salary starts with creating the best finance resume. The first thing you need to do is create your cover letter.

The cover letter will tell the company who you are and what you intend to do once you get your foot in the door. What will you bring to the company? How will you benefit them?

These are all questions that need to be answered if you truly want to gain that great finance salary, and once you do, you will not only have a great job, but you will also be well on your way to financial independence.

At some point you may even choose to leave your job and become a consultant. Consultants can not only choose their hours of operation, they can also choose their salary.

Before each job, they will negotiate the salary, whether it is based on performance, or based on the duration of the job. Either way, your finance salary will soar with this option making it something worth thinking about.

As you can see, a finance salary is worth pursing. If this sounds good to you, then make sure you give it a chance and see how far you can get. You may just be one of the lucky few who makes it to the top!

Finance Salary Information

Finance careers are some of the most popular and lucrative today. Jobs in the financial industry will offer an above average salary with excellent benefits.

To get that finance salary that finance jobs offer, then you must of course start to chart your course early and be prepared to put in the hours and the effort necessary including getting the appropriate university degree and demonstrate a general aptitude in financial matters.

There are number of subsectors within the financial services industry and each of these has its own average finance salary.

Financial planning careers feature towards the low end of the finance salary spectrum. However this is expected to change in future as the retiring baby boomer generation starts to experience the greater need for financial planners thus creating good future potential earning capacity for those financial planning professionals. This is according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.

Commercial Banking careers are not known for offering a high finance salary. Starting pay for an individual with a bachelor's degree is usually in the range of $40,000 to $60,000 per annum. Anyone with an MBA degree joining commercial banking can expect an entry level salary in the range of $70,000 to $100,000 depending on the institution.

Persons that have been in the banking industry for five years usually see their pay move upwards to anywhere in the range of $80,000 and $120,000 per annum. Some jobs in the commercial banking sector however, do attract a relatively high finance salary. A good portfolio manager can earn a salary in excess of $500,000. Chief Financial Officers can earn $300,000 to $500,000 plus performance bonuses.

Investment banking careers rank high up in the finance salary league. It is one of the most competitive areas within the finance industry. These high salaries of course come at a price as these jobs will usually demand working long and odd hours to meet client expectations. Wall Street is often considered the capital of not just US but global investment banking careers.

Starting salaries for individuals with a bachelor's degree (assistant or junior analyst position) can range from $60,000 to $70,000. Persons with an MBA degree will earn a starting salary in the range from $80,000 to $150,000. Bonuses will start at between 10% and 50% of one's salary and then increase to one to three times of your salary as time progresses.

Corporate finance careers are mid tier in the finance salary spectrum. Salaries here will depend on the amount of responsibility an individual has, the total number of employees in a company and how big and complex the corporate finance deals the individual handles are.

Corporate finance salaries start from $35,000 to $50,000 for persons with a bachelor's degree (Junior Financial Analyst) and $55,000 to $80,000 for MBA degree holders. As one climbs up the corporate ladder a corporate finance salary can go well into the six figures per annum range.

Then there are the hedge fund managers. This is another high earning finance vocation. As way of illustration, the highest paid hedge fund manager in 2008 earned salary and bonuses of over $2.5 billion. Hedge fund salaries are largely pegged on with how the fund performs. The better the return, the higher the salary and bonus earned by the hedge fund manager.

The flip side is that if the fund does really badly, the likelihood of one losing their job is high, sometimes regardless of how competent and skilled one may be or how difficult the market could have been over that financial year. The pay for even junior positions can very attractive often well over $200,000 per annum. Of course, if you want the best finance salary in the hedge funds industry you would be best served if you were to run your own fund. However, that is likely to take years of experience, skill and good fortune.

Overall, many finance salaries nowadays have an equity component (an employee share ownership scheme) which may not be realized for 3 years and sometimes even longer. This is to the employer's advantage as it makes it more difficult for people to move jobs. Following the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the finance industry has come under attack because of the high salaries.

In fact investment banking salaries for instance have gone down between 40 and 80 per cent from their peak in 2007. However, many finance careers still pay a relatively high salary as one of the means to retaining the best talent.

Financial Advisor Jobs

Are you good with money, and do you like to work with people? Financial advisor jobs involve working with people in some capacity to help them manage their financial goals.

With these types of financial advisor Jobs, you may also be an account executive, a broker, a stockbroker, or another kind of representative.

The bottom line, though, is that as a financial advisor, your job involves working with clients to help them meet their financial goals and take care of financial needs. You may also be called a wealth management advisor, for example, if you've had additional training, experience and/or certification in these areas.

Different types of financial advisor jobs

When most of us think of financial advisor jobs, we probably think of the person who works with individual clients and/or business clients, helping them manage their financial goals. Financial advisor jobs may also involve working with businesses rather than individual clients, helping them establish and then meet their financial goals as well.

What do you need to do to get financial advisor jobs?

You will have to have the right kind of background to get financial by jobs, starting with your education. Most often, it's helpful to get a bachelor's degree in an area like accounting, economics or finance, although not absolutely necessary. At the very least, it's helpful if you could take some courses in these areas.

You'll need to be very analytical and very good with numbers. Getting a master's in business administration can also help you get hired as a financial advisor, although again, that's not absolutely necessary. Most often, financial advisor jobs focus on performance, not academic background or credentials.

Becoming certified as a financial advisor

These days, it's necessary to take the Series 7 exam offered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; you'll also need to continue to meet continuing educational requirements throughout your career. While it used to be true that many Wall Street firms offered in-house training programs so that recent college grads prepare to become financial advisors, that's often no longer the case, with the downsizing and other cost-cutting measures that have needed to take place.

Because of that, it's more difficult these days to get financial advisor jobs -- and to get started in the business at all -- than it was even in recent years. You have a much better chance of obtaining financial advisor jobs if you've already got significant experience in the financial industry in another capacity.

To get financial advisor jobs, in general, you'll need to be sponsored by someone who is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. That is, your employer is usually going to have to sponsor you. Then, you can sit for the requisite Series 7 exam.

You may also need additional credentials to qualify, either to obtain certain positions in financial firms, and/or because you live in a certain state. For example, certification as a Certified Financial Planner gives you additional qualifications beyond simply having sat for and passed the Series 7 exam; this can increase your marketability both for prospective employers and for clients, too.

What do financial advisor jobs entail?

If you are a financial advisor, you counsel clients on various investment opportunities, based upon what your client needs in terms of goals, timeline, and how much risk they can take. You need to keep on top of your clients' investments, keep abreast of new investment strategies and vehicles as they come on the market, and will need to constantly monitor the financial markets as well.

You'll need to be very confident of your decision-making and be able to do so under extreme pressure and sometimes uncertainty. You'll also need to be able to convey a sense of calm confidence to clients, and you'll need to be very good with people and in your communication skills. Because failure and dissatisfied clients will sometimes happen with this job, you'll need to be able to handle this psychologically as well.

Your success in financial advisor jobs will depend on your ability to be a salesperson, whether it's to convince new clients to come on board with you, or to present certain investment ideas to clients you already have.

What's a job as a financial advisor like?

It should be noted that a career as a financial adviser is certainly not easy, and you'll generally be putting in between 60 to 80 hours a week, perhaps more if you work for yourself (another option for financial advisor jobs). You'll need to be committed to excellence and to growing either your business or that of your employer, depending on your situation.

Nonetheless, you dot have a certain amount of autonomy, even if you work for a corporation and not under your "own shingle," so to speak, because you'll need to be able to meet with clients as it's convenient for them; therefore you'll need to be flexible.

The job is high pressure, and if your decisions are wrong, it can cost you clients and even your job. Nonetheless, this is a very enjoyable job for people who have the right skills and temperament, and it can be very rewarding as well. Top earning financial advisors in financial advisor jobs, in fact, can make over $1 million a year.

Financial Services Jobs

The financial services industry is renowned with being a career magnet for many a college graduate. Of course this is not surprising. First, the fact that financial services jobs deal with money is a one of the key reasons for the allure.

Second is that finance jobs are known to have a compensation level that is above the country average with the performance bonuses being the highest of any industry.

The financial services industry is characterized by a greater emphasis on performance in order to advance in one's career. This highly results oriented work ethic such as is evidenced in the major Wall Street firms often leads to very young people sometimes holding very senior positions in a firm.

This has seen many young people be drawn to these careers with the hope that they too can quickly progress up the career ladder at a young age.

Financial services firms are also relatively small in their human resource head count in comparison to the size of their revenues. There are global financial services firms that boast tens and even hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide but even this is relatively low when compared to companies in other industries with similar revenue.

Financial services jobs often have few tiers of management with the intention of making the decision making process much faster than it is in other industries.

This shallow hierarchy means that senior staff is usually more approachable and accessible for people working in financial services jobs. There are low levels of internal bureaucracy as far as intra-organization communication goes. Processes though can take a more bureaucratic angle sometimes a good example being approval for certain levels of credit facilities.

But the low head count also has its downsides. Financial services jobs will more likely have to handle and multi-task between several varied responsibilities within their job description. In fact, there are many times when someone will be called upon to do things that may not be within their original job description; their participation will be expected as long as it all works toward the firms overall success.

Such financial services jobs that have either a broad job description or diverse duties have their advantages. First, they are highly paid since they consolidate two or more jobs into the hands of one individual thus saving the company on additional staff expenses.

But they also give the person tasked with the work a wider professional experience without the need to change jobs or transfer to a different department. Such a job demands that one has high level of energy in order to manage the different stakeholder demands.

It is never surprising for persons handling such multi faceted roles to progress into senior management since they already have experience with jobs that interact with multiple functions and business units.

Financial services jobs require individuals that are quick thinking since speed is of paramount importance. There are many times where failure to act or react quickly enough can cost the company or a client huge amounts of money.

You will be required to work incredibly hard but still remain focused and demonstrate commitment to the organization's goals. It is for this reason that some people will find financial services jobs hard work and unbearable while for others the adrenaline rush is exhilarating bordering on addictive.

Not all financial services jobs will make you a huge salary. The financial services industry is in itself internally complex with many different lines of business. The banking and insurance sectors usually have less attractive compensation packages than jobs in investment banking and hedge funds. The lucrative pay comes at a price of course.

Many financial services companies employ what is known as support to production ratio. In essence, this the cost the company spends on each employee versus the revenue that the employee generates for the firm. Institutions that pay the highest usually take the most aggressive stance in their support to production ration in an effort to keep expenses at a minimum.

Overall, financial services jobs can be some of the most satisfying careers one can get into but only if they are prepared for it. Careers in the financial services industry can be quite stressful and the long hours can have a strain on anyone not prepared to deal with it.

If one manages to hack it the benefits of these tenuous hours can be worth it. In fact, many people see the high compensation as the reward for the stress one goes through in financial services jobs.