Working in Finance. It’s not for everyone
Is it for you?
This post is for those of you working in the field, interested in the field, or considering moving around, in or out of it.
7+ years in banking, I saw some interesting things.
From my perspective, here’s some things one might expect:
Opportunities for mobility and learning are generally abound. I’ve known many people who relocated from North Carolina to London, Florida to New York, Chicago to Asia..the list goes on.
Similarly, opportunities to change functions, apply for internal job transfers and move around business units are always there. I worked in 7 totally different areas in my time. If you like that sort of thing, it’s possible.
If you’re motivated to learn, there’s a wealth of information to be absorbed and generally all banks have stock piles of resources for their people.
Early in your career you’ll have more available time to look into personal development and extra learning. Get certified (in a number of tests — CFA, Series 6,7,etc,etc) ,MBA or Masters degrees, you name it — if it’s related to Finance and it can be learned — banking can really help out with that if you’re keen.
For some roles the nature of working in Finance is that you interact with numbers and your computer often. It can be fun, challenging and stimulating.. if you’re into that sort excel wizardry stuff.
I am, but I am also a people person. In my early years as an analyst I often wished for more team-based work than individual outputs — when I was younger I didn’t feel it happened often enough
Some people love the products, others not so much. I found stronger interests in areas outside Banking and Finance over time and I’ve seen many friends follow similar paths.
If you don’t live and breathe things like Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg and the like, the industry may not stimulate you over time and you might start feeling antsy for some change eventually.
It’s a competitive world, people aren’t always the friendliest and it can be a sink or swim type of environment.
If you’re one of those Type-A’s, great, you might have a chance to stay long term.
Just know that banking hours can be some of the worst around. Picture working all day, grabbing dinner at 9p+ and then going back to work afterwards. Might you like sleeping under your desk?
For some of these, they just come along with working in the industry.
If you’re considering embarking on a life transition and have questions or are looking for someone to talk to about your specific situation, I’d like to help you.
If you’re someone who’s been through a life transition and is willing to share your perspectives occasionally from time to time, I’d like to chat with you.
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