Why Most People Choose the Wrong Finance Career (And How to Avoid It)

I have studied finance, just like many finance graduates for a flourishing finance career, in the hope of getting into the finance industry. But after working in the finance industry and going through a lot of courses related to finance, I have realised that finance is a very broad industry. This clarity is not taught in school or college, which is why most finance graduates choose their Finance career wrong. In fact, finances are not a single career; rather, it is a collection of very different kinds of careers. 

In this article, I have explained in detail what kind of careers exist in finance, why most people fail in finance career, and how important it is to choose the right finance career. I have mentioned my personal experience in this article, which might help you in comparison to decide what kind of career would best suit you. 

Most people think finance is just about numbers. Regardless of what kind of job role you pick, finance is just about calculating some numbers in an Excel sheet. In reality, every finance job is different from the other. For example, an equity research analyst is way different from what a person does in Private equity.  

Just like most people do, even I dreamt about a finance role and ended up starting with an accounting role. Initially, I thought everything was debit and credit. But it is really important for someone who wants to get into finance or accounting to understand that accounting is part of finance, and these two are completely different from one another. A basic difference is that accounting is preparing financial statements, whereas finance is analysing financial statements. 

Finance Is Not A Single Career

Most non-finance people and a beginner finance person talk about finance as if it were a single profession. In reality, finance is not a single profession; it is a combination of a variety of finance roles. Think of this as an umbrella which represents finance career. All the other roles belonging to investment banking, private equity, hedge fund, venture capitalist, Equity research, mutual funds, accounting, taxation, auditing, etc, come under this umbrella. 

The same misconception goes with the certifications as well. People study CA certification in the hope of getting into a particular industry, but in reality, Chartered accountancy Certifications like CA, ACCA, ACA and many more are a combination of everything, not just a mastery of one thing. 

For example, 2 people can say I work in finance. One person may be working with bank statements and reconciliations, as most of his time goes into reporting. Whereas the second person may be spending his entire day analysing a single stock, reading annual reports, preparing financial modelling and valuation for the business, and preparing a buy or sell report. If you look at the job roles and the descriptions of the roles, they are quite different from each other, but they both can still say that they work in finance.

 Due to a lack of this knowledge, initially, people end up in the wrong career. 

When people think of a finance job, they expect a good salary, respect, growth and stability. In fact, finance jobs do provide all of the above. Conditions apply. However, they have no idea about the daily nature of work that they have to do in a particular role. Because people and social media made these terms so popular, newcomers started dreaming about investment banking roles, although they have no idea what they’re going to do in the IB role.

In fact, the irony is that there are several roles in a single investment banking firm. There is front and back, and there is trading. There is something called IPO, and there are separate departments for mergers and acquisitions. This is the reason when a person wants to get into something in finance or whatever, it is recommended that you speak to a person who is already working in that industry and has a good finance career for a while now. His experience will guide you or give you clarity on what you have to do. This will answer your question, “Is it what you want to do or not?”

The mistake is not choosing finance. The mistake is choosing blindly within finance. For example, most people choose investment banking firms as a target firm because they are heard in the market and seem very prestigious. In reality, investment firms are very less and highly competitive compared to Accounting or auditing or other kinds of financial roles. People don’t think about this.

Very few people stop and ask real questions.

What would my daily routine be like? What would be my daily tasks, and what kind of work would I be doing with this kind of role? This single question makes all the difference. This is how you choose a role for yourself. 

Biggest Mistakes Finance Students Make

The biggest mistake finance students make these days is opting for a finance certification regardless of what kind of subjects or papers, or levels they have to go through, for what purpose. Just because everybody else is doing it, they will do it. 

Every certification serves a different purpose, but coaching institutes or course providers tell a different story. They will sell you every course. For example, some coaching institutes will tell you that first do ACCA, you will get a glimpse of the bigger picture of what the whole finance is, then you can go for CFA, which is absolute rubbish. Because ACCA is a chartered accountancy, whereas CFA Financial analyst. If someone wants to end up as a financial analyst, why do they waste a lot of money and time and acquire a lot of knowledge of ACCA? They could have gone with the CFA from the beginning. 

This happens with the students because they think once they clear these reputed degrees, professional certificates and tough exams, then everything else will automatically fall into place. I even believed this at a certain point in time, due to a lack of guidance. 

In reality, finance certification does not work that way.

However, qualifications help you to get into the room. They can help you get an interview. But your skills, your personality, the way you talk, this gets your job. 

Another important thing that is worth noticing. Finance students have to clearly identify what kind of work they want to do for the next five or 10 years. Instead of dreaming about investment banking, they have to clearly distinguish what kind of work they want to do.

In reality, many students prepare for years and spend a lot of money on the certifications without even understanding what kind of roles they’re going to end up with. They have to understand what kind of skills are required for a particular job, and what kind of pressure is involved in a particular job.

By the way, you will get this information when you speak to your person who has relevant experience.

Some people get into finance roles which they have no idea about and feel stuck within one or two years. Some people feel underpaid, despite the strong qualifications they have, and some realise too late that they dislike the work itself. The reason behind this is not understanding what the actual role demands.

Next time, when you find someone who hates their job, just ask this one question to them: Do they know the kind of job and the kind of activity and the kind of pressure the role involves before getting into the job? The answer would be a hundred per cent no. It is really important to understand this very early because clearing exams is hard, and living with the wrong career choice is very hard.

Finance is indeed a rewarding career, but it rewards people who align skills, temperament, and long-term trust, not just certificates.

Skills Matter More Than Labels

It is true in finance that a label gets you noticed, but in the long run, the only thing that keeps you relevant is skills. So basically, the keyword is missing in the market, which is particular. In simple words, you need to acquire particular skills for a particular job, not skills for a particular job. Different jobs require different kinds of skills. For example, a person who is working with institutional trading doesn’t want to do GST returns or VAT returns it’s not relevant for his job.

However, degrees and certifications and titles are important. These signify seriousness and hard work. It shows that a person is willing to work hard and learn more in the process. These are just a starting point or not the finish line. 

Once you get into a role, how well do you analyse information? The way you explain numbers with clarity, your speed with data and your confidence with the decisions, these things actually shape your financial career over a period of time.

Many finance graduates struggle because they don’t have these kind of skills. 

They know the theory and cleared all the exams still not confident because they are not sure about the skills mentioned above. Moreover, when they are faced with real tasks like a report analysis or decision-making, they feel unprepared as they have never done this before.

Knowing something and using the knowledge in a practical situation or two different things, for example, if a person working in the trading desk knows in theory many trading techniques. But what he actually uses practically in the workplace determines his capability.

This is why skills like data handling, spreadsheet analysis, financial interpretation and business communication quietly decide who grows faster. If you see examples in the Workplace, People who get promoted often are better at communication skills, rather than technical skills. They understand the business, they understand the leadership. This happens primarily because in finance, you are judged less by certificates and more by usefulness.

How To Choose the Right Finance Path (Before it’s Too Late)

Before reading a lot of blogs and watching a lot of useless YouTube videos, ask yourself a question: what kind of role do you want to play? More importantly, what kind of tasks do you want to do in the real job? This is where your journey starts. In simple words, stop predicting your future and start understanding yourself.

Many people commit years of struggle and years of hard work to a job role that they dislike. For example market overhyped investment banking roles. Walk into an investment banking firm and ask a few questions. Do you really enjoy this job, or don’t you? Many people say they don’t because they have no idea what investment banking is. 

The simple answer is you need to ask yourself a few questions. Do you enjoy working with the numbers quietly, or do you enjoy talking to people,  managing clients and explaining your ideas and advising people? By the way, these two roles exist in investment banking for your clarification. 

Everybody has their own way of enjoying work. Some people enjoy routine, structured work and stable work; in contrast, some people enjoy working with variable income and performance pressure. Similarly, some people want detailed accuracy and compliance, whereas other people are good at interpretation, analysis and judgement.

Many people identify this problem very late in their careers, and they feel stuck. By the time they realise it’s too late and switching parts feels risky and expensive. 

A simple solution for all of this is to explore different areas early and try to understand the job description rather than the job title. Try to build transferable skills, not particular skills, as you can take your skills along with you. Employers always reward adaptable people, not those who rush blindly. Know what you’re doing, instead of predicting what could happen.

Conclusion – Finance Career Is a Long Game

Like the heading says finance career is a long game; it is not revealed by one exam or one job, or in one year. 

Most beginners are lost in the initial years, and the confusion is quite normal; it happens with many people because finance is broad, which is good, by the way. Due to high demand, people are drawn to it at the same time misunderstand this in many ways. What’s really important is not choosing the perfect path from the beginning for you, instead choose something which allows learning, flexibility and growth.

If you ask a successful finance person, How did you end up at this role, Most probably they will tell you to observe before committing, and build skills along with qualifications.

Most people, especially those who are from the top business schools, feel inferior when they get into a normal finance role instead of investment banking or equity research. They want to get into investment banking and consulting because it sounds good and it pays well. They have no idea of the kind of pressure and the kind of work that they do in these areas. It’s really important to understand that finance rewards patience more than urgency.

If you are someone at the beginning of your career, then read this very carefully. Do not take pressure from what kind of job you want to get into. Try to explore paths. It’s okay if you are unsure about what kind of role you want to get into. A person in the wrong role from the beginning will always suffer person in the right role, even if it is late he will flourish. 

Most importantly, take time to understand the work, not just the title.

People take some pride in the titles, which is really stupid in a way, and they don’t want to leave their role because everybody respects them because of that role. Try to see the bigger picture and explore different paths early on.