The banking industry is a booming sector, growing nearly year over year since 2012. Major banking is part of what makes up the nation’s financial system. It makes up personal and commercial bank accounts, savings, and investments.
Major banking is home to thousands of jobs in a variety of professions. This is one of the best industries to enter into whether you’re joining the workforce at an entry-level, have a background in banking or finance, or have decades of leadership and upper management experience.
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What Is The Major Banking Industry?
Major banking comprises the finance and banking sector. It includes:
- Personal banking
- Commercial banking
- Investments
- Financial planning
- Financial management and analysis
Major banking jobs are diverse and they require a mix of skills, education, and experience. Some banking jobs require an advanced degree while others are entry-level and are good for people looking for jobs with no degree and no experience required.
10 Of Best Paying Jobs In Major Banks
1. Internal Auditor
Median National Salary: $79,880/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 1,562,000
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 6% (Faster than average)
Job Duties: Auditors in the banking industry review the banking records for the financial institution. This is an accounting specialist that does careful recordkeeping to ensure accuracy and compliance.
Auditors generally are degreed with a background in finance and/or banking. Certification may or may not be required, depending on your area and the organization you want to for. Getting certified as a bank auditor will definitely make your resume shine and help set you apart from the competition.
This job will be a good fit for people that enjoy data analysis and review. You’re detail-oriented and well-organized. Working in auditing is an opportunity to transition into other careers in the future, if your interests change, like cost estimator or financial analyst, to name a few.
Auditors perform job duties like checking banking records to ensure the bank complies with federal regulations, keeping accurate records, and following the rules.
2. Financial Analyst
Median National Salary: $99,890/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 404,800
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 9% (Much faster than average)
Job Duties: Financial analysts are responsible for examining and analyzing financial data. They review the data and recommend financial decisions.
Financial analysts review stock performance, gather and organize financial data, do financial forecasting and financial modeling and presentations.
You’ll need a background in finance, accounting, or statistics with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.
Financial analysis work is complex and requires a large body of knowledge. You may work longer hours, outside a typical 9-to-5 but, the higher paycheck may be worth it. Top financial analysts earn up to $117,000/year.
3. Financial Examiner
Median National Salary: $84,300/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 65,500
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 21% (Much faster than average)
Job Duties: Financial examiners review financial documents and ensure regulatory compliance. This job requires a lot of review and analysis of bank transactions. It may require some travel as the work is usually onsite so you’ll need to travel to the bank to do the financial examination.
This is one of the higher-paid banking careers, in part because of the background, skills, and educational requirements. You’ll need to be degreed and be able to sift through large amounts of data and reports with a critical eye for spotting errors. This is a complex job with a paycheck to match, which can be an appealing position for those who want to work in finance with an opportunity to make up to six figures.
The job duties of a financial examiner include:
- Examining financial documents
- Regulatory compliance
- Ensuring the institution is in top financial health
4. Loan Officer
Median National Salary: $69,990/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 334,100
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 1% (Slower than average)
Job Duties: Loan officers work with banking customers to accept and review loan applications. Loan officers can work with a variety of loan products like personal loans, home mortgage loans, and other consumer and commercial lending products. They can also specialize in a specific product, like mortgage loans.
You’ll work with customers one-on-one interviewing them to uncover their needs so you can refer appropriate banking products to them. This is the perfect job for someone who likes working with people. It’s a sales-driven position so if you like the competition that sales brings, you’ll like this job.
There’s an opportunity to make a lot of money as a loan officer, based on your performance.
The job duties of a loan officer include:
- Interviewing bank customers to recommend the correct loan product to them
- Help customers complete the loan application
- Review the loan application and evaluate it for approval
5. Securities and Commodities Agent
Median National Salary: $76,900/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 513,800
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 7% (Faster than average)
Job Duties: A securities and commodities agent is someone that brings together buyers and sellers in the financial markets, commonly called stock brokers.
Working as a stockbroker can be challenging. You’ll work with customers one-on-one in a competitive environment. You’ll need to have a lot of knowledge about the securities markets as you may work in different markets like stocks, debt, derivatives, foreign exchange, etc.
Some stock brokers act as financial planners and wealth manager planners, as well.
This is a job with the potential to earn a very lucrative salary.
The job duties of a securities and commodities agent include:
- Trading stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and commodities like gold
- Offer advice and help clients buy or sell securities or commodities
- Review and analyze financial markets
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6. Bank Teller
Median National Salary: $37,640/year
Education Required: High school diploma
Number of Jobs: 350,300
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: -15% (Decline)
Job Duties: Bank tellers work with banking customers to help provide financial services like cashing checks, depositing and withdrawing money from bank accounts, transferring funds and wire transfers, issuing money orders and cashier’s checks, and other financial transactions.
This is a customer-facing role so, you want to have good communication skills and be able to practice great customer service. You may be asked to cross-sell or refer banking products to new or existing customers so knowing the bank’s products and services will be required.
In all, you’ll mostly be performing routine bank transactions for customers during the day and you’ll get to enjoy the perks of working in banking like working a 9-to-5 schedule with banking holidays off.
Bank tellers perform routine banking services to help customers with financial activities like transferring funds, depositing and withdrawing funds, and issuing cashier’s checks.
For more information, check out our bank teller job description and learn how to create a bank teller resume.
Related: What To Include In A Finance Resume
7. Financial Manager
Median National Salary: $156,100/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 837,100
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 17% (Much faster than average)
Job Duties: A financial manager does financial reporting and helps develop long-term financial plans for the organization. You play a major role in the financial health of an organization. You’ll analyze the profitability and cash flow of an organization, review financial data including expense management, and do long-term financial planning.
The job duties of a financial manager include profitability and cash flow reporting, financial data analysis, expense management and long-term financial planning.
8. Chief Financial Officer
Median National Salary: $103,840/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 3,944,000
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 6% (Faster than average)
Job Duties: Chief Financial Officers generally carry the second highest leadership role for organizations. In banking leadership, CFOs are often right below the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Working as a CFO doesn’t necessarily require you to have experience working in the banking industry, though this can be helpful. You will need to have a strong background, experience, and skills working in upper leadership as a former CFO or working for an organization managing their financial side.
CFOs manage and oversee an organization’s financial planning and cash flow activities.
The job duties of a chief financial officer include:
- Managing the organization’s cash flow
- Overseeing and managing financial planning
- Creating, executing, and managing the company’s strategic financial direction
9. Budget Analyst
Median National Salary: $84,940/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 50,800
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 4% (As fast as average)
Job Duties: Budget analysts review and analyze company budgets. This is an important job as it directly impacts the company’s budgeting activities. Organizations allocate a budget for different activities like marketing, organization, planning, etc. They mustn’t get overextended on the budget and this is where the budget analyst comes in.
This is a good fit for someone with a strong background in finance. You will be working in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments. Having skills like time management, organizational and communication skills are essential in this role.
The job duties of a budget analyst include financial planning, budget analysis and budget reporting.
10. Branch Manager
Median National Salary: $73,974/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 681,700
Job Growth 2023 – 2033: 17% (Much faster than average)
Job Duties: Branch managers lead the operations and activities of the bank branch. This leadership-based role can include staffing, onboarding, and training new team members. You’ll also be responsible for setting goals and managing sales performance.
Branch managers usually are required to have a background in banking. Many workers in this position started at another position at the bank, like working as a bank teller or personal banker before moving into this leadership position.
The job duties of a branch manager include:
- Managing branch employees
- Oversee approvals of financial products like loans and lines of credit
- Staffing, training, and onboarding new employees
- Performance reporting
If you want to become a branch manager, it would be a good idea to update your resume. This will make applying for jobs a breeze. For more information, check out our guide on how to write a branch manager resume.
What Are The Requirements And Skills To Work In Major Banking?
The requirements and skills to work in banking will vary and boils down to the banking career you pursue.
In general, it would be good to have these skills:
- Excellent communication: You’ll be working alongside peers in the banking industry and one-on-one with customers so having strong communication skills is important.
- Problem-solving: Problem-solving requires critical thinking skills which can be needed in banking. From recommending appropriate products to customers to creating performance plans, problem-solving skills are great to have for many banking careers.
- Detail-oriented: In the banking industry, you may be handling money, doing financial reporting, records analysis, compliance, etc. Being accurate with careful attention to detail is important.
Banking careers can range in pay from around $36,000/year up to six figures, depending on the job. You’ll enjoy the perks of working in banking like:
- Working a daytime 9-to-5 schedule (with Sundays off, many times)
- Time off during major banking holidays
- Benefits-driven career including competitive pay, health, dental, vision insurance, and retirement benefits
- Career advancement opportunities
Which Major Banking Job Has the Highest Salary?
The highest paying job in major banking is going to be a role in senior leadership like the Chief Financial Officer, who earns an average base salary of around $140,000/year.
Senior leadership careers in banking usually require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree plus years of experience in the banking industry and leadership roles. Many times the base pay can be accompanied by bonuses and other compensation which can make this a very lucrative position to work in.
How Do You Get A Well-Paying Job In Banking?
Banking is an interesting field. Many people with no experience and no degree can start in an entry-level banking role like working as a bank teller and work their way up the career ladder.
If you have experience, skills, and a degree, you can expect to land higher-paying jobs, some of which can help you earn up to six figures annually.
Best Places To Find High Paying Major Banking Jobs
There are several places online you can search to find jobs in major banking. Before you start your career hunt, make sure you have your professional resume in hand. This is usually one of the main requirements of submitting your job application.
For help with preparing your resume, check out our roundup of the best resume services. To explore additional places to find jobs, check out our list of the best job posting sites.
ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter is one of the leading job search websites online. You can search for jobs, search salaries and read jobseeker reviews. It’s the perfect website to do your career research all in one place.
For more information, check out our ZipRecruiter review.
Discover Your Dream Job Start with ZipRecruiter today to find the best candidates out there.
Glassdoor
If you’re looking for a career resource that can help your job search, view salaries, and employee reviews, Glassdoor is where you’ll want to start. You can access this website for free and search for jobs in banking along with researching prospective employers before submitting your application.
For more information, check out our Glassdoor review.
Indeed
Indeed is another top job search website. It’s free and easy to use, letting you search jobs by keyword and location. You can also set job alerts and use their career resources like their resume upload feature which lets you store your resume on the site to make it easy to submit to job applications.
For more information, check out our Indeed review.
The Bottom Line
Working in banking can be a fruitful, rewarding career. You’ll be helping people and organizations navigate their finances and/or perform work to support the industry. There are plenty of jobs available in banking and if you’re considering working in this field, we hope this list gives you some ideas of which career paths to pursue.
When it’s time to start your career search online, go to ZipRecruiter to get started.
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