The layout of financial jobs

Just for kicks, here is a brief layout of financial employers.

-Commercial banks (i.e. B of A, Citibank)

Commercial banks tend to ask less of their employees, pay less, and give them less interesting work. The plus side is that they offer better job security and there’s more room for shifting around the banking industry to find a better fit.

-Investment banks (i.e. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley)

Investment banks are considered the gold-plated jobs in the financial industry. They pay extremely well and offer some of the most interesting work in the industry. However, they also demand the most of their employees and aren’t afraid to fire anyone who isn’t top quality. Expect to work 15+ hour days and get laid off if you have a bad week.

-Hedge funds

Hedge funds are the cowboys of the financial industry. It is a very volatile industry and most employees can expect to be looking for another job within 6 months. In the meantime, they can make an obscene amount of money. And/Or be investigated by the SEC.

-Accounting firms

Accounting firms often have consulting or financial arms that offer work. Like most accounting jobs, they pay well, have good job security, and are often willing to pay for continuing education. The downside is that you are far from the action and since the top notch are in the previous three areas, it’s difficult to find someone good to learn from.

-Software companies

With a growing focus on complex mathematical models and thus increasingly fewer people who understand finance, statistics, economics, mathematics, and computer programming at the requisite level, financial companies have been outsourcing their computational needs to software companies. They have the same qualities as accounting firms. Software companies also tend to be small so there is even less room for upward movement.

The rule of thumb is that the closer you are to the money changing hands, the better and more interesting the job. Naturally, being close to the action necessarily means the job is very intense and employers demand a lot in time and quality. It should be noted that starting salary and bonuses are not a good measure of the quality of a job, at least not compared to the type of experience one gets, upward mobility, turnover, and the quality of the team. In the financial industry, if you’ve been in the same place for more than 2-3 years and haven’t moved up, you’ve been pigeon-holed and are in danger of stagnating.