Jobs and Careers Autumn 2017 - 187

FOCUS ON

FINANCE

WHAT SKILLS
DO I NEED?

* Excellent communication and
listening skills
* The ability to explain complex
information clearly and simply
* The confidence to work with
numbers and explain them to clients
* IT skills
* Great customer service skills
* Drive and motivation to meet targets

pension beneﬁts and bonuses based on
individual or company performance.

Words: Trish Lesslie. Images: Getty Images

Banks and building societies

administrator and work your way up
via a management training scheme.
Qualiﬁcations from a professional
body, such as the Pensions
Management Institute or Chartered
Insurance Institute, may also help.
How much can I earn? Starter
salaries range from £22,000 to
£25,000, rising to £40,000 with
experience. Highly experienced
investment and pensions
administrators can earn in the region
of £40,000 to £80,000. Salary
packages may include insurance,

The sector's biggest employers, retail
banks, are at the heart of our day-today ﬁnancial lives. They also oﬀer a
range of positions, from tellers to
mortgage advisers and managers.
Work is typically in high street
branches, although there are
increasing opportunities to work for
online banks and supermarkets that
oﬀer banking services. A typical role
will involve helping with the ﬁnancial
requirements of individuals and
businesses, and provide advice and
ﬁnancial services including loans and
overdraft facilities, saving accounts
and bonds.
What qualiﬁcations do I need? If
you don't have a degree, you may be
able to join a bank in an entry-level
customer service role and work up to
management level through in-house
management courses, some of which
are fast-track programmes.
Mortgage adviser training schemes
run by banks and building societies
allow you to work your way up from a
customer service adviser role. It's also
possible to get into this career through
an apprenticeship.
Retail banks and building societies
oﬀer graduate management training
programmes, which usually lead to a
management role on completion. They
are open to all graduates - you don't
need a ﬁnance-related degree. To

qualify, banks usually require you to
have a 2:2 or above.
How much can I earn? Graduate
management trainees earn in the
region of £18,000 to £25,000, plus
possible bonuses. Salaries can rise to
around £40,000 with bonuses for your
ﬁrst management role, up to £70,000
with experience.

Corporate investment banker
These advise companies, institutions
and governments on how to achieve
their ﬁnancial goals and implement
long- and short-term ﬁnancial plans.
You'll manage corporate, strategic
and ﬁnancial opportunities, including
mergers, acquisitions, bonds and
shares, lending, privatisations
and initial public oﬀerings (IPOs).
You may also advise and lead
management buyouts, raise capital,
provide strategic advice and
identify and secure new deals.
What qualiﬁcations do I need?
Investment banks usually ask for at
least a 2:1 degree and often specify a
minimum number of UCAS points.
New trainees must complete Financial
Conduct Authority training and exams.
Some employers may also require
further professional qualiﬁcations.
Completing an internship with an
investment bank can improve your
chances of securing a job.
How much can I earn? The average
starting salary is around £30,000 to
£40,000. After three or more years,
salaries can reach £50,000. Those with
signiﬁcant experience may earn a base
salary of around £150,000 or more.
Pay is often performance related and
bonuses can sometimes be four times
the base salary or more. Some
employers oﬀer welcome bonuses in
the region of £2,000 to £5,000.

FIND OUT MORE
Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants accaglobal.com/uk
Chartered Institute of Management
Accounting cimaglobal.com
Financial Conduct Authority
fca.org.uk
Pensions Management Institute
pensions-pmi.org.uk

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http://www.accaglobal.com/uk http://www.cimaglobal.com http://fca.org.uk http://pensions-pmi.org.uk
Jobs and Careers Autumn 2017

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