Career
Financial managers
Guard an organization's money and plan how it grows.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
- Oversee the flow of cash or financial instruments.
- Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of workers in branches, offices, or departments of establishments, such as branch banks, brokerage firms, risk and insurance departments, or credit departments.
- Recruit staff members.
- Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $166,570 a year and 65,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Business AdministrationSee the degree →
- FinanceSee the degree →
- AccountingSee the degree →
- Accounting and Computer ScienceCIP 30.1601
- Financial AnalyticsCIP 30.7104
- Risk ManagementCIP 52.0215
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Accountants and Auditors$83,680 · +5.0%
- Financial and Investment Analysts$102,740 · +7.2%
- Personal Financial Advisors$105,070 · +1.4%
- Credit Analysts$83,510 · -4.3%
- Loan Officers$76,690 · +1.1%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.