How to get a job in finance?

You should get at least a bachelor's degree in order to get a job in finance. The finance industry is highly competitive, and getting a job can be difficult. To that end, it is important to have at least a bachelor's degree.

How To Become A Finance Planner: What It Is and Career Path

What is a finance planner and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Brian Meehan

A financial planner's job is to provide financial consulting services to help clients with their financial objectives and goals. You are to examine the financial statements of a company to identify risks, rewards, and opportunities. Your job roles include managing client's finances, creating financial plans and budgets for clients, and developing strategies to help clients maintain their financial goals. You will also need to build working relationships with clients, analyze the current financial status of the company and understand the specific needs, work with a team of staff to keep track of records and file updates and stay updated on the latest practices and financial products.

You need a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or a related field and at least three years of experience for this job. Strong sales and financial background are also required. You should possess excellent interpersonal skills, verbal and written communication skills, and efficient problem-solving skills. Your average annual salary will be $69,180.

What general advice would you give to a finance planner?

Brian Meehan

Assistant Professor of Economics, Campbell School of Business, Berry College

My advice would be to apply broadly for jobs and take advantage of the robust set of career opportunities a degree in economics provides. It also gives you a better gauge of the opportunity cost (next best alternative) of accepting a job. Try to determine what that best alternative is. Additional training can also be a good option. Those individuals interested in graduate schools, professional schools, law schools, MBAs, etc. should look into these opportunities. Improving your human capital stock (via training and education), while weathering a recession, and then capitalizing on a healthier job market at the end of this training, is a pretty good route (assuming the recession is short).

ScoreFinance PlannerUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $71,607

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate 15%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 8.45%

Black or African American 5.72%

Hispanic or Latino 9.56%

Unknown 4.38%

White 71.80%

Gender

female 38.03%

male 61.97%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a finance planner

Explore finance planner education requirements

Most common finance planner degrees

Bachelor's

72.6 %

Master's

11.0 %

Associate

10.9 %

Start to develop specific finance planner skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Aid	21.30%
Financial Services	8.75%
Client Facing	7.64%
Retirement Planning	7.20%
Estate Planning	6.47%

Complete relevant finance planner training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New finance planners learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a finance planner based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real finance planner resumes.

Gain additional finance planner certifications

Finance planner certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific finance planner certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for finance planners include Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Certified Professional, Life and Health Insurance Program (CPLHI).

More About Certifications

Research finance planner duties and responsibilities

Manage financial planning, educate clients on fix indexed annuities, and consistently analyze financial markers and ever-changing client needs.
Manage and strengthen customer relationships through cross-selling and up-selling to maximize retention and income generation by contacting existing and prospective customers.
Represent a large brokerage firm for products and services through direct sales.
Educate clients in tax implications for products that include mutual funds, securities, and retirement plans.

Prepare your finance planner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your finance planner resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a finance planner resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable finance planner resume templates

Build a professional finance planner resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your finance planner resume.