Careers in Financial Services

• Commercial Banking- Commercial banking offers many job opportunities for finance graduates. Many banks offer extensive management training programs to familiarize the graduate with all of the bank's operations. After completing the training program, which typically lasts one year, the individual begins work in one of the bank's departments focusing on a particular aspect of the operations. Those wishing to enter the investment banking and portfolio management areas of finance often find that the trust departments of commercial banks provide an excellent vehicle for gaining the experience required.
  
  
• Retail Brokerage, Financial Planning, and Portfolio Management- This area gives finance graduates the opportunity to provide financial advice to, and manage the portfolios of, individual investors. Financial concepts are used to analyze the suitability of various assets for inclusion or retention in the investment portfolio. Many finance graduates have found rewarding careers in this field as retail brokers and financial consultants.
  
  
• Insurance Companies- Insurance companies offer career opportunities including the sale of life, health, accident, property, and casualty policies to individual and group clients. Tailoring these policies to the needs of clients requires a high degree of interpersonal and qualitative skill. Additionally, the insurance industry offers a growing number of career opportunities in financial planning, underwriting, actuarial analysis, portfolio management, reinsurance, real estate analysis, security analysis, and risk management.
  
  
• Consumer Credit Institutions- These include savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, and credit unions, along with the consumer credit departments of commercial banks and finance companies. These institutions attract and pool savings from individual depositors in order to make real estate and consumer loans. Career opportunities for finance graduates include real estate lending, consumer lending, consumer savings, investment analyst, and branch operations trainee.
  
  
• Finance Companies- In addition to consumer lending, finance companies provide short and intermediate loans to businesses and engage in leasing activities. This requires close personal contact with the business borrower, and a knowledge of the current economic and business environment. There is a high degree of demand in this field for finance graduates in the areas of financial statement, market, and credit analysis, consumer and commercial lending, and lease analysis.