Becoming a Senior Financial Analyst

If reaching the very top of the ladder in the field of finance is your goal, then you should be aiming to become a senior financial analyst. To grab yourself such a lucrative position within a company, however, you’re going to have to devote a lot of your time, and you’re going to have to work extremely hard.

Up to the task? Make sure to read on to find out what it takes exactly to become a senior financial analyst.

Get the degrees

To land any sort of role in finance, be it the role of senior analyst or an entry-level role, you need to have an education and a degree behind you. To obtain the latter, all you’re going to need is a bachelor’s degree in which you majored in either economics, finance or statistics. To obtain the former, however, you’re going to need a whole lot more. If you’re serious about becoming a senior financial analyst, then you’re going to need to go down the postgrad route by enrolling in a course like the Boston College Applied Economics degree. Doing so will show you to be somebody that takes their finance very seriously, as well as somebody who has the knowledge of data analysis and forecasting that is essential for career growth in the finance sector. So, don’t rest on that bachelors you have, and go for that masters!

Pick a specific position, and go for it

There are three major areas that senior financial analysts fall into: buy-side firms, sell-side firms, investment banks. If you want to make it to the very top of any of them, then you need to pick one and stick at it.

Do you opt for the buy side or the sell side? A buy-side role would see you helping businesses make decisions on where it is best to spend their money, and a sell-side role would, of course, see you assist them in selling their assets. Depending on where your eye for profit fixes itself on, be it externally or internally, you need to take that path.

Or, you could become an investment bank analyst. Doing so would see you determine the feasibility of certain deals, IPOs, managers, and acquisitions. If you have an eye for equity markets, then this could be direction best suited for you.

Put in the work

As touched upon, you need to put copious amounts of hard work into the venture of becoming a senior financial analyst. What exact areas should you be working hard in, though?

First, of course, you should be making sure you are working hard to keep your finger on the pulse of all the latest finance and market trends. This isn’t all you should be working hard to do, however. You should also be developing proficiency when it comes to using a number of software applications, especially those that produce spreadsheets and databases. You should also be putting in the hours when it comes to forging relationships with other superiors in the field of finance.

If you think you’ve got what it takes to become a senior financial analyst then go ahead, work your socks off, and get to where you want to be!