Certified financial analyst

Find out right here how to become a certified financial analyst and crunch into numbers for the rest of your life.

Introduction to the field

An analyst is someone who provides expert advice. His job is to help his employer or his employer's clients invest wisely to get the best return on their money or to come up with business solutions. 

This could be an ideal job for someone who has a bachelor's degree in math and is looking forward to going to graduate school. You would be in a position to use your math skills daily and you would have the opportunity to grow and learn more things each day.

Such position do exist and you can find it in banking or consulting! Position titles include market analyst, certified financial analyst, or operations research analyst.

The challenge of working as a certified financial analyst

If you like this field, you should know your math very well. You should especially master mathematics of investment and interest and you should be familiar with mathematical models. 

These skills are a must because someone in this field needs to know how to calculate return on investment, use , and/or construct good financial model for his clients.

Furthermore, he or she will work with clients, prepare presentations, and assist with report and proposal writing.

Therefore, if your math courses did not require much writing or oral communication, you might want to consider taking a class in technical writing and/or oral communication. 

Finally, a financial analyst will need to study and become quite familiar with the following concepts.

• Cost of living

• Personal income growth

• Rates of employment

• Gross national production

• Fiscal plan of the federal government

• Market trends

• Indexes of common stocks

• And more of the same token.

Getting the job

To get a job as a financial analyst, a person must have a bachelor's degree. Employers are looking for people who majored in business, accounting, statistics, finance, economics, and of course mathematics. 

Visit how to become a certified financial analyst to get more information on how you can become certified.

The site explains in details how to acquire the CFA designation. Usually, people who have a bachelor degree and three years of experience in the financial industry can become certified.

To acquire the CFA title, a person must pass three examinations in security analysis, portfolio management, and accounting economics. 

The title is not required to become a financial analyst. However, it is very helpful for advancement, especially if you are working for an investment firm.