A Financial Analyst's Guide to Getting Ahead

A Financial Analyst's Guide to Getting Ahead

Have you planned to become a financial analyst? In that case, you have made a great choice; it awaits a great career path for you. However, like any career choice, there are obstacles on the way, and you need to navigate to reach where you want to go.

And to help you in this journey and make it easy, this is a brief guide on how to go about business as a business analyst.

Career Paths of a Financial Analyst

If you just passed out of college or university, and have just got hold of a bachelor's degree recently, then what is your ideal career path? Of course, graduates who are seeking to become financial analysts have to start somewhere. But where is this starting point?

• Start in a junior position

If you are a recent commerce graduate with a reasonable score, you can fulfil your dream of being a financial analyst. However, if you have graduated from any other stream, you will also face no issues. All you need to do is finish one of the AIMA-approved financial analyst courses; then, you are good to begin your career as an analyst in the finance sector.

Since the prerequisite is not that high, to begin with, you will find a lot of aspirants at this phase of your career. However, your attitude towards your work and the guidance you receive from others can set you apart from others.

Now, if you are a hard worker and willing learner, you can pick up on things easily and progress faster than others. Also, you may get assistance from seniors about the ins and outs of the trade and learn about it in detail.

• Go for a master's degree or online training

Since nobody wants to be stuck at the junior level throughout their career, going for a master's degree can help financial analysts progress. In an advanced degree, you will learn more about the concepts you are already working on and better understand them. Also, you can pursue management training after the master's degree to give your career an additional push. Also, an MBA in finance can be a great choice too.

Now, if you don't want all these hassles, then there are professional courses that can solve your problem. For instance, the Financial Analysis Prodegree course from Imarticus Learning can greatly help. It entails all the essentials of financial analysis that you need to know to progress in your career.

Moreover, this financial modelling online training also comes with placement assistance, so you are secured on that front as well.

• Advance to a supervisory position

After spending a few years as a senior analyst, you get some relevant expertise and experience as a senior financial analyst. Then you can head towards a supervisory position where an entire horde of senior and junior analysts will work under you. They will be performing various tasks like analysis of financial statements for evaluating investor opportunities, making financial models and building up a portfolio after assessing the stocks. All you have to do is monitor all these professionals who are working under you and make the right calls whenever necessary.

• Become a portfolio manager or a fund manager

After working as a supervisor, you could either head in the direction of securities or handles some investor's portfolio for them. You could also become a fund manager who again supervises a team of senior analysts. Overall, your sole responsibility would be to head a team, just like in the previous role. The only difference is that this team is considerably larger, and your responsibility is greater than it was before.

• Reach the top of the hierarchy – A CFO or CIO

After 10-15 years, when you start as a junior analyst and progress up the corporate ladder as a senior analyst and then as a supervisor, followed by becoming a manager, there is only one way up. That is when you enter a role in the company's senior management. Of course, these managers can also head down the treasury while supervising groups from several departments. But a prominent professional who has shown capability at every level could easily rise and assume the role of a CFO (chief financial officer) or a CIO (chief investment officer) and handle the company's entire range of financial activities.

Hopefully, this write-up has helped you understand what you need to become a financial analyst and what an ideal career path is for such professionals. So, without any delays, start preparing if you wish to reach the top ranks.