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Financial Managers

Under the title Financial Managers, workers plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment. O*NET rates it as considerable preparation, which usually means a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience. It leans on speaking, reading comprehension, and critical thinking. One core duty is to establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter. The strongest interest signal is Enterprising (7.0 of 7), then Conventional (5.6) and Social, which gives it the code ECS. If you want leading, persuading and making business decisions, keep it on your list. If you need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world, it may feel thin.

What they do

Plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment.

Main tasks

  • Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
  • Oversee the flow of cash or financial instruments.
  • Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of workers in branches, offices, or departments of establishments, such as branch banks, brokerage firms, risk and insurance departments, or credit departments.
  • Recruit staff members.
  • Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.
  • Oversee training programs.

Skills

  • Speaking
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Monitoring

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like taking the lead and making the call.
  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
  • You are comfortable relying on speaking and reading comprehension.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather not persuade, sell or manage other people.
  • You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 1.4 out of 7 here.
  • You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ECS takes the three highest, and Enterprising comes first here.

Preparation

Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Accounting Supervisor
  • Banking Center Manager (BCM)
  • Branch Manager
  • Business Banking Manager
  • Credit Administration Manager

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.