How to Become a Financial Analyst

Financial analysts research and evaluate financial data, forecast trends, and prepare reports with recommendations for businesses and investors. BLS lists the core duties as researching and recommending investments, evaluating current and historical financial data, studying economic and business trends, examining a company's financial statements to judge its value and growth prospects, meeting with company officials, and writing reports and presentations.^[4]

Most analysts specialize. BLS notes that they generally focus on a region, an industry, or a type of product, and they have to understand how economic trends, regulations, policies, and political events affect investments.^[4] O*NET's list of the occupation's detailed work activities shows the same pattern: analyzing business or financial data, determining the value of goods or services, analyzing industry trends, applying mathematical models of financial or business conditions, and advising others on financial matters sit at the top.^[5]

In practice the work splits by who the analysis is for. Inside a company, an analyst studies the company's own financial performance to support its planning and spending decisions. At an investment firm, the analyst studies other companies and securities and recommends what to buy, hold, or sell. The occupation code is the same, but the pay is not: our salary guide by industry shows a $38,980 spread in medians across the industries that hire the most analysts.^[1]

O*NET's task list for the occupation shows how varied the work is.^[5] The most common thread is valuation and modeling: using financial models to solve problems or assess the impact of a transaction, evaluating and comparing the quality of securities within an industry, and setting the prices at which new securities are offered to the public. A second group is client and deal work: advising clients on how much capital to raise and from where, working with clients to restructure or refinance debt, collaborating with investment bankers, lawyers, and accountants, and building client relationships. The third is reporting: charts and graphs in spreadsheets, written reports, and client presentations. Some analysts also assess companies by visiting their facilities, and some analyze companies in financial difficulty to recommend remedies.^[5]

Few analysts do all of this. The client and deal tasks belong to firms that raise capital or advise on transactions; the modeling, valuation, and reporting tasks appear almost everywhere. If you read job postings with this list in mind, the title "financial analyst" will tell you less than the task list does.

BLS also separates two kinds of analyst within its Financial Analysts profile.^[4] Financial and investment analysts, the group this page covers, run quantitative analyses of investments and financial data and rate and recommend investments. Financial risk specialists assess exposure to credit and market risk, often with statistical software or econometric models, and develop policies to keep a firm within regulatory guidelines. The two groups held about 377,200 and 66,000 jobs in 2025, and risk specialists are concentrated more heavily in banks: credit intermediation employs 35 percent of them, against 12 percent of investment analysts.^[4][2]

BLS names six qualities as important for financial analysts: analytical skills, communication skills, computer skills, decision-making skills, attention to detail, and math skills.^[4] The communication item is easy to underrate. Analysts have to explain their research and recommendations in writing and in presentations, and a model nobody understands does not change a decision.

O*NET rates the work styles that matter most for the occupation. Attention to detail scores highest, followed by integrity, dependability, and intellectual curiosity; cautiousness, tolerance for ambiguity, and stress tolerance also rank in the top ten.^[5] That combination describes the job well: careful with numbers, honest about what they show, and steady when the answer is uncertain and the deadline is not.

On tools, O*NET lists spreadsheet and database work alongside business intelligence software such as Microsoft Power BI and Tableau, statistical packages such as SAS, IBM SPSS Statistics, and MATLAB, database query tools including SQL, and Visual Basic for Applications for automating spreadsheet models.^[5] Few employers expect all of these from a new hire, but strong spreadsheet modeling and at least one data tool are worth building before the first job search.

1. Earn a bachelor's degree. BLS lists a bachelor's in finance or a related field, such as business, as the typical path in, and it is the typical entry education in the employment projections.^[4][2]

2. Get an internship. BLS notes that students often benefit from internships, which give practical experience.^[4] It also gives you analysis you have actually done to talk about when you apply for full-time roles. If you are aiming at a securities firm, the SIE exam is the one FINRA exam you can take without an employer, from age 18, so it can be done while you are still in school.^[6]

3. Land an analyst role and any required license. Some positions require a FINRA license. Most of those licenses need employer sponsorship, so you take the exams after you are hired, not before.^[4]

4. Decide on the CFA charter. The charter is not required for most analyst jobs. CFA Institute presents it as an investment credential, so it matters most if investment analysis is the work you want. CFA Institute requires passing three exam levels and documenting at least 4,000 hours of relevant work experience over no fewer than 36 months, which you can accumulate while studying.^[3] The full section on credentials below covers the cost.

5. Specialize and move up. Analysts usually build depth in a sector, region, or product type, and BLS lists portfolio and fund manager as the roles experienced analysts advance into.^[4]

A bachelor's degree is the entry requirement for most financial analyst jobs, and finance is the most direct major. Our ranking of bachelor's in finance programs analyzed 743 accredited programs and scores them on graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and outcomes. Accounting is another route in, and it keeps the CPA option open; see the bachelor's in accounting rankings and our accounting vs finance comparison. For the data-heavy end of the field, see our business analytics rankings.

A graduate degree is not required to start. BLS says some employers prefer candidates with a master's degree, and that a master's in finance or an MBA may improve an analyst's chances of advancing to portfolio or fund manager.^[4] One way to read that is by timing: a master's in finance for someone who wants deeper technical training early, and an MBA for someone with a few years of experience who wants to move toward management or switch industries. Our rankings analyzed 165 master's in finance programs and 978 MBA programs, and the accounting ranking 1,132 bachelor's programs, if you want to compare schools directly. Our MBA vs master's in finance guide compares the two in detail.

Whichever degree you choose, the federal data on this page cannot tell you what a graduate degree adds to pay for this occupation: BLS does not publish financial analyst wages by degree level. Weigh a graduate program on the doors it opens and its cost, and check each school's own graduate earnings in our rankings.

FINRA licenses. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is the main licensing organization for the securities industry, and some financial analyst positions require one of its licenses. Because most require sponsorship by an employer, you are not expected to hold one before your first job.^[4]

Two FINRA exams matter most for analysts. The Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) covers basic industry knowledge, including products and their risks, how the markets and regulators are structured, and prohibited practices. It is open to anyone 18 or older without a sponsoring firm, has 75 questions, costs $100, and stays valid for four years, but passing it alone does not register you.^[6] Analysts who publish equity research need the Research Analyst registration, which requires passing the Series 86 and Series 87 exams along with the SIE. Those require sponsorship by a member firm; the Series 86 has 85 questions and costs $295, and the Series 87 has 50 questions and costs $195.^[7] One overlap with the CFA is worth knowing: a candidate who has passed CFA Levels I and II may request an exemption from the Series 86.^[7]

The CFA charter. The CFA Program is three exams, and all three levels must be passed. To use the charterholder designation you also need at least 4,000 hours of relevant work experience completed in no fewer than 36 months; the hours can be earned while you study. CFA Institute puts the exam fees for the full program at USD 3,520 to 4,570, and says more than 200,000 people hold the charter worldwide.^[3] The charter is optional for most analyst roles; it is built for investment work, so weigh it against the kind of analysis you want to do. Our guides to CFA vs CPA and CFP vs CFA compare it with the other credentials analysts consider.

BLS notes that certification, while not always required, may enhance professional standing.^[4] It does not publish pay by credential, so any salary premium you see quoted for the CFA comes from surveys outside the federal data on this page.

Financial analysts typically work in offices and may travel to visit companies or clients. Most work full time, and some work more than 40 hours a week.^[4] How often the longer weeks come depends on the employer.

By employer, the largest group of financial and investment analysts works in securities, commodity contracts, and investment firms, at 24 percent of jobs. Professional, scientific, and technical services employ 14 percent, credit intermediation 12 percent, management of companies 11 percent, and insurance carriers 6 percent.^[4] Those settings differ in who the analysis serves: outside investors at an investment firm, the company's own leadership at a corporate headquarters, and lending and credit decisions at a bank. They differ in pay as well, from a median of $124,370 in securities and investment firms to $85,390 at colleges and universities; the industry breakdown lists each.^[1]

Location follows the employers. The five states with the most financial analyst jobs are New York (52,380), California (45,380), Texas (28,820), Florida (23,900), and Illinois (20,520), together 47.2 percent of the 361,980 jobs in the wage survey.^[1] If you are flexible about where you live, those are the deepest markets to search; if you are not, our state-by-state table shows the job count and median pay for every state.

The entry job is the analyst role itself: BLS lists no prior work experience as typical for entry.^[2] As they gain experience, BLS says financial analysts may advance to portfolio or fund manager, selecting the mix of investments for a fund, and that a master's in finance or an MBA may improve the chances of that move.^[4]

The other common direction is management. Financial managers, who run an organization's financial reporting, investments, and long-term planning, earn a median of $166,570, and BLS lists 5 years or more of related work experience as typical for entry.^[1][2] That experience requirement is the real timeline for the move: it is a second-stage job, not a first one. Our financial manager career guide covers the path.

The work changes before the title does. O*NET's activity list for the occupation includes supervising employees, training personnel, and keeping professional knowledge current alongside the analysis itself.^[5] The first two are the parts of the analyst job that look most like management, so they are where experience for that move is built. The third never stops: markets, regulations, and tools change, and BLS notes that analysts have to understand how new regulations and policies affect investments.^[4]

Because BLS does not publish pay by years of experience, the best federal guide to how pay grows along this path is the percentile range: $79,290 at the 25th percentile, $102,740 at the median, and $180,860 at the 90th.^[1]

The shortest path is the degree. BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry education for financial and investment analysts and no prior work experience in a related occupation, so a graduate can be hired straight into the role.^[2]

The CFA charter is the longer clock. Its three exam levels can be taken while working, and the charter requires at least 4,000 hours of relevant work experience completed over no fewer than 36 months.^[3] At least three years of relevant work is therefore the minimum before you can use the charter, whatever your exam pace.

Management takes longer still. BLS lists 5 years or more of related work experience as typical for financial managers.^[2] Put together, the federal and CFA Institute requirements sketch a path of a degree, an entry analyst role, three or more years toward a charter if you pursue one, and five or more years of experience before a management role.

The median annual wage was $102,740 in May 2025, with the middle half of analysts earning between $79,290 and $133,340.^[1] Employment is projected to grow from 377,200 to 404,300 jobs between 2025 and 2035, about 24,700 openings a year once replacements for people who retire or change careers are included.^[2] BLS ties that demand to overall economic activity, more global investing, and growing volumes of data to assess.^[4]

The salary guide breaks the pay down by state, industry, and cost of living, with the full percentile range.

BLS lists several occupations with duties close to a financial analyst's.^[4] Four have full guides on this site:

• Financial managers direct an organization's financial reporting, investments, and long-term planning. Median pay: $166,570.^[1]
• Personal financial advisors work with individuals rather than institutions, helping them plan and manage their money. Median pay: $105,070.
• Management analysts recommend ways to make an organization more efficient. Median pay: $101,860.
• Data scientists use analytical tools to pull insights from data, the most technical neighbor on the list. Median pay: $120,230.

BLS also lists budget analysts (2025 median $91,640), financial examiners ($94,160), insurance underwriters ($81,370), compliance officers ($80,730), market research analysts ($78,760), and securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents ($78,660) as similar occupations.^[4] The common thread is a bachelor's degree and daily work with financial data; the differences are who the client is and how much of the job is analysis versus selling, managing, or enforcing rules.

Reasons it might be. The median wage is roughly twice the median for all occupations ($102,740 against $50,980).^[1][2] Entry needs a bachelor's degree with no prior work experience, and employment is projected to grow about twice as fast as the overall workforce.^[2] The skills overlap with several of the similar occupations BLS lists, including management analysts and data scientists, which leaves room to change direction later.^[4]

Reasons to think twice. Some analysts work more than 40 hours a week.^[4] Demand follows the economy, so hiring can slow in a downturn.^[4] If you want the CFA charter, CFA Institute's credential for investment work, it takes three exams plus at least 4,000 hours of experience over 36 months or more.^[3] And pay varies widely by industry and location, so the median is a midpoint, not a promise.

O*NET's interest profile is a useful check. On its 100-point scale, the occupation rates 76 for Conventional interests (organizing information and data), 68 each for Enterprising (business judgment and persuasion) and Investigative (research), and only 21 for Social and 13 for Artistic.^[5] In plain terms, the work rewards order, research, and business sense, and offers relatively little of the helping, teaching, or creative work that some people need from a job.

If you like working carefully with numbers, can explain what they mean to people who do not, and are comfortable being judged on the quality of your calls, the work suits you. If you want to work directly with individual clients, financial advising may fit better; if you want the numbers to be the whole job, look at data science.