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.