10 Ways to Earn a Finance Career Without Having Worked in the Field

Finance is one of the most challenging and rewarding fields to enter. The role of finance professionals is to help businesses manage their money and make decisions that will maximize returns for investors. This can be a high-stress job, but it also comes with significant rewards. If you have good math skills, a strong work ethic and an eye for detail, you could be on your way to landing a finance career without attending college:

Get an internship in the finance industry.

• Internships are a great way to get your foot in the door.
• They can be a good way to learn about the industry and company culture.
• An internship is an excellent opportunity for you to get a feel for what it’s like working at that specific organization, so don’t hesitate to apply if you think this will help!

Take a class — or two — in accounting and finance.

If you’re looking to get into the finance industry without a degree, take some classes in accounting and finance. Accounting and finance are two subjects that can help you understand the basics of economics and accounting—the first step toward understanding how money works.

If you’re just starting out as an accountant or financial analyst, it’s important to learn about basic financial concepts like risk management and budgeting so that you can do your job effectively. In addition to being good with numbers, having knowledge of how businesses operate will make it easier for employers to find qualified candidates who can grow with their organization over time (and perhaps even take over leadership roles).

Learn how to use Excel.

Excel is a financial tool that you can use to track and analyze your finances. It’s a powerful piece of software, but it can be intimidating if you don’t know how to use it properly. If you want to land a finance career without having completed any formal training in finance, then learning how to use Excel is one of the best ways for you to start building up your portfolio of skills and knowledge about this subject area.

Once you have learned how easy it is for an individual who has no prior experience with spreadsheets—or even computer science at all—to get started using Excel, then there are many other things that become possible for them as well:

• Creating financial models
• Creating financial reports (e.g., budgets)
• Creating charts which show trends over time

Become proficient at business communication.

The first step to becoming a finance professional is learning how to communicate effectively. Your ability as a communicator will determine whether or not you’re able to land the job, so it’s important that you become proficient at business communication.

When interviewing for any position, employers are looking for candidates who have clear ideas about their fields of expertise and can articulate them clearly and confidently. This means learning how to write clearly and concisely; speaking clearly; listening carefully; presenting information effectively; reading people and situations; negotiating with clients or colleagues on behalf of your company (or yourself); handling stress well in all situations

Prepare for a tough interview.

• Prepare for a tough interview. A finance career without a finance degree is possible, but it will require some extra effort on your part to get where you want to go. You need to be prepared for the interview by researching the company and the interviewer so that you can speak intelligently about yourself. You should also have answers ready for questions about your resume, experience and skillset—this includes answering any questions they may ask about why you want this job or how much money they pay people like yourself (or both). Be sure that your answers are not just generic platitudes; demonstrate an understanding of their business model by providing examples from their own history or other companies’ histories as well as how these experiences relate directly back into helping solve problems faced by their organization today

Play up your non-finance skills.

• Show that you are a team player.
• Show that you are good at communicating.
• Show that you are good at working with people, and how they will react to your communication style.
• Show that you can problem solve, make decisions and manage crises in an ethical way (e.g., by using common sense).

Build your network.

Building a network is one of the best ways to land a finance career without a finance degree. By building relationships with people in your field, you can be sure that they’ll be able to help you find opportunities and refer you when they have something interesting coming up. It’s also helpful if someone has experience working at a company or knows someone who does—it shows that you have some value!

In order to build your network effectively, it helps if you keep in touch with people regularly. Whether it’s by emailing about upcoming events or simply staying in touch over social media, these types of interactions will make them feel like part of the team rather than an outsider looking for connections.

Be ready to work hard and learn fast.

The first thing you’ll need to do is be ready to work hard and learn fast. This means that you’ll need to be able to keep up with the demands of your job, including working under pressure, independently and on your own initiative. You’ll also need to learn how to communicate effectively with others, especially in an interview situation where there are many people present who might not know what they’re doing (or even worse yet—a manager).

In order for this process of learning how finance works outside of school (or even in school) through experience doesn’t become too overwhelming or time consuming as well as having fun while doing it!

Use your first job as a jumping off point.

• Take on new responsibilities.
• Learn from your mistakes.
• Ask for feedback and ask for help when you need it, but don’t be afraid to learn by doing.
• Keep a positive attitude, even if things don’t go according to plan (they rarely do). As long as you are working hard and trying your best, there’s no reason why things can’t turn out well!

If you have good math skills and grit, you can break into finance without a degree.

If you have good math skills and grit, you can break into finance without a degree.

It may sound obvious, but it’s not just about being smart or having a good head for numbers. You’ll also need to be willing to learn new skills as your career progresses—and that means taking risks, moving around a bit and getting out of your comfort zone by working with different people in different capacities. It may seem scary at first but with persistence and hard work anything is possible!

Conclusion

If you follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way to landing a finance career. And keep in mind, it’s never too early or too late to make this change! You don’t need a degree from an Ivy League university or years of experience at top firms — just determination and hard work.