Quote:
Originally Posted by chinook79
I never realized that finance sector was so depressing...
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Despite there being some overlap, especially in junior roles, there is a world of difference between finance and accounting (which in this context includes roles that may say "finance" in the name such as financial analyst roles). When I refer to finance, I am speaking broadly of banking and investment - everything from business banking to working at a mutual fund. Perhaps the largest difference is what the senior roles look like.
In accounting you are going to be a cost center and a line item literally until you are either a CFO with stock options or a partner at an accounting firm - then you have some upside. You can look forward to roles like "Junior Accountant", "Senior Financial Analyst", "Accounting Manager", "Head of FP&A" and still fundamentally that's how you are paid. Obviously increasingly senior roles at increasingly large companies pay more, but the simple reality is you are earning a salary with likely a small bonus tied to soft factors on performance until you have at least 15 years in the industry (assuming you don't become the "CFO" of a startup with 4 people in your 3rd year)...
The true finance world tends to tie your compensation much more to actual performance - in banking, it's usually a sales job and you are compensated either directly or indirectly on growth of your portfolio; in investment management, you are either contributing in an analytical capacity and being paid a percentage of your contribution to returns, or in a sales capacity generating funds to be invested, and being paid on an going trailer on funds under management. Either of these have basically unlimited upside (with some practical limitations) and most importantly, you can start earning big upside MUCH earlier than in an accounting type role.
I joined a bank in a relationship management capacity ("sales") straight out of my CPA, with a few years of unrelated experience prior to that. They paid me fairly, and certainly better than I would have earned in the comparable financial analyst roles I was looking at, but not by a ton. However, by delivering strong sales results, my overall earnings have dramatically increased year over year - this is why I believe so strongly in these roles, if you perform, your compensation can grow quickly.
I wasn't expecting to like banking as much as I have, but as I ended up here completely by accident, I like to try to bring some information about this space as it's a niche that I don't think a lot of "accountants" think about. It's not for everybody, but if you are an outgoing person who wants some control over their job (ie the opposite of a 9-5 where you don't care), you should think about it.
-Mark