A day in a life of a financial analyst.
A
financial analyst is a person who gathers information, assembles spreadsheets,
writes reports and reviews all the non-legal parts of all deals. The analyst
examines if a deal is doable and prepares an action plan accordingly. If
someone is looking forward to becoming a financial analyst, they better be
vigilant and highly aware cause the job requires a lot of reading, keeping up
with the news, market movements and keeping track of financial newspapers,
magazines, and books. Most financial analysts work in banks or
financial-advising firms, so a suit and classic corporate attire are mandatory.
Also, travelling for long amounts of time to various places is an important part
of the job. Furthermore, for a financial analyst to rise through the ranks,
they must attend numerous expensive social events and conferences with people
in the profession, so, an analyst sacrifices a lot of control over their
personal life in the first few years in their profession. Many employers use
bonuses to entice analysts to attract and bring in new clients to the bank or
the firm. Those bonuses can be up to twice as much as the analyst’s salary. A
successful financial analyst who uses their bonuses and their resources in the
right way, can go on to become senior financial analysts or associates. And
analysts with strong client contacts and strong knowledge can even start their
own financial consulting firms. Most financial analysts work for three or four
years and then return to school or continue to higher level jobs in banking. The job requires
working long hours and has very strict deadlines, so the occasional
fifteen-hour day and many nights spent sleeping in the office isn’t very fat
fetched, so the analysts are given a heavy load of responsibility. Because of
those long work hours, analysts feel very close and are very supportive to each
other; over 65% of analysts called their colleagues very supportive and many
even called them “major reason” they were able to put up with the heavy load of
work that comes with the job. Most people choose this career path because the
job is very well-paying, and it can be the best way to immerse themselves in
the world of finance. Even though they’re right on both of those statements,
the job is very demanding, and many analysts are drowned with work so, most of
them don’t get to spend the money they make with the people they love. The good
thing is, most people coming into the profession know that it requires long
hours and very hard work, so the burnout rate of financial analysts in the
first few years is less than 8%. Five years out, most successful financial
analysts move up to higher ranks or even go back to school to obtain a higher
degree. The higher the rank the better the bonuses. Bonuses count for most of
the income. Ten years later, successful analysts become vice-president of the
companies they’re working for and enjoy a big, well-earned raise, and even
though hours can decrease, responsibilities of finding new clients and new
business go through the roof. Responsibilities also include hiring new
personnel and making big decisions that can affect the company’s future.
