Ranking Finance Careers (Tier List)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 พ.ค. 2024
- Here is a tiered ranking of many of the career opportunities in the finance industry.
Link to my course- The CFA Study Blueprint:
aj-srmek-s-school.teachable.c...
See how many of them stack up relative to one another. This list includes many of the most common careers in finance. These rankings are my opinions, but also consider some of the more popular opinions out there. Decide on your career in finance using this tier ranking list!
If you have an idea of something you want me to cover in depth, please let me know because I take your requests seriously. Will be back with more CFA Exam tips in a couple of weeks so please submit more questions you would like to hear answered. Love you all!
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** The information in this video is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional financial advice. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your financial or tax professional**
Spoke to a charterholder today (in real life). He said it’s about the journey, not the ending. He said enjoy studying, don’t do it if you’re stressing out. He said it’s suppose to be enjoyable and enlightening.
@ Star Lord
That's true. Its about the attitude
More of ' I get to do it' instead of ' I have to do it' as Mark Meldrum said it.
I agree that is is very much about the journey, but not that studying needs to be enjoyable. If people only studied when they enjoyed it, there would be very few charterholders.
100% true
100% correct. I won't lie and say that career prospects wasn't a consideration in me taking it but I also took it because I wanted a better understanding of how the world works and boy have I gotten that understanding. Nothing on the news seems alien to me anymore.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 AJ with the straight talks *fire emoji*
Severely accurate depiction of retail banking lmao.
lol I guess you've had some experiences with those angry customers
this hit home
Retail banking is awful. Another terrible thing is the job security, I myself got laid off in March from a firm-wide restructuring. Retail banking jobs are super disposable. I'm looking to move into a non-sales position going forward!
I work in corporate finance but for a smaller company that’s not yet public and I really like it. I get solid variety in my work and get to have some input on decision making. Also the worklife balance is AWESOME which isn’t typical of finance. Hybrid work and only like 25-35 hr a week!
What is your educational background?
Was that your first job out of school or did you work a few different places to build a resume first? I have heard similar experiences among finance jobs working with smaller companies!
I am also curious what the best path to get into this role is. I would also love to take this kind of route. Did you have to do work in investment banking before jumping to corporate strategy? Or how would you recommend someone goes about getting a role like that?
@@andrew6226fr im curious too
damn how much do you make ik its kinda personal but just asking
I find the DCF models the most interesting part of equity research, coming up with forecasting ideas is really exciting for me.
that may be because you just graduated from college and/or are still in school. in the real world, nobody gives a shit about bullshit forecasts. if you have money and can make good returns on it, nobody cares about how you make forecasts. whereas if you don't have any money to manage and want to pretend you're relevant, you will come up with all types of fancy forecast models to justify your existence. again; nobody cares.
Fantastic video 🙌🏻
Thank you !)
Great list, lines up with what I hear. I'm aiming to get in Broking which is basically sales but in Commodities which is less public facing than stockbroking, should be more interesting and secure.
I’m a MBA graduate (Finance), currently playing professional basketball in Europe. The last bit at the end about not loving anything you have to do everyday felt like you were talking to me personally. Thanks for the video, I don’t have any traditional work experience in the field and this video has helped me a lot.
What team do you play for?
As a tall af dude, I wish I gotten into basketball but I had my growth spurt in college
Just feel out of place where I'm at lol, I would rather priotize my health and happiness. Ideally I could work a job that allows me to travel and live my best life, but that's never going to happen
@@resa574how tall are you and what job do you work
Bro's Wemby
hey man, im currently a junior in highschool i just transferred to the U.S for basketball and im looking to pursue finance as my major in college. I have some questions if that’s okay and would love to speak to you about this. Please reach out if you can
Retail banking here. Worked my way up to being an investment/portfolio affluent banker. When you have the Series 7/66 and are a higher up banker, you don’t help just anyone off the street. The regular bankers do that and they have to transfer all the high affluent customers to you. You make a rather big salary and if you are successful in bringing in new clients, you get big quarterly bonuses too. Not the best career but definitely not D tier. Maybe c+ to b tier.
I work in Retail banking for JP Morgan Chase. I think your job description of it is fairly accurate. I almost left the positon then found a differnt branch located near the 1% earners of my city. I will say the job becuase fairly lucrative and rewarding if you can join the 1% of high achieving branches in my opinion.
Great info!
I really enjoy compliance, easy work, good pay, excellent work life balance. I listen to podcasts and music all day working on reports due weeks in advance. It's chill and i love it
What were your majors in college?
@musazwane6049 political science and history, so I have a good sense for regulations. Worked out nicely
@@TT-qc2mu great. I'll look into it as well. Sick and tired of accounts department with the long hours. I'm bailing😂💔
@musazwane6049 good call, I personally like the back office life even if it's boring to some. I came from a call center where it was beyond stressful. The pace here is much better.
Fixed Income research is work life balance at its finest. Can't believe it ranks on par with Investment banking. You get decent pay, and the skills without the back breaking work.
What city do you work in? Just curious, thinking about switching degrees and that was recommended to me in finance degree targets
Thanks for your great content 🙏👌💯
Video was really helpful. I work in compliance and i HATE it. I need an alternative role in Finance.
Honestly, Retail Banking was the absolute worst finance role I have done, literally just getting yelled at all day lol, especially with lending where you have to turn people away for loans/mortgages, etc :(. So glad to be a CFP and working in wealth management now. I love it, it's so rewarding (excluding the last 10 months lol, but it's still rewarding to give guidance during hard times)
Do you think commercial banking is better ?
@@saidalcapone3964 I am not sure! I have not been in commercial banking so I cannot say. I can imagine it may be more interesting as you're dealing with corporations and likely more affluent clients. I do know that the Capital Markets sides of banks are really neat as well as I have a few colleagues at a few FI's in those. There are so many places you can explore in FI's!
Aren’t they the same? You are still serving retail clients?
@@wallstreetzoomer not at all! I mean yes, you are working with people, but you are not working with day to day banking transactions. You are working with your own set of clients, who you pick, and who want to be there and want your help. I have about 300 clients, I don't need any more than that, and they love the work I do for them, and I love working with them. It's completely different than dealing with the general public and thousands of clients in a year.
@@saidalcapone3964 I can't speak to commercial banking, I am not sure what it's like over there and I don't have any work-friends of personal friends who work in it. Sorry I couldn't be more help!
I agree that we do NOT have to love what we do. It is work. Period. Nothing magical about. But yes, your list is well shared and summed up. Thanks!
I agree, we do have to tolerate it though lol
Thanks for this incredible video. How will you rate jobs in risk management profiles ?
I am not in finance but this video was informative, thanks! I like that there aren't any S-tier jobs.
Maybe the stier jobs are global marcroeconomics you feel me
Truth be told:
An accounting or finance degree opens up many opportunities for you!
But in general most jobs are very boring. I love the business area and I graduated in finance, today I am also graduating in accounting (which is exclusive to the market here in Brazil).
Despite these two degrees, my main highlight is in the area of business management.
Focusing on business performance, increasing sales, reducing costs, expanding profit margins and good financial planning for investment applications while maintaining fiscal and accounting integrity.
At this point, a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting is extremely important in my career for me to be a Manager/Controller/CEO with strong management skills aligned with a high technical level in financial analysis.
hey there Im a fresh high school graduate (currently trying to understand which subject to study in uni )
and you spoke exactly my mind (main highlight is in the area of business management.
Focusing on business performance, increasing sales, reducing costs, expanding profit margins and good financial planning for investment applications while maintaining fiscal and accounting integrity.)
I want to to be a manager / CEO / product manager in future , I'm good at leadership roles and analytical thinking
but the problem is Im confused whether I should to study finance or economics in my undergrad or any other business subject like management . Personally I dont like accounting that much that's why i didn't mentioned it
can you kindly share your insights and thoughts on what cloud be the best fit for me also keeping the future ?AI revolution in mind ?
kid regards,
Great informative video!
Thanks!
Not sure why you didn't mention Commercial credit. It's related to fixed income, but quite a bit different. The hours are very good and the pay is decent. Really underrated job.
Lies under corporate finance
@@sean4850not the same
Why nobody includes corporate banking areas in these lists? There's so many types of finance activities that are not even mentioned, debt financing, global markets, transaction banking, etc.
Totally agree about IBD, worst days in my career by far
But was it worth it?
Thanks!
I really enjoyed this video thanks
Thank you Aj! Very cool!
ex Big 4 consulting, presently a software engineer at a FAANG company.
GMAT score 760 (2 weeks back).
I will spend some time learning about corporate finance
As of now, I don't really have a clue but it's common knowledge that this industry pays well.
Thank you for another great video.
I am in wholesale, working on my MBA, already completed the CFP coursework. For what the job entails, and understanding sales is a skill that can be developed, it can be very rewarding. Unfortunately it seems like there are 100 wholesalers calling each advisor on a daily basis. I can't tell you the last time I've genuinely pitched a product without expressed interest from the FA. You can make the job pretty tolerable and the compensation does come along with that if you figure out a process that feels comfortable to you. It can be a pretty brutal job if you get into a sweatshop (I won't name them, but there are multiple) - 50 calls, meeting requirements etc. Find a decent boutique and while you may sacrifice a small amount of compensation, you will at least have autonomy. With the MBA and CFP, I think the only other thing I could see long-term would be a move into wealth management. I'm sure it feels less transactional than wholesale, but at the end of the day I really care about the advisors that choose to work with me. I'm not the typical type-a sales guy, I struggle with the rejection, I do find it stressful, but I seem to be decent at the sales process and reading people.
Hey Gabe,
I really like your perspective on this. Best of luck to you!
AJ
Head of Portfolio Management at for a large RIA/OCIO here. You are right. So many wholesalers. Anywhere from 60-90 emails every day. 10-25 phone calls/voicemails. Just from product providers. ETFs/MFs, SMA managers, capital raisers, PE firms, Alts aggregator platforms (CAIS, iCapital), analytics providers, research providers, forever. It's too much. Sorry, most get deleted after a quick scan.
The actual work at an OCIO doing the investment allocation and selection process is probably one of the best jobs in finance. I agree that the asset management jobs are A tier, and for certain firms (a very open-minded SFO or OCIO firm), easily S-tier. I love my job, It is super interesting, challenging, and well-compensated. And I can work 100% remote forever. Win-win. Make NY salary in a state with 60% lower cost of living.
amazing video! but how about risk management?
Im a 42 y.o. professional project manager, bachelors of science in business administration and I want to pivot my career to a specialization in finance. This content is very helpful to plan my journey. Thankyou 😊
Thanks for watching!
How's the journey going?
Hey AJ! Nice video, just discovered your channel. I'm 26 years old, got my B.Com in Finance about 2 years ago. Currently enrolled in CFA Level 1, I'm interested to get into equity research/fixed income research. I work for TD Bank of Canada in as an Analyst in their financial operations. Would you think a pivot to commercial banking (like a credit analyst role) would help me pivot once I have some more CFA levels done?
Hey Emmanuel,
Yea I think it could definitely help for that!
AJ
You don't need a CFA for commercial banking. Waste of time and money. CFA is no joke, you HAVE to want to be a buysider or a publishing SS analyst for it to be worth it.
Seriously, just network yourself at TD and you'll get a commercial banking role.
God bless you for this 🙏🏼
Thank you for this video! Very informative.
Glad it could help!
I think it depends how to rate those different jobs into these categories. For Warren Buffett (and alike) this is (part of) his life (not only a job) so it is probably an S tier category! 😍
Here we go Asset Management! #A
The depth of this piece is remarkable. I read a book with similar material that inspired a fundamental life change. "Game Theory and the Pursuit of Algorithmic Fairness" by Jack Frostwell
Hey AJ, it is a great video coming from someone who works in the industry. But I was wondering, with AI coming into play with the recent years, especially Algo trading or HFT. Will there be an increase demand in the next few years in your opinion? How would you rate it in your chart? Thanks!
No, I still don't think "algorithmic trading" will be a popular job title for a while.
Brilliant idea to do a video on this! Cheers AJ
I work in compliance for one of the bulge bracket global banks and what I love about it is how laid back it is. I have a full time contract yet I actually only have to put in 1 to 2 hours of real work per day to get the job done, and the salary is still decent (equivalent of ~$140k per year and I have 2 years experience). Compliance is amazing if you’re kinda lazy and want a good work life balance that allows you to go to the hairdresser or for a walk during your working hours. Also you can work from home as much as you want. Obviously if you’re very ambitious or after fat bonuses, compliance clearly isn’t for you.
Wow, it sounds like you are being serious. I don't think I have heard of a finance job that is that easy before. That's..... kinda cool.
what are your thoughts on where Structuring within S&T fits in this list?
Hi, would you put corporate treasury for a large investment company (i.e., dealing with investors' funding / liquidity & cash management / bond pricing models / etc...) as a sub-set of corporate finance? I just accepted an offer, what they offer seem interesting, but obviously one can never 100% know!
Yes I suppose I would, but I don't know much about corporate treasury! Seems interesting.
Just curious as to where you'd put corporate/commercial banking? Definitely not a prestigious finance career but not as bad or as boring as retail banking.
Probably with corporate finance.
Hi I work in Retail Banking with 3 years experience and its really not that bad... I make 140k a year plus bonus. I rarely get angry customer, its really how you communicate with people that will prevent that. Im a candidate for cfa1 so Im just looking into growing in the finance industry.
what do you do for retail banking to make that much salary?
@Peter Kim hey man I help people finance their homes
@@MsJz00141 is it better than commercial banking ?
Good point with don’t picking up a finance job into S, probably every job has the potential, however just if you do it as your own business.
I agree with you on retail banking, my job is into this and I see or meet lot of awful angry people.
I got a finance degree and my securities licenses but never made the jump into working in finance.
Bro your video should be worth 1/3 of my finance degree. amazing job
Haha, thank you.
Damn where are the commercial real estate guys? There’s such a variety of finance roles in real estate like Brokerage, AM, and Real Estate Private Equity!
Thank you AJ ! I'm preparing my first lvl of CFA, and currently studying for my first year of a master's degree. What internship would you think it's a cool one ? thank you AJ !
The coolest internship is one in the sector that you might want to be working in! It will provide much insight into the career. Best of luck on the exam!
LOL! I moved from Consulting to Corporate Finance in Industry. CF is pretty exciting at the Series A stage because of the aggressive expansion, new markets so we're constantly raising or planning an expansion strategy.
I laughed so hard when he said "No disrespect to slavery at all but..."
I hope you are enjoying the switch! Haha thanks!
"Of course you're still getting paid a lot of money, which is why it's far better than slavery." 💀
Sales definitely S tier job.
- A Sales role from a Big Tech
What do u think about Risk management and Treasury position in Banking ?
a financial risk analyst (in banking), which category is it? investment right?
Hi AJ, appreciate your videos.
I am curious about what you've said when you come to private equity, that you don't have the resume to go into it. Why do think so ?
I am an actuary with a strong financial background, studying towards the CFA. Private equity is a field in which I am interested in making a future career move so I would love to know more about your opinion .
Best, Rosen
Hi Rosen,
I don't have much of the background that is needed to get into PE. I suppose I could try to build that background if I really wanted to get in, but I'm happy with my current career.
PE usually hires ex investment bankers, that’s the profile/background you need to break into PE.
13:20 I'm gonna come back to this later
Can't completely agree with this as a WSO finance hardo with multiple MF and BB offers. Based on prifteege I would say it is really firm/group dependant but:
S- PE (MF), HF (Top performing)
A- CON (MBB), IB (BB, EB)
B- AM (that is not "PE"), ER, FIR
C- CORP
D/F- Rest of the jobs here. Not really on the same bucket of work and unfair to compare but would probably be an F from the high finance perspective.
Which of these groups, if any, would include/describe a position such as credit analyst at Wells Fargo?
Corporate finance
what careers of those you see having the most opportunities and less harsh and impossible to get into, something that could be a for someone starting his career at 24 and not deadly competitive?
(ofc except for retail banking and compliance, I would prefer to stay jobless in that case, HAHA )
Wealth management
How about Treasury and Risk Management?
I'm in compliance. It's a solid D.
Lol
Would you recommend any specialised certification for Wealth management like CWM or CIWM ?
No, the CFP is the only designation any clients will care about.
Why do you rate asset management higher than wealth management? Seems like WM is the more diverse version of doing the same thing.
That's true, but asset management is generally considered more prestigious and I think pays more on average.
Hey, what about Corporate Development?
Okay so what’s the difference between asset and wealth management? Also, if anybody could answer this it’d be cool. I’ve been in the music industry for many years now, I’m older and am thinking about transitioning to finance. I don’t have a bachelor’s in finance. Would I need an MBA to even be considered for these jobs (especially some of the more elite ones), and would my age effect my getting into these companies? I’m 39. Lol.
Asset management typically means large sums of money. Wealth management is for individual families or organizations.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 ...who have large sums of money
Si you mind talking about the compensation of each of these jobs in one video? And which of these are “easier” to get to as a CFA.
Also, great videos! Keep it up
Sure! I do have a video about CFA compensation and it goes into different positions a bit. I will make another video about comp for each of these jobs.
question. How come I keep seeing finance industry videos, but no one mentions insurance? I have a lot of connection within that industry, and they all say it is very lucrative, good pay & work life balance.
Good question, I don't know too much about the internal insurance industry!
How does one get out of retail banking if all the exit opportunities to commercial banking or higher only want recent grads or masters students only
Starting the CFA program and passing an exam or 2 can certainly help, but the biggest way would be networking. Spending an allocated amount of time every day just trying to meet people and ask to talk with them about the industry and look for opportunities.
"they are not gonna want to because your compliances" LOL :D
Your thoughts on Ops/MO? E.g. trade support, risk mgmt and tech?
I think all of those could be fun if you are into them!
5:15 as a Compliance person, can confirm. Don't join if you enjoy being liked.
What about Venture Capital? Is it Asset Management and if so isn’t that too broad a category?
What about sovereign wealth funds?
Are insurance jobs part of finance?
May add VC to the next list. I wouldn't consider swf or insurance applicable.
Is it wrong for me to assume another benefit for CFAs/financial professionals is that they’re able to use their own money to profit from outside ventures (nothing related to your work tho that a 3rd party would deem unethical - more like using your income to run the numbers on real estate for yourself) that’s why I think I want to know more especially when men n women lie but numbers don’t.
What’s the best one to transition if I’m a CPA?
I'm curious how you feel about the data science part of the financial services industry!
I don't have much of an opinion on it yet, sorry.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 one of the things I'm trying to decide is whether I should go all in on the CFA path or the data science path!
@@kolonniki6356 Not sure if you're still considering options! However, I recently started in a PE firm doing data science/software. From my experience in the "fintech" industry, tech side tends to be a lot more lax and hours are almost always better across the board. Definitely worth some consideration if you really like data science, analytics, modeling, etc, as that's where a lot of money is being put. Hope this helps!
@@UglyG82 what tech stack do you use if you don't mind me asking?
@@HarshvardhanKanthode I primarily work in Python and postgresql
basically any stream in finance can be a s tier all depends on environment
Is CFA useful to get into Investment banking, if someone is unable to get into target finance School?
It can't hurt, but its not the most common path into banking.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 fine.
Where do private bankers rank? Or did you consider it the same as wealth management?
Slightly above retail banking.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 bruh Private Banking is literally a synonym for WM
So to be in a hedge fund or private equity you need investment banking
That definitely helps as a background, yes.
My job (risk mgmt) isnt there lol
The only good job in retail banking is underwriting, credit manager of secured loans
Yea I could see that being a bit more fun than some of the other roles.
Nice vid! I just wish you hadn't lumped all the investment banking jobs together
True, M&A, LBO, IPO, they can be pretty different yea?
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 Exactly ! DCM and ECM too
I feel like they vary on work life balance too
You didn’t mention stockbrokers
been offered a kyc MT position, do you think it's worth accepting, especially as a fresg graduate
I'm not sure what that means.
Hi, I'm currently working at Comptroller and Auditor General of India as audit officer which audits all receipt and expenditure of the Govt. of India. What is carrier prospect for me if i done CFA. my age is 28, please guide me is it wise to go for CFA. If yes, what are future carrier prospect.
Check out my video on CFA careers!
Is earning a masters degree comparable to the CFA? You keep saying masters but most of your channel is about the CFA. Maybe you could do a video comparing the two
No, CFA is considered more useful and accomplished than most masters programs. A top 10 MBA would "beat" the CFA though.
Can someone explain a good route to go into Equity Research? Thank you!
Finance college degree and grind hard to get equity research internship.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 what is the difference between asset management and hedge fund? As far as i know both involve managing other people's asset and earn profit on those assets for clients. So where does the difference lie?
@@madkev671 Hedge funds are just one type of business that falls into the asset management sector.
Did you grab this chart from the Benjamin channel?
No, I made it on the tier list generator website.
You didn’t rate Risk management and Quants?
15:10 What does he mean by your own niche?
" compliance worse job on this list no bodiy like you" hahahaha dying here thank you that was soo true.
I remember a broker screaming at the complaince guy "I'll say whatever the (bleep) I want." haha Good times
Lol wow that broker sounds like he needs a chill pill.
What are your thoughts on commercial/ corporate banking?
Pretty cool job, especially for getting new expierence.
Commercial banking should be in this list. That's what I've found a lot of disillusioned charter holders end up doing. Probably C tier.
How was it ? Is it easier than retail? I've just accepted as RM commercial
I wouldn't say easier than retail. Definitely more stimulating; work life balance and comp are actually a pretty good mix as far as finance careers go. @@saidalcapone3964
I think corporate finance is a solid job, I would put in B. And Sales is super shitty, that’s a D lmao.
No VC?
What are the long term career prospects in equity research? Are people always stuck with that analyst position all their lives?
No, I think they usually can move into almost any buyside role. Pension/endowment/hedge fund.
Speaking of fixed income research, my firm has Money Market Analysts and Traders. Not sure what they do all day but sounds like a snooze fest. Would rate a D with compliance
Could you elaborate? I’ve been considering fixed income trading/analysis
@@TheGoat-dp5xy they help manage the money market funds - which if you don’t know, are cash equivalents. So they’re trading the underlying securities, which are a bunch of cash equivalents. I have no idea what that entails, but trading a bunch of low-yielding cash equivalents doesn’t sound thrilling to me
Does external audit at big 4 fall in compliance ?
I think ya
Im pretty sure in Private Equity you work almost the same hours as someone in IB. Also Wealth Management sucks as a career.
PE is a bit less unless you are talking about the VP role or higher in banking.