Banking provides a wealth of employment opportunities from bank tellers to investment bankers. As one would expect with the financial industry, banking careers are also quite lucrative, especially when you head towards the upper echelons in fields like investment banking. The list of banking jobs is enormous and includes a variety of positions, such as:
- Branch manager
- Banking and commercial loan processors
- Chief collections executives
- Fraud detection
- Mortgage development manager
- Wealth manager
We take a closer look at three other banking careers.
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Investment banking
Investment banking helps (primarily) large business enterprises manage, grow and protect their profits.
According to the University of Liverpool, one of the easiest ways to get into investment banking is to complete a bachelor’s degree and get into a bank’s analyst program. Another option is to get a master’s degree and take advantage of higher entry level jobs, such as associate banking positions. There are several areas of specialisation within investment banking, including sales and trading, mergers and acquisitions, equity and fixed income research and ratings analysis.
Let’s get to the nitty-gritty: money. How much can you earn as an investment banker in Australia? Well, that depends on your area of specialisation and the city in which you live. For example, banking jobs in Sydney may pay better than those in Melbourne and Brisbane. In general, however, investment bankers can expect to earn an average of $95,000. If this sounds a little disappointing then take heart because My Career says that investment bankers can earn in excess of $210,000.
Obviously, if you want to earn over 200K you need to be qualified to your eye balls. Banking courses and degrees include:
- Certificate IV in Banking Services
- Graduate Certificate of Finance and Banking
- Graduate Diploma of Finance and Banking
- Bachelor of Commerce (Banking)
- Master of Business (Banking and Finance)
- Master of Applied Finance (Banking)
Retail banking
Retail banking is concerned with all the banking services that the general public has come to expect from their banks. It involves savings and cheque accounts, credit and debit cards, loans, mortgages, wealth management and personal financial planning. This means that retail banking provides a variety of careers, from customer consultants and bank tellers to branch managers and credit risk managers.
You can earn up to $100,000 per year, depending on where you work in retail banking. You’ll need to be quite high up the banking ladder to earn such good salaries, however. According to PayScale, head bank tellers can earn anything from around $37,000 to $58,000 per year. My Career puts the average salary of all retail bankers at around $87,700, although the average at the lower end of the scale is only $40,000.
The qualifications you need to work in retail banking also vary according to the kind of work you want to do. Tellers can get away with TAFE certificates and diplomas but risk managers and consultants will need a bachelor degree at the very least. It’s always possible to start with online TAFE banking and finance courses while you get entry level on-the-job experience and gradually work your way up to a master’s degree. Retail banking career pathways include:
- Advanced Diploma in Banking Services Management
- Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance)
- Master of Business (Banking and Finance)
Credit analyst
Credit analysts have one of the most important banking jobs. They’re the people who decide whether members of the public and commercial enterprises qualify for loans and what size those loans should be. They look at past financial information and current financial status to determine creditworthiness. It involves aspects of finance, accounting and economics, which is why you need to complete at least a bachelor degree that incorporates all of these subjects. They also need to be on friendly terms with statistics and complicated mathematics like calculus (Investopedia).
Given their importance, it should come as no surprise that credit analysts have one of the higher paying jobs in banking. My Career says that the average salary is $103,500 with the average maximum salary sitting at over $113,000. PayScale has a slightly lower estimate, putting the average salary at between $40,000 (junior) and $99,000 (senior).
Pathways to a career as a credit analyst include:
- Bachelor of Economics
- Graduate Diploma in Commerce
- Master of Commerce
- Bachelor of Applied Finance
It’s clear that if you want to work in banking, especially if you want to earn a very good salary, you need to be as educated as possible. Search our list of finance and banking-related courses to find a niche career that suits your interests and talents.
by Editorial Team
by Adelaide Morse
by Amber Kirkwood
by Stephanie Caruso