Your decision to have a finance career can be a start of something big for you. According to latest employment and business trends, the growth of the world economy plus the increasing number of people retiring in the next decade will create a demand for finance professionals.
Commercial banking means having an opportunity to work in the areas of financial management, accountancy and auditing, securities, commodities and financial services sales. There’s also an opportunity to work in the area of financial and credit analysis since commercial banks are there to provide banking services to individuals as well as small and large businesses and organizations.
People who work in banking and finance are paid well for the work that they do. Four of the fields that many professionals get into include accountancy and tax, Insurance, investment banking and retail banking. Let’s talk about each of these.
For people to work in accountancy and tax, you need to graduate and get your CPA or certified public accountancy license. To learn more about what you will be doing, many have to complete an on the job training with a legitimate accountancy firm.
The training period is about three years and afterwards, you can continue on staying with them, working for another firm or going into private practice.
Insurers just like accountants need to be licensed. This varies from state to state so you have to study and then pass the exam. Once you do so, your career may get you to sell property or casually insurance and life or health insurance.
You should also take further classes in the future because although you have your license already, rules change and you have to be aware of them.
Perhaps the biggest challenge selling insurance is deciding whether to work for an insurance company or doing this on your own. There are advantages and disadvantages doing both. When you are employed, you get a basic salary while those who decide to work for themselves can only make money earning commissions when a sale is made. How well you do is entirely up to you.
Investment banking is different from regular banking because you are there to raise capital for a company by issuing shares or bonds. Later on, you may even work with a team that advises companies regarding mergers and acquisitions.
Also under investment banking is capital markets. Here, the professional is tasked with trading bonds stocks and other financial products to increase the portfolio of the client.
But before you get into that, most entry levels personnel start out doing research first about certain companies and who are their competitors. Their information is then passed on to the account managers who will then advice the client.
Lastly is retail banking which many of us are aware of because these are the people we meet in the bank from the teller to the bank manager when we need to deposit or withdraw cash and apply for a loan.
Unlike accountancy or insurance, you don’t need to get a license to do this kind of work. You just have to be customer oriented with strong interpersonal and communication skills since you will be dealing with people.
Tax and accountancy, insurance, investment banking and retail banking are the four basic types of jobs for anyone that wants to pursue a banking and finance career after graduation from college. Career progression in any of them is excellent and this can only happen with additional training and at times a license.
This can be achieved by part time study so all you have to do now is weigh your options and then go for it.
February 22, 2010
Career Opportunities in Banking and Finance
February 21, 2010
How to Find Your Dream Career!
If you’re at all interested in advancing yourself, you’ve probably wondered how to find your dream career.
The good news is that it’s out there waiting for you. The problem is how you find it. Probably the best way is not to go after it head-on, but rather to back into it. By that I mean “learn how to manage your career search risks.”
You see, your career adventure success depends not so much on where YOU want to go, but on a balance of your needs with those of employers. Employers don’t hire on the basis of what your dream career is, but rather they hire the best candidate they’re convinced can do the job . . . not the best candidate on earth!
Managing your career advancement is the secret. And that means controlling your risks. Here are five tips on how to find your dream career by calculating your risks:
1. Decide what the worst case consequences are for making a change. If you can’t live with them that this career goal isn’t right for you. Or you need to develop a contingency plan or retool to minimize the risk.
2. Don’t be overcome by the dream. Take the down-to-earth step of doing your homework.
Research the risk. Look carefully before you leap.
3. Get advice. Talk to your spouse, your friends, people you trust and who are in the know. Their feedback will be invaluable in helping you shape the practical realities of your dream.
4. Be honest with yourself. Is this the kind of risk you’re going to kick yourself around the block a couple years from now if you don’t take it?
5. Ask yourself the ultimate risk control question: “Is NOT taking the risk bigger than taking it?” If the answer is “yes,” then get moving!
Now for the best news of all. If you decide this is the right time to discover how to find your dream career, help is on the way. There are exciting 21st Century job search strategies that can help you lock up a high-paying job in as little as 14 days or less!
The Training Courses Required for Welding Careers
Welding is presently connected to almost all the technological and industrial sectors, and the ever higher demands of the market put a lot of stress on the training facilities that prepare the way for welding careers. A simple search on the Internet will make you see that there are hundreds if not thousands of centers that offer welding training courses and certificates; sometimes they are not just advertised and promoted, but simply carried on and developed on the web. Solid welding careers definitely depend on the qualities of the worker, and we wouldn’t be in the wrong to say that welding is probably one of the last historic crafts related to manufacturing and construction.
Welding careers are not limited to a single domain; those who master this craft may be required to work in very diverse sectors: from bridge building to exotic material fabrication. The only condition to get a good job in the business is to have solid skills and certifications issued by an accredited unit. You’d be surprised to learn that welding careers require great eye sight and a good physical condition beside the craftsmanship as such. Excellent reflexes and perfect sight-hand coordination are also crucial since sometimes corrective measures are required during the very welding process.
The first step for the start of welding careers is related to age, a youth training scheme is one of the best options you could have. Furthermore, large companies often provide extensive training programs in specific welding techniques; or you may be limited to a single welding process. Nevertheless, even if that be the case, the skills thus acquired may serve well as the foundation of solid welding careers and professional development. Schools and educational institutions often have information programs on the best available profession schemes in the area that matches your interest.
The costs and the type of certification you receive after the training courses required for welding careers depend on the kind of qualification and the extent of the program. Some qualifications and standards of competence are sometimes obtained through continuous assessment right at the work place. This is a great opportunity for all candidates who aspire at rewarding welding careers to prove they have the underpinning knowledge required to move to the next professional level. Experience usually speaks for itself and makes things a lot easier or smoother when you have to change the work place.
Career Training Loans – Tips To Get One
Training loans for career in America are only possible if being a permanent resident of US, or if you bear proper history of lines of credits. It is also mandatory to obtain loan for career that the institution which you are about to apply must be certified by the local division and proper accreditation is necessary.
The training loans are of immense help for the future life of each and every student as they act as an investment for your future. It helps in financing your training and higher education. It is becoming one of the high pace sources of financing the education.
The best features of training loans are it offers exiting interest rates that helps in compensating a good credit. The repayment terms can be extended up to a span of 15 years. Even if don’t posses a credit card you can obtain the loans by application with a sponsor who is creditworthy and who serves you money for both tuition and educational expenses. In addition the rate of interest on loans for training keeps changing and reset every 30 days.
During the time of repayment of career loans there are 3 options which can be chosen. One is the normal repayment technique where the monthly payments are made with the respective interests. Next is by paying only the interest amount during the course of study and to pay the interest with the original amount of loan after the course program is fully completed. The last is the payment of ten-dollar every month which is a deferred kind of payment. The amount needs to be paid correctly every month and the final settlement is made with the calculated interest and principle amount is paid by the end of the course period.
There are numerous institutions located all over the countries which act as service providers for career loans. These are affordable and promise you a high paying job. Other than it is affordable it becomes an advantage when you shift jobs as these loans are designed for this purpose too. They provide materials like supplies, books, living expenses and tuition fees during the course period. Some of the programs also include the customization of low-cost loans
Now being aware of the loans for career training, to get an idea about the impact of these loans for career training is very important as it serves and helps you attain your ultimate goal and also to improve your lifestyle.
A Career In Image Consulting
In today’s corporate world, how you dress matters. Clothes and accessories are no more just meant to adorn the body. They are an essential part of everyone’s wardrobe. What you wear for a picnic cannot be the same as your chosen apparel for a board meeting. Your attitude and seriousness towards your work is depicted in the clothes you wear. For this reason, many people choose to undergo a makeover and change their overall appearance.
Job Of The Image Consultant
There are professional makeover consultants that advise you on the way you can enhance your look. They are sometimes referred to as makeover consultants, fashion stylists or wardrobe consultants. They suggest different color combinations and clothing materials, according to your body structure. In addition to this, they also advise you on makeup, grooming and hairstyle.
Your image matters and it includes the way you talk to people and the accent and vocabulary you use. This is categorized as verbal communication. In the category of non-verbal communication, body language, posture and handshake are included. Your basic etiquette and manners are very important. These are usually assessed over the telephone or in person, during a meeting or at an official dinner party.
Image consultants maintain a network of partners for reference. Many other professionals, such as personal trainers, dieticians, plastic surgeons, dentists, nutritionists, makeup artists, hair stylists and voice coaches, work in close collaboration with image consultants.
Salary
Image consultants are paid by the hour. They earn at least $50 per hour, for a mere consultation session. They may charge more depending on the number of sessions and probable changes that the client may need. Image consultants can also double up as teachers and preside over seminars on professional dressing for employees of corporations and other businesses.
How To Become An Image Consultant
The following needs to be considered when pursuing a career as an Image Consultant:
Services- The job of an image consultant involves specific services. You can specialize in fashion or wardrobe consulting and offer suggestions on etiquette and communication skills.
Experience- There is no specific school for image consulting. You can experiment with friends and relatives, by trying out innovative ways of improving their appearance. You can offer “before and after” pictures to create a professional profile. This showcases your work and gives your prospective clients a peek at your style of working and fashion sense.
Investment- You don’t need to make a large investment to start an independent image consulting business. At first, you can start your practice on a part-time basis and gradually build a full-fledged career.
Image consulting is a growing career, and one that constantly needs talented people. If you have good fashion sense and the ability to connect with people, then you can use your talent to help fill the void and build a successful career for yourself at the same time.
February 20, 2010
The not so Lost Vision of Life and Career Objectives
There are a lot of people that have lost their way when it comes to carrier. Never knowing their goals in life or some simply lost their vision of life and career objectives, but here is some guidance that can provide a way for your vision of life and career objectives to become reality.
Vision to life is an association devoted to helping individuals and organizations identify and pursue their vision of life and career objectives. Provides career building goals that will guide you through every task and every obstacle that you will encounter.
Through its career building goals, it proposes that people can transform the world around them and make it better for themselves and others. Vision to Life holds to a Christian worldview.
But this is not the only problem, problems also arises when there are too many career paths that one can choose. When this arises, some would rather choose the path that they will like, where they would enjoy on what they do. But there are other careers that will truly take out the best in us, and coincidentally help in contributing for the improvement of others.
So vision to life provides a way for these people to find the path that does not only help ourselves, but also help others, by the path of righteousness. To have a Christian personal vision plan.
This world is in an ongoing state of deterioration, and it is the rare great man who focuses his vision of life and career objectives on addressing the decline and working to reverse it. Your society needs an agent of positive change, someone with a Christian personal vision plan, a person whose vision in life is to improve not only his lot but those of others.
If you want more enlightenment about the career building goals or about your vision of life and career objectives, visit vision to life at http://visiontolife.org/.
Promising Careers in America
There are some interesting surprises on the list of top growing career fields as well. For example, there is expected to be a 32 percent increase of college professors by the end of the next 10 years and 33 percent more preschool teachers. This is just another result of the baby boomer generation however. The children of the baby boomers are beginning to have children of their own and requiring preschool services. Some children of baby boomers are rapidly reaching the college age as well.
The baby boomer generation has affected nearly every facet of American life, so it goes without saying that they would be largely responsible for the faster growing careers in the US today. Due to the fact that this generation is aging, most of the fastest growing careers have to do with the health care industry. Of the top 10 fastest growing careers, 7 of them are in the health care industry. In the top 30, 17 are health care related based on data provided by the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Labor. The baby boomer generation is fairly well off financially and therefore able to afford the more expensive medical treatments.
Surprisingly, doctors and nurses aren’t included in these fastest growing careers. The medical industry is changing rapidly and its hiring practices are now focusing on lower-wage, lower-skilled employees such medical assistants, dental assistants and physical therapist aides for example. All this is being down in order to waylay the ever growing health care costs in America. On the top of the list of fastest growing careers is the Home Health Care Aides profession. This profession is expected to grow by 50 percent within the next 8 years. While most baby boomers are not at the point of needing this care yet, they will be in the following years. Most are opting to hire home health aides for their parents who have reached the age where they need it.
Even though there are no Accounting or Finance jobs on the list of fastest growing careers, the Bureau of Statistics is still recommending them as a solid field that is still growing to a fairly good extent. One of the fastest growing careers in the US is the Technology field. Technology affects us in so many ways today and we have in fact become dependant on it. Software analysts and network systems make up the top 10 growing fields overall. One reason for the sharp increase in their demand is security fears.
Hydrology is a rapidly growing field as well due to the ever increasing population growth. This career field contains water experts who specialize in flood control and environmental preservation. In the next 10 years there is expected to be a 32 percent increase. Related to this is the job growth in the environmental engineering field. More companies are trying to increase their environmental efficiency and develop alternative energy fuels. This will have a major impact on the type of people that major corporations are going to be hiring in the near future.
Changing Careers: Which Career Path Should You Take — Consultant or Corporate Executive?
Every time the economy expands or dips, executives who are tired, bored, displaced, or in search of above-market earnings come out of the barn in droves looking for “greener pastures”. They frequently assume that their experiences running a “real” company qualify them to provide insight and expertise as a consultant to other companies. Meanwhile, consultants looking for financial stability have thoughts of going corporate. Consultants are often confident of their abilities to lead organizations. Who could be better qualified than them to run a company from the inside? After all, they have been the guiding hand for many companies strategic, financial and technology direction. They have been trusted counsel for their top executives. Unfortunately, grazing in the other “greener” pasture is more complicated that it seems on the surface.What Life as a Consultant is LikeThe defining characteristics of the consulting environment are remarkably similar from firm to firm, regardless of whether it is a large global firm or a small local firm. First and foremost, at a senior level, success is based on the generation of sales revenue. Dollars equal power.As a consultant, engagements are driven by thought leadership and strategy. Your clients typically have a list of problems that need to be solved — and the list changes frequently. Corporate decision-makers assure that consultants have special access to people and resources. After all, they have already or will shortly write a very large check for their services.From a delivery perspective, work is often standardized and methodology-based. Engagements have a beginning, an end, and a defined scope. Often little or no responsibility for implementation or outcomes is specified. But, there are some exceptions. Certain contractual arrangements have shared responsibility for results and that is reflected in the fee. Secondly, the consultant handles implementation of a system or process. However, once it is “done,” the consultant still leaves and doesn’t have to live with the consequences. Supervision and personnel responsibility is usually limited to performance on the project by the team members.Should You Be a Consultant?* Are you energized by smart people doing interesting work?* Do you enjoy a continuously shifting landscape of new problems to solve?* Are you easily bored?* Do you like providing “advice and counsel” with little responsibility for operational activities or outcomes?* Is selling fun? Do you like the thrill of the chase?* Do you enjoy socializing and building a network of contacts?What Life as a Corporate Executive is LikeIn corporations, whether public or private, profitability and shareholder value are the bottom line. For most executives, success is based on contribution to operating results. Organizational leadership, from vision to planning through execution, drives performance. Decision-making and risk taking, with accountability for choices, is fundamental. Outcomes are everything. Activities are heavily implementation and results driven. Few projects are intellectually stimulating. Most of the work of the organization is continuous and predominantly operational. Much is policy and procedurally based. There is a broad distribution of people in a corporation, with a tendency to gather around the mean in intelligence, motivation and interest in their work. Comprehensive personnel management is required by line and most staff executives to maximize the contribution of all employees in the company.Should You Become a Corporate Executive?* Do you like being on the front lines, directing others, making choices?* Do you like to see things through to the end?* Do you gain personal satisfaction from positive, measurable results that you had a significant role in delivering?* Can you keep focus on the long-term while dealing with tactical and operational concerns?* Are you willing to stand behind your decisions and be accountable for and part of outcomes with continuing consequences?* As an insider, can you gain the respect of others for your business acumen?* Are you energized by motivating and leading groups of people to successful achievement of common goals?* Do others follow you and support you?How to Align Yourself with the Career Choice You Make If you are a consultant and still think you are a candidate for a change to a corporation, consider whether you are most suited for a consulting-like role or for an operating leadership position. Your business acumen, facilitation ability, and communication skills are key skills that will be valuable in a corporate role. If you are an executive and still want to try your hand at consulting, consider whether you are most suited for a partner (translate that sales) role or for delivery management (translate that project or multiple projects). Your experience of making things work in the real world and your ability to negotiate complex organizations will be helpful in a consulting role. Remember, both consulting and executive roles have challenges and rewards. Neither is as easy as it looks from the outside, looking in. As long as you find the one that works for you, you will be where the grass is greenest.
February 19, 2010
Career Transition – What It Really Means
There are a number of fine reasons to go in for a career transition. At times, family obligations undergo a change, on other occasions skills become obsolete or an employee finds his present work really boring. For a career transition, you need to take decisions that will have a bearing on your way of life as well as on your family and friends.
A career transition, which involves moving from a standard desk job, where the employee does not carry out any physical labor, to an outdoor job will require a health check-up. The employee should take into account his abilities prior to opting for a career transition. This could indicate working out in the gym, or focusing on getting into shape before appearing in front of a potential employer.
In case there are primary health grounds for not undertaking to lift heavy objects, handling demanding physical activity or for spending extended hours standing up, the employee might search somewhere else for a job and a career transition.
Alternatively, a career transition from hard outdoor labor to a cozy office job could be a wonderful way to gradually deal with health-related issues as an employee grows old or his condition deteriorates. If an employee has to contend with sore muscles and fatiguing conditions of work outdoors, then the decision to go for a career transition should be taken into account. At this point, courses that have to do with administration skills and computer skills could be worthwhile.
Opt for a career transition based on your requirements, but prior to sending in your resume and cover letter, make certain that all the essential skills and qualities for this new employment opportunity have been attended to. When deciding which career would be best in case of a career transition, the employee has to assess his likings and aversions, his skill levels and his interests. In case of a disability, a career transition is necessary; when choosing an alternative career, this employee has to carefully weigh the pros and cons in order to find the perfect job for himself.
Before making a career transition, take into account the age, aptitude, interest and the possibility of advancement and job fulfillment. The ordeal involved when an employee considers a career transition can have an impact on his family and friends. Not able to stay in touch colleagues can lead to stress. Putting in unusual hours of work, longer commute times, relocating, or traveling for extended periods can severely disrupt family life. Spouses, partners and children should be sounded out before an employee settles on a career transition.
An employee decides on a career transition in order to lead a better life. He can achieve this by locating a new work place that trains him in the latest skills, draws on the old skills and abilities, and which is conducive to his health and way of life. Before going in for any major career transition, he should consider the negative aspects and make certain his family benefits in the long term.
Now there are numerous ways by which an employee can enhance his lifestyle by way of a career transition. All that is required is for him to search out a fresh career and look for employment in his new preferred area.
How To Avoid Acting Career Potholes
One of the downsides of choosing to earn our living as actors is the number of people who want us to give it up. Quit. Throw in the towel.
You know, when your friends look at you like you’re nuts, or when your family or significant other starts talking to you, quietly, about considering another line of work. There are even teachers, coaches and authors of ‘helpful’ books who eagerly tell you, that what you are doing with your life is a ‘crazy dream’ (as if they knew you well enough to have an opinion).
Believe me, if you listen to these people – you are not going to get where you want to go.
Here are a few folks you should listen to instead:
“Don’t tell me not to fly, I’ve simply got to. If I take a spill, it’s me and not you. Who told you you’re allowed to rain on my parade?” ~ Lyrics from Funny Girl
“How much time he saves who does not look to see what his neighbor says – or does – or thinks.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
“Life is short, but it’s long enough to ruin anyone who wants to be ruined.” ~ Josh Billings
This is what these pretty smart people are saying about listening to other people with regard to your dream: It’s me, not you. Who cares what you think? You can only ruin this if I let you.
Those people, the ones who are telling you to give it up, may be perfectly well-intentioned – they don’t want to see you get hurt, let’s say – or they just want to make sure that you are safe and secure in the challenging world of retail shoe sales.
Or, it’s possible they are just mean-spirited bozos with nothing better to do with their time. Their life is a disaster and they can’t bother trying to fix it, so they have plenty of spare time to give you the ‘facts of life.’
But this is YOUR decision.
This is YOUR life.
YOU are the one who has to DO what has to be done.
I hope I’ve convinced you that you should never, ever, substitute someone else’s beliefs (sometimes erroneously called thoughts) for your own.
Okey dokey, now that we’ve gotten past all the people who are standing in our way – we’re ready to ‘go for the gold’ -right?
Not so fast. There is one other person who simply refuses to get out of your way. I think you know who I mean. I think you know what I’m going to say next …
Oh yeah … it’s YOU!
The only person who can actually stop you from realizing your dream is you.
Do you know why you’re the last person standing in your own way?
Psychiatrists have loads of different answers to that question but I only have one: We tend to stand in our own way because we’re afraid.
What are we afraid of A lot of things: Failure. Rejection. Finding out we’re not talented. Success. Finding out what other people think of us. Showing up our family or friends. Not being accepted by our peers. Being embarrassed. Being wrong. Being laughed at. Being the goat.
All of these fears and many others are out there waiting for us, but, in my not so humble opinion what we’re really afraid of – what really keeps us from the success we want – what builds these seemingly insurmountable walls of fear is … CHANGE.
Human beings don’t like change, so we try to play it safe.
For instance, we actors often fall into a comfortable routine of classes, showcases, mass mailings, networking opportunities and relationships where our predetermined outlook is not examined, questioned or challenged. To be blunt, our careers fall into a rut. Our headshots are three years old. We hold down jobs we hate to pay for our ‘habit.’ We’ve seen the inside of more dingy little theatres than a 100-year-old fire inspector. And we keep doing it this way because we don’t like change.
But, if we don’t change, guess what? We end up like Wile E. Coyote, constantly buying into the latest “Acme” product and hoping that this new gimmick will work. And like that crazy coyote, we generally end up going over the cliff – ker-floop – onto the canyon floor.
It gets old, real fast.
We all know, instinctively, what our behavior really means: Actors who keep doing the same thing over and over again – expecting to get different results – probably need the help of a mental health professional, not another pay-for-play showcase.
As an example, many of us obstinately keep using a headshot that doesn’t work (get us called in) and insist that the problem lies in the behavior of agents and casting directors. The facts elude us because we have the sympathetic ear of other Wile E. Coyotes. No matter what you’ve been told, it’s NOT a numbers game – it’s a face game.
Or we attend workshops religiously without any forward progress, network like insurance salesmen at a retirement village, hoping for the brass ring – do unpaid gig after unpaid gig, hoping against hope that Spielberg will show up in the audience, one lucky night, and carry us away to the stardom we so richly deserve – because we want it so much.
After a couple of years of this merry-go-round, we get weary. And, unfortunately, sometimes, we get cynical. It’s the path of least resistance.
The irony is that this weary cynicism, which we adopt without complaint, is … CHANGE.
Unfortunately, this kind of change will cost us our love of what we do, our commitment to our goal, our self respect, and, worst of all, the company of other actors who know that cynicism is the career killer.
My opinion? If you want better (different) results, get comfortable with change.
Because it’s going to happen, whether you like it or not.