Careers in Finance
The variety of choice of the profession in the field of finance opens a lot of great opportunities for a person. In order to become successful in this area you must have not only high intellectual skills, but also creativity. I have chosen two professions for the consideration which, in my opinion, are unusual and very interesting.
Financial Analyst
Information has already become an essential product of market relations. But the acquisition of some information is only the first stage. It is important to analyze the facts and extract the necessary data. Such work is a fairly complicated process. Only a qualified person who is called a financial analyst will be able to cope with it (J. William Carpenter, 2015).
General Description
An activity of the analyst is an operative work where the main criterion is to deal with projects, where the main role is played by forecasting and planning of the survey. Naturally, in order to work with large volumes of information a good knowledge of mathematics, programming and testing is necessary. A work for the financial analyst can be found everywhere (J. William Carpenter, 2015).
Responsibilities
The whole work of the financial analyst is a consecutive chain of actions. Initially, he considers the data in detail, and then he puts forward the thesis and some assumptions by which the further work will be carried out. After that, a thorough inspection, backed by justifications, project and methodical works, is conducted. As a result, the analyst comes to a certain conclusion which is registered on the paper and negotiated with the management (J. William Carpenter, 2015).
Peculiarities of the Career Growth
As long as there is dependence between the society and the information, the demand for such specialists will remain high. Career growth of the analyst will develop depending on the capabilities of the company or enterprise where a he works (J. William Carpenter, 2015).
Personal Traits of the Specialist
Such employee needs an analytical mind and attention. Analyzing assumes the distribution of the subject the study by separate parts according to various criteria. It is necessary to have a mathematical perception of reality and the ability to find a common language with any customer. And, probably, the most important thing for the financial analyst is to have patience (J. William Carpenter, 2015).
Insurance Underwriter
The word “underwriting” is a fairly broad term from an economic point of view. It can be interpreted in three ways: it is the sale of goods or services, placement of securities and the collection of information before making an insurance decision (AGCAS Editors, 2014).
General Description
Underwriting represents a business process in an insurance company, from which depends the financial policy of the organization. Therefore, the underwriter must properly assess the risks and think over different situations in advance in order to calculate the insurance payments correctly. He represents the interests of the insurance company, determines insurance tariffs and the possibility of the occurrence of the insured event. At the same time, the underwriter has the right to reject from the consideration of the proposed object (AGCAS Editors, 2014).
Responsibilities
An underwriter determines the object of insurance, verifies the documents and checks the authenticity of the property rights on the property insured. He conducts a risk assessment and if the client is suspected in dishonesty, the underwriter may refuse to provide the services. Also, such a specialist makes a decision about the insurance of the object and sets the insurance tariffs. At the end of the deal he carries out the signing of the agreement and conducts the necessary technical work (AGCAS Editors, 2014).
Peculiarities of the Career Growth
Nowadays, both personal insurance and vehicle insurance remain in high demand. Consequently, such professionals as underwriters are in demand in the labor market. If the risk assessor will work successfully, he can expect the position of a methodologist, business analyst or a head of the department (AGCAS Editors, 2014).
Personal Traits of the Specialist
An underwriter should possess an emotional balance, stamina, an ability to perceive large amounts of information, attentiveness and analytical mind. The work which assumes the conclusion of the deal requires from the specialist certain communication skills, an ability to properly express the thoughts and make appropriate decisions (AGCAS Editors, 2014).
Recommendations
Having analyzed the two above mentioned professions, I can conclude that the position of a financial analyst, in my opinion, is more attractive. I can explain my choice by the fact that this profession is not just some separate tasks performed by a specialist, but a whole chain of actions which entails a single result. A financial analyst gathers the information, analyzes and draws some conclusions. It is very important to follow the procedure and it stimulates an employee in some sense because, if he skips the execution of one particular point, the task will not be completed.
References
AGCAS Editors. (2014). Job profiles: Insurance underwriter. Retrieved from https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/insurance-underwriter
J. William Carpenter. (2015). Financial Analyst: Career Path & Qualifications. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-advisors/121815/financial-analyst-career-path-qualifications.asp