A Guide To Financial Careers

Welcome to the financial careers guide on Investopedia. This tutorial aims to provide you with information about many of the different careers in finance so that you can determine if one is right for you. We’ll begin with some background information on the financial industry, including a general overview of common qualifications and credentials that many employees have, as well as the main types of institutions that employ finance workers. Then, we’ll continue by looking at specific roles, including investment banker, trader, and portfolio manager, among others, and with an aim toward learning about what the different jobs entail. For each of these sections, you’ll find details about where those jobs are as well as the career path, qualifications, and other steps you might need to take in order to find a job in that area.

Although you won’t find everything that you need in order to make a considered career choice in this tutorial, you’ll hopefully find information that can get you started thinking about the possibilities of a career in finance. With that foundational knowledge, you’ll then be able to dig deeper on your own to learn more about those finance jobs which are especially intriguing to you.

We’ll start with some of the basic qualifications and credentials you’re likely to need in order to obtain a job in finance. (For related reading, see Business Grads, Land Your Dream Job.)