Does Anybody Here Work As A Financial Analyst or Accountant?

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I am very curious on if being a Financial Analyst would work with me, given I have AS.

I am good at research, digging deep and analyzing (or over analyzing) anything!
I have an interest in doing investments.
I can handle and enjoy some degree of people interaction, 75/25 split in terms of solo research v dealing with people.

My big thing is I need a job with predictable structure in terms of what will be done each day, what the hours are, and if they can be steady 9-5, some OT ok but better if it's more on occassion than regular and known in advance.

I know accounting is ranked high for AS Jobs, but I am more interested in learning about how to invest and manage money as opposed to doing taxes.

I am NOT into being a day trader, more like an analyst who helps firms decide how to invest retirement funds.

If any of you work in the finance or accounting field, please, please do share if you feel this will or will not fit.
Thanks.

I'd be curious on how being a financial analyst compares to that of accountant in terms of:

1) Do accountants mostly do taxes or do they handle money management and investing too?
2) How do the hours compare? Are both similar or is finance much longer and less 9-5?
3) Are both predictable in terms of the work for the day?
4) Do you get out of the office much?
5) Would an AS person fit?

I'm an actuary, not a financial analyst, but I do similar things (research, risk assessment, etc.). It's a *great* fit for being AS, and depending on the firm you get into, you can dictate how much interpersonal interaction you get. Go for it!

The biggest thing for me is:


KEY KEY KEY
1) Predictable work schedule in terms of knowing what my day and hours will be and being able to have a gameplan
2) "Bankers" hours, not "trial lawyer" hours with good work-life balance are VERY big.

So my question, given what works best for me, is the finance industry a good fit? Is it common or typical to find a position which follows this structure or would it be something not to count on?


I have heard people say those in finance work long, long 80 hour weeks, overwhelming and too much for me.

If I could find a job which does investment and financial analysis and has managable hours I would be fine.
Question, is this normal and possible in the finance industry or not?

There was a similar thread recently where I posted lots about what I do as a CPA, and what I see as some of the pros and cons, and how that plays out with career paths. If you find my post list, you can probably find the thread.

Is there an easy way to search instead of going through 6K posts!?

I think DW_a_mom meant this thread: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt165281.html . She made some informative posts here.

work in the finance field?

Good luck getting a job as a financial analyst... Every single one of those jobs I've looked at requires a degree and at least 2 years of experience.

The good news is that part isn't always necessarily hard and fast. They will lower that for the right people, you just have to work a heck of a lot harder when you're new to the field.

I can't say much on financial analyst work, I work in a niche area of the auditing world and am looking for new employment. My own concern as well when I look around has been that anywhere I wanted to get in, my four years of experience are great but everyone's wanted GL for the positions I was looking for . Hopefully something will break for both of us regardless of how stench the economy is.

The good news about financial analyst work though - it will be in demand. Its one of the few fields (and accounting in general) that are experiencing significant growth.

What exactly do you mean by "the right people?"

Sharp, good GPA, etc.

I'm glad someone found it for you.

The self-directed way to approach the problem is this: she must have written that recently, or she wouldn't assume there is an easy way to find it.

At the time I wrote this post, the thread I was thinking of had happened in the past week. I didn't link it because I wasn't typing on a device where that is easy to do, but I wouldn't have suggested finding if I had thought it would be difficult.

Be aware that the financial worlds do expect you to show a certain amount of self-direction, to take an incomplete instruction and see the way to narrow it down. Without wasting a lot of time, of course. If that doesn't work, you can go back to your boss and ask for more detail, noting that you already took steps A and B, didn't get results quickly, and are now worried about wasting time.