What a financial analyst really does
You turn messy financial data into a clear call on what a company is worth, then defend that call to people who will spend money on it.
FieldBusiness
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for financial analysts, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Read earnings releases, filings and industry news on the companies you cover
- Update spreadsheet models with new results and adjust forecasts
- Compare companies in the same industry on growth, margins, debt and valuation
- Build charts and short reports that explain what changed and why it matters
- Present recommendations to portfolio managers or clients and answer hard questions
- Help junior analysts check their numbers and learn the models
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Keeping up never stops. You are expected to follow your industry and the economy constantly, not just when a project starts. O*NET tasks 17 and 18: monitor developments in business, finance and economic theory, and monitor economic, industrial and corporate developments from publications, agencies and company sources
- Building the spreadsheet is only half the job. You also have to make charts and decks that a busy person can read in two minutes. O*NET tasks 8 and 11: create client presentations of plan details; draw charts and graphs using spreadsheets to illustrate technical reports
- You have to commit to a recommendation, including timing, and your name is on it. O*NET task 24: recommend investments and investment timing to companies, investment firm staff, or the public
- It is a team and relationship job more than people expect, working with lawyers, accountants and bankers. O*NET tasks 4 and 10: collaborate with lawyers, accountants or PR experts; develop and maintain client relationships
How people get into it
Most roles expect a four year bachelor's degree (O*NET Job Zone 4), usually in finance, accounting or economics. Many analysts start as junior or associate analysts and learn modeling on the job; some later pursue a professional charter such as the CFA.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks at Ridgeline Capital Partners, a fictional company, with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The trial uses simplified fictional company data and a small model. It does not show real market data terminals, the volume of daily reading, earnings season crunch weeks, live markets moving during a meeting, or how being right or wrong over months shapes your reputation. O*NET does not yet publish Work Context data for this occupation, so hours and pressure levels are not grounded in survey numbers.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
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Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 13-2051.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.