How To Build A Finance Career without A Finance Degree

You can start a finance career even when you don’t have a degree in finance and you don’t have to even need to start from scratch. It is best to find out where the skills you already have overlap with skills needed in finance. Then try to build some of the knowledge and skills that employers need from finance candidates.

1. Understand which finance career you actually want: finance is a very broad field. You can be interested in a particular field because different fields need completely different skills. If you are interested in investment the skills needed are completely different from the ones needed in banking, insurance or financial technology. This will help you because it prevents you from learning everything about finance all at once, which would be a complete waist of time. You need to choose a direction then learn the skills qualifications and knowledge involved in performing the role. 

2. Build financial knowledge independently: the first challenge you will have is a knowledge gap. Most people applying for the roles they have probably studied and even gotten a degree on any financial role but you will need to learn these subjects independently. You can start with the basics like financial statements, credit, cash flow, financial ratios, interest rate, investment, risk management, cooperate finance, financial markets, balance sheets, income statements and budgeting. The goal is to become comfortable when discussing financial concepts and being able to apply them not just memorizing a definition. 

3. Make excel one of your strongest technical skills: excel is very useful for people just entering finance because it helps you to show what you can do even when you don’t have any previous knowledge or finance employment. You should learn how to organize financial data, perform calculations, create reports, analyze trends and build basic financial models. You can later move into financial modeling, forecasting and scenario analysis. This gives you something to demonstrate when applying for jobs and during interviews.

4. Use your existing degree strategically: your degree can be used as an advantage if you position yourself strategically. There will usually be transferable skills. Even careers that seem unrelated can have some transferable skills like research, communication, analytical thinking, problem solving and working with data. You can even go into a field relating to your previous job, for example someone that studied law can decide to go into financial crime. Instead of making yourself look like someone that doesn’t have a finance degree, you can make yourself look like someone that studied something different but decided to go into finance. 

5. Gain expertise before waiting for the perfect finance job: one of the biggest problems of someone going into a different industry is the lack of expertise. You can start solving this problem instead of waiting to get a job. You can analyze the financial statements of a publicly traded company, create a personal budgeting model, practice investment analysis or build a financial dashboard. This gives you something to talk about during interviews that show your interest in finance being backed up by practical work. Internships and entry level roles are also valuable because they allow you to develop experience while building knowledge 

6. Consider professional qualifications: professional qualifications can give you more credibility because it proves that you purposely studied finance related subjects. Make sure that these qualifications correspond with your career objectives. Do not purse any qualification that is not related to the field you are going into choose a qualification that helps you in your field. You don’t need to get a qualification immediately, you can try to find out what area you are going into and check for what employers value. 

7. Start with accessible finance roles: you don’t have to make your present position your final destination. You can enter through a basic area of finance then choose a specialty later on. This is better than trying to go straight into a highly specialized field and trying to compete with candidates that already have all the relevant degrees and internships. Once you already have some  experience in the finance sector you can expand your options. 

8. Rewrite your CV around relevant skills: Someone who wants to change their career can have a good CV but still not be suitable because the CV focuses on their previous career. Your CV should focus on only the relevant skills. Even if you want to explain your previous skills you should explain it in a way that will make it seem important to finance. The goal is to make the employer see a reasonable change in the career rather than just seeing any random, unrelated person switching careers. 

9. Prepare for the financial interview: You need to prepare for questions that test your motivation, interest in finance and understanding of finance. The recruiter can ask why you are changing fields, why you chose finance, what you know about the company and how your previous education will contribute to the role. You may also receive some technical questions depending on the position. So your reason for changing careers should be based on evidence of what you’ve studied, the project you’ve completed, skills you’ve developed and why you chose this area of finance. 

10. Think of the transition as a process: someone that doesn’t have a finance degree can change to an area in finance. This transition can happen progressively. What is important is to create a chain between each stage. YOU don’t need to prove that you have the same background as a finance graduate. You just need to prove that you  have knowledge, skills and practical ability needed for the role you are applying for. 

The main point 

Starting a finance career without a degree is very achievable if you are willing to build all the knowledge and skills required. Instead of focusing on a degree that you do not have try to build financial knowledge, technical skills, relevant certifications and practical experience. Your existing degree can also provide transferable skills. With a clear direction and lots of effort you can move into finance and build a long-term career.